Grammatical errors can disrupt an audience’s ability to understand your
message clearly, or can simply distract from your message.
Further, grammatical missteps can often weaken the writer’s credibility,
potentially causing your audience to not take your message seriously.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronoun is a substitute for a noun.
Antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to
which a pronoun refers, understood by the
context.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Rule 1: A pronoun and its antecedent must
agree in number. They should be both singular
or both be plural.
Rule 2: Even though some indefinite pronouns
have plural meanings, treat them as
grammatically singular.
• Incorrect Everyone in my English class does
their homework.
• Correct singular Everyone in my English class does
his or her homework.
• Correct plural All of the students in my English
class do their homework
How To Correct Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Problems
Incorrect When someone has been drinking, they are likely to speed.
1. Replace the plural pronoun with he or she, or it (or his or her or its)
When someone has been drinking, he or she is likely to speed.
2. Make the antecedent plural.
When drivers have been drinking, they are likely to speed.
3. Rewrite the sentence so that no problem of agreement exists.
A driver who has been drinking is likely to speed.
Rule 3: Treat generic nouns as singular even
though they migt have a plural meaning. Be
careful when you use a or any, every, or each.
Incorrect Every boy on the team must try their best if they
want their team to win.
Correct Every boy on the team must try his best if he
wants his team to win.
The boys on the team must try their best if they
want to win.
Incorrect A nursing student must study hard if they want to
succeed.
Correct A nursing student must study hard if he or she
wants to succeed.
Nursing students must study hard if they want to
succeed.
Rule 4: Treat collective nouns as singular unless
the meaning is clearly plural.
singular The committee granted its
permission.
plural The committee put their
signatures on the document
Rule 5: Treat most compound antecedents
connected by and as plural.
Incorrect Joan and Jim moved to the
mountains, where he or she built a
cabin.
Correct Joan and Jim moved to the
mountains, where they built a cabin.
Rule 6: When a compound antecedent is
connected by or or nor (or by either...or or
neither...nor), make the pronoun agree
with the nearer antecedent.
Example:
Neither the dog nor the cats could find
their way through the maze.
How to use Do, Does, Did
1. Do, Does, and Did are used as auxiliary verbs to ask
yes-no questions, to express negatives and to emphasize
an idea. They are usually paired with the base form of the
verb.
a. asking yes-no questions
DO: We use do when the subject is I, uou, we or they
DOES: We use does with third person singular
pronouns (i.e. when the subject is he, she, or it)
DID: is the past form of both do and does
Remember: The base form of the verb must be used.
How to use Do, Does, Did
b. expressing negatives
c. emphasizing an idea
d. forming wh-questions
2. Do, Does, and Did also function as action verbs.
