Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Examples in Research Papers

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🔍 Pronoun-antecedent agreement means that a pronoun must agree in number (singular/plural) and gender with the noun (antecedent) it refers to.
• 💡 Singular antecedents require singular pronouns (e.g., *The student completed his work.*).
• 📝 Plural antecedents require plural pronouns (e.g., *The students completed their work.*).
• 🌍 Indefinite pronouns (e.g., everyone, someone, anyone) usually take singular pronouns. (e.g., *Everyone should bring his or her own lunch.* It's now more common to use 'their' in informal contexts for inclusivity.)
• 🧪 Compound antecedents joined by 'and' usually take plural pronouns (e.g., *John and Mary submitted their report.*).
• 🧬 Collective nouns (e.g., team, committee, class) can be singular or plural depending on whether they act as a unit or as individuals (e.g., *The team is playing its best.* vs. *The team are disagreeing about their roles.*).
• 🔢 When using 'either/or' or 'neither/nor,' the pronoun agrees with the antecedent closest to it (e.g., *Neither John nor his friends finished their assignment.*).

📝 Practice Quiz

1. Which sentence demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
   1. The dog wagged it's tail happily.
   2. The dogs wagged it's tail happily.
   3. The dog wagged its tail happily.
   4. The dogs wagged their tail happily.
2. Everyone should bring ______ own lunch.
   1. his
   2. their
   3. her
   4. it's
3. The committee is meeting to discuss ______ plans.
   1. its
   2. their
   3. it's
   4. his
4. Neither John nor his brothers finished ______ homework.
   1. his
   2. their
   3. it's
   4. her
5. The company announced ______ new policy.
   1. their
   2. it's
   3. its
   4. his
6. Each student must submit ______ own project.
   1. their
   2. his or her
   3. its
   4. her
7. The band is known for ______ energetic performances.
   1. its
   2. their
   3. it's
   4. his