Before we begin
Remember A pronoun usually refers to a noun or another pronoun called its antecedent or the word or word group that the pronoun stands for.
* If you need more help with pronoun antecedents, look at pg. 342 in your books!
Practice
Fredrick, have you turned in your report? Jackie said that she is the fastest runner on the team. Robert forgot to bring the book that he was supposed to finish reading today. Pink = Antecedent ; Green = pronoun
Some singular forms of pronouns indicate gender such as some below Feminine she, her, hers, herself Masculine he, him, his, himself Neutral it, its, itself
When making sure that your pronoun and antecedent agree with one another, you may need to look at the gender of your pronoun.
Examples:
Aaron brought his skates with him. Robert said that he found his book.
Some antecedents may be either masculine or feminine. In such cases, use the masculine and the feminine forms. Examples:
Every one of the parents praised his or her childs efforts that day. No one in the senior play forgot his or her lines on opening night.
In some cases, you may need to look in a phrase that follows the antecedent to determine which personal pronoun to use.
Examples:
Each of the girls has offered her ideas. One of the men lost his key.
Rules to Live by
1.) Use a singular pronoun to refer to anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, or something.
2.) Use a plural pronoun to refer to both, few, many, or several.
A pronoun that refers to a collective noun has the same number as the noun Examples
The cast is giving its final performance tonight. The faculty are returning to their classrooms.
An expression of an amount may take a singular or plural pronoun, depending on how the expression is used.
Examples
Five dollars is all I need. I hope my sister will lend it to me. Two dollars are torn. The vending machine wont take them.
Even when plural in form, the title of a creative work (such as a book, song, film, or painting), the name of an organization, or the name of a country or city usually takes a singular pronoun.