What is Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement? Definition and Examples for Academic Research

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🔍 Pronoun-antecedent agreement means a pronoun must agree in number (singular/plural) and gender with its antecedent (the noun it refers to).
• ✍️ Singular antecedents take singular pronouns (e.g., *The student* completed *his* homework).
• 👯 Plural antecedents take plural pronouns (e.g., *The students* completed *their* homework).
• 🚻 Use gender-neutral pronouns (they/them/their) when the gender of the antecedent is unknown or when referring to individuals who prefer these pronouns.
• 🤝 Collective nouns (e.g., team, family) can be singular or plural depending on whether they act as a unit or as individuals.
• 💡 Compound antecedents joined by "and" usually take a plural pronoun (e.g., *John and Mary* submitted *their* report).
• 🚫 Avoid ambiguous pronoun references by ensuring each pronoun clearly refers to only one antecedent.

Practice Quiz

1. Which sentence demonstrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?
   1. The dog wagged their tail.
   2. The dog wagged its tail.
   3. The dogs wagged its tail.
   4. The dog wagged her tail.
2. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun-antecedent agreement:
   1. Every student should bring their book to class.
   2. Every student should bring his or her book to class.
   3. All students should bring his book to class.
   4. Each students should bring their book to class.
3. The team played well, and ______ efforts were rewarded.
   1. its
   2. their
   3. it's
   4. there
4. Neither John nor Tom remembered to bring ______ textbook.
   1. his
   2. their
   3. his or her
   4. it's
5. Someone left ______ umbrella in the office.
   1. their
   2. his
   3. her
   4. its
6. The company announced ______ new policy today.
   1. their
   2. its
   3. it's
   4. there
7. The students worked hard on the project, and ______ efforts paid off.
   1. his
   2. her
   3. their
   4. its