Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A pronoun is a word used to stand for (or take the place of) a noun.
Below are the personal pronouns. They are called “personal” because they
usually refer to persons (except for it, which refers to things).
Rewrite the following sentence in the space provided, first replacing the
subject noun Laura with a subject pronoun; then replacing the object
noun Amy with an object pronoun.
2. The pronoun which replaces the noun must agree with it in these
ways:
Three words describe the properties of of the pronoun he. Select the correct
ones, then click on "submit" and check your answers.
Look at the examples below to see how to choose the right pronoun
for two antecedents joined by and, or, or nor.
1. When two or more singular noun antecedents are joined by and, they
make a PLURAL antecedent. (1 + 1 = 2)
example:
NOTE: The plural pronoun their replaces both masculine and feminine nouns.
If both noun antecedents joined by and are plural, then the referent pronoun
will also be PLURAL.
2. When two or more noun antecedents are joined by or or nor, choose a
pronoun referent to agree with the antecedent CLOSEST TO THE VERB.
Examples:
Link to Exercise 1
Some nouns which name groups can be either singular or plural, depending
upon their meaning in individual sentences.
Because they can describe either the group as a SINGLE ENTITY (only one –
singular) or the INDIVIDUALS in the group (more than one – plural), these
nouns pose special problems as antecedents.
However, the following guidelines can help us decide which referent pronoun
agrees with such noun antecedents.
On the other hand, if we are actually referring to the individuals with the group,
then we consider the noun plural. In this case, we use a plural referent
pronoun.
Example:
Here, each member of the class is considered separately. The students in the
class will each hand in a report.
When used in the plural form, a group noun means more than one group. It
naturally takes a plural referent pronoun.
Example:
Remember these three important points about pronoun – antecedent
agreement when a group noun is the antecedent:
Link to Exercise 2
In the following sentence, she is the antecedent for the referent pronoun her.
Her is both feminine and singular to agree with
the feminine, singular antecedent she.
**You may want to look back at the chart of personal pronouns to see which
referents agree with which antecedents.
Link to Exercise 3
Some indefinite pronouns seem as if they should be plural when really they
are singular.
Examples:
3. However, the following indefinite pronoun antecedents may be
either singular or plural, depending upon how they are used in a sentence.
Examples:
In the above sentence, all designates the voters. Voters can be counted (1
voter, 2 voters, etc.). Therefore, the plural pronoun their is the correct
referent for all.
In the above sentence, all designates some unnamed people (e.g. campers,
ranchers). Campers, ranchers – people – CAN be counted. Therefore,
the plural pronoun their is the correct referent for all.
Link to Exercise 4
If you are doing this module on your own time, you have completed the
learning unit on avoiding problems with pronoun - antecedent agreement.
If you are doing this module as part of your classroom assignment, proceed to
the Post Test and follow the directions you find there.