Pronoun Agreement Test Questions with Answers for ELA

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🧑‍🏫 Pronoun Agreement: Pronouns must agree in number (singular/plural) and gender (masculine/feminine/neuter) with their antecedents (the nouns they refer to).
• 🔢 Singular Antecedents: Use singular pronouns (he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, its) with singular antecedents. Example: The dog wagged its tail.
• 👯 Plural Antecedents: Use plural pronouns (they, them, their, theirs) with plural antecedents. Example: The students submitted their projects.
• 🤝 Compound Antecedents (joined by 'and'): Generally plural. Example: John and Mary brought their books.
• ⚠️ Compound Antecedents (joined by 'or'/'nor'): The pronoun agrees with the antecedent closest to it. Example: Neither the students nor the teacher finished her work.
• 👤 Indefinite Pronouns (singular): Words like *each, everyone, someone, nobody, anyone, everybody* usually take singular pronouns. Example: Everyone should bring his or her lunch. (Note: Using 'their' is increasingly accepted but can be controversial in formal writing; consider rephrasing.)
• 🏢 Collective Nouns: Nouns like *team, committee, family* can be singular or plural depending on whether they are acting as a unit (singular) or as individuals (plural). Example: The team celebrated its victory. The team are arguing among themselves about the strategy.

✍️ Practice Quiz

1. Which sentence demonstrates correct pronoun agreement?
   1. The cat licked their paw.
   2. Each of the girls did their best.
   3. Someone left his or her umbrella.
   4. The team is ready for their game.
2. The students appreciated ____ teacher's efforts.
   1. his
   2. her
   3. their
   4. its
3. Neither John nor his brothers finished ____ homework.
   1. his
   2. their
   3. its
   4. her
4. Everyone should bring ____ own lunch to the picnic.
   1. his
   2. her
   3. their
   4. his or her
5. The company announced ____ new policy today.
   1. their
   2. its
   3. his
   4. her
6. The committee has made ____ decision.
   1. their
   2. its
   3. his
   4. her
7. Each participant must sign ____ consent form.
   1. their
   2. his or her
   3. its
   4. her