Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Grammar Guide

In English grammar, an antecedent is a word, phrase, or sentence that gives meaning to a proform. A proform is a word or phrase that stands in for another, made clear via context clues. A proform can be many parts of speech, including a noun, pronoun, adjective, and verb. In the sentence “John likes desserts, so he made cookies,” the antecedent is “John,” and the proform (in this case a pronoun) is “he.”

Antecedents and subsequent pronouns (which take the place of a noun) ensure that the same words or phrases do not repeat over and over in a sentence. There are a few rules that will help you correctly use antecedents that pair with pronouns:

1. 1. Antecedents come before the pronoun. Take the sentence, “My favorite aunt came over for dinner after she finished work.” “My favorite aunt” is a noun phrase and the sentence’s singular antecedent. The pronoun “she” comes after the antecedent is introduced.
2. 2. Antecedents match the pronoun’s quantity. Pronouns must agree with the antecedent’s quantity; a singular pronoun replaces a singular noun, and a plural pronoun replaces a plural noun. In the example sentence “The flock of geese is flying south, and it is moving quickly,” “it” matches the antecedent “flock of geese.” In this sentence, “it” is the correct pronoun. “They” would be incorrect because the collective noun subject is a singular flock; “of geese” is a prepositional phrase modifying the flock.
3. 3. Treat compound antecedents as plural. A compound antecedent is an antecedent that includes compound subjects—more than one person or thing. Consider the example sentence “Billy and Sarah are moving to the beach, where they will build a house.” The compound antecedent is “Billy and Sarah,” so “they” is the correct pronoun, not “he and she.”

Antecedents and pronouns help declutter sentences in the English language, and there are many ways to avoid common mistakes. Consider the following three tips:

1. 1. Rely on pronouns. Pronouns help avoid repetition. In the sentence “Juan is riding the bike that Juan purchased so that Juan can exercise more,” the name “Juan” appears three times. Rely on pronouns to make a smoother sentence: “Juan is riding the bike that he purchased so that he can exercise more.”
2. 2. Place antecedents before pronouns. By definition, an antecedent comes before the pronoun replacing it. Instead of saying “She knows what Sarah wants to order”—where Sarah is treated as the subject but comes after the pronoun—say, “Sarah knows what she wants to order.” This way, you communicate who Sarah is upfront and can then follow up with the proper pronoun.
3. 3. Be clear about who or what a pronoun stands for. Sometimes a sentence will have multiple subjects. If a pronoun follows, it should be clear who or what it is replacing. Consider the sentence, “Jim and John are attending the event, but he doesn’t really want to go.” It is unclear who the “he” is representing—it may be Jim or John. Instead, write, “Jim and John are attending the event, but they don’t really want to go.” Or, if only one of the two doesn’t want to attend, explicitly state the name.

See examples of pronoun-antecedent agreement in the following sentences:

1. 1. “Henry and I went to the city so we could get some good Italian food.” In this sentence, “we” agrees with its antecedent, which is “Henry and I.”
2. 2. “A student should be courteous in class; otherwise, they may get detention.” In this example, “they” operates as an indefinite pronoun. The student in the subject is an unknown, generic noun. “They” stands in for the subject.
3. 3. “One of the chair’s legs is wobbly. It should be fixed before the guests come. This example shows that pronoun-antecedent agreement can span multiple sentences. The subject of the first sentence is “one of the chair’s legs;” in the second sentence, “it” is a pronoun that stands in for “one of the chair’s legs.”

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