Pronouns and Antecedents
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun, or a group of nouns, in a sentence or sentences. A pronoun should agree in number and gender with the noun or phrase it refers to, which is known as the antecedent. Correct pronoun-antecedent agreement is crucial to writing professionally.
A pronoun might have an antecedent from the previous sentence:
- Carolina hates cats. She has terrible allergies. [The pronoun she refers to the antecedent Carolina.]
But pronouns and antecedents can also occur in the same sentence:
Jim said he doesn't like coffee. [The pronoun he refers to the antecedent Jim.]
- The twins helped by bringing their truck. [The pronoun their refers to the antecedent twins.]
Quantity Agreement
"Singular" means "one of something," whereas "plural" means "more than one." The singular pronouns include I, me, he, she, it, and more. Their antecedent will always be singular: just one person or object.
- Jamil was not as hungry. He stayed at the office. [The singular pronoun he refers to the antecedent Jamil.]
Examples of plural pronouns include we, us, they, and others. These pronouns must have an antecedent that is more than one person or object.
- George, Omar, and Phil were starving for lunch. They went to a Chinese buffet. [The plural pronoun they refers to the antecedent George, Omar, and Phil.]
One tricky exception is "you." In English, the pronoun "you" is the same whether it is singular or plural. Sometimes you can distinguish between the two by saying "you all" if you are speaking to more than one person.
Gender Agreement
In some situations, pronouns need to be gender specific. The pronouns he, his, and him are masculine, whereas she, her, and hers are feminine.
- Janice wanted to go to the mall. She wanted Scott to join her. He was not interested in going to the mall. [The pronouns she and her refer to the antecedent Janice. The pronoun he refers to the antecedent Scott.]
- My dog Franklin is very skittish. He doesn't enjoy the dog park. [The pronoun he refers to the antecedent Franklin.]
Gender-Neutral Pronouns
Gender-neutral pronouns include you, they, their, theirs, we, us, our, ours, your, and yours. In the case where the gender of the antecedent is unknown, the pronoun should be gender-neutral or avoided altogether.
For example, take the general statement, "A student should hand his papers in promptly." In this sentence, the word student does not indicate any gender, because it's just a general, anonymous student. Therefore, rather than saying "his papers," use one of the following:
- A student should hand papers in promptly. [Here, the gendered pronoun has been dropped, but the sentence is still grammatically correct.]
- Students should hand their papers in promptly. [By making the antecedent plural, you can use the gender-neutral plural pronoun their.]