Pronoun Antecedent Agreement - A Pro Guide

Understanding pronoun antecedent agreement is a crucial thing when it comes to learning English pronoun system. A list of grammatical errors will take place if proper attention is not paid to pronoun antecedent agreement.

This article covers: 

• Pronoun antecedent agreement definition and meaning 
• Pronoun antecedent agreement examples
• Pronoun antecedent agreement rules
• FAQs - pronoun antecedent agreement

What is pronoun antecedent agreement? let's first learn each word in the phrase "pronoun antecedent agreement" so that we can easily understand what it means and how it works. The phrase contains three words:

1. Pronoun: a word used in place of a noun in order to avoid repeating the same noun. Just as nouns refer to people, places, things, animals, concepts or ideas, so do pronouns refer to people, places, things, animals, concepts or ideas. Pronouns, which replace nouns, make our sentences beautiful.

2. Antecedent: the word consists of "ante" and "cedent" which means something that comes before some other thing. In English grammar, pronoun antecedent is the noun that comes before a pronoun and that the pronoun refers to.  

3. Agreement: the word literally means "harmony", "correspondence" or "likeness". In English grammar, agreement means the alignment or match of something with something else in number, person and gender.

Now that you've comprehended separately what each word in the phrase "pronoun antecedent agreement" means, it's time that you understand its definition and meaning.

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement: Definition and Meaning

By definition, pronoun antecedent agreement is the correspondence or match of a pronoun with its antecedent noun or noun phrase in three aspect: number, person and gender.

Explanation: When talking about someone or something, we usually begin our conversation with the name of that "someone" or "something", and when we again refer back to that "someone" or "something", we tend to use a pronoun. (This a basic grammar rule.) Observe the below-given examples:

1. John came to me yesterday. He asked for money. 
2. The hill station we visited last year is in Mongolia. It is an amazing one. 

Example 1 shows that we first used a noun (John) and that, when we referred back to the noun, we used a pronoun (he). So in this example, the noun "John" is the antecedent of the pronoun "he". 

The similar case is with example 2 where the noun phrase "the hill station" is the antecedent of the pronoun "it".

Now when we use a pronoun in place of a noun, we have to make sure that the pronoun we are using in place of the noun agrees with the noun in number, person and gender.

We can now say with certainty that the following examples contain pronoun antecedent agreement errors, therefore, they're grammatically wrong.

1. John came to me yesterday. They asked for money.
2. Enjoy myself. 
3. Sofia came to me. He talked to me about her future plan.

Example 1 is wrong, because there's no agreement between the noun and pronoun (John and They) in NUMBER. (The correct expression: "John came to me yesterday. He asked for money.")

Example 2 is incorrect, because there's no agreement between the hidden pronoun "you" and the reflexive "myself" in PERSON, as it's an imperative sentence in which the pronoun 'You" is hidden, and the reflexive of this "You" is yourself, and not myself.  (The correct expression: "Enjoy yourself.")

Example 3 is also wrong, because there's no agreement between the noun and the pronoun (Sofia and He) in GENDER. (The correct expression: "Sofia came to me. She talked to me about her future plan."

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Examples

Here are a few examples of pronoun antecedent agreement. All the below-given example sentences are grammatically correct, because there's grammatical agreement between the nouns and the pronouns used in the sentences below.

a. John saw a lion. He ran away.

b. I sometimes talk to myself.

c. Sofia talked to me about her financial problem.

d. You'll meet three people there. They'll inform you of all the details.

e. My friends are coming. They'll stay here tonight.

f. Have you done your assignment?

g. You didn't inform me of your intentions.

h. Her mom is ready. She is about to fly.

i. I saw many students there. They all were busy.

j. The dog hurt both its legs.

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Rules 

Three main rules of pronoun antecedent agreement should be in your mind when using pronouns in place of their antecedents. The violation of any of these three rules will result in grammatically incorrect sentences. 

Rule 1. You must make sure that a pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number. That is, if an antecedent is singular in number, the pronoun must be in singular form, and if an antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be in plural number. 

Note:- Number in English grammar means whether the subject is singular or plural.

• Wrong: My friends are here. He wants to talk to you. (The pronoun "he" doesn't agree with its antecedent "my friends" in number.)
• Right: My friends are here. They want to talk to you. (The pronoun "they" agrees with its antecedent "my friends".)

Rule 2. You must make sure that a pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person. For person, first person pronouns, for second person, second person pronouns and for third person, third person pronouns must be used. 

Note:- Person in English grammar means either the person who is speaking (speaker-first person), or the person who is being spoken to (addressee-second person) or the person who is being talked about (third person).

• Wrong: You are capable of making decision on his own. ("You" = second person and "his" = third person. There's no agreement in person.)
• Right: You are capable of making decision on your own. ("You" = second person and "your" =second person. There's agreement.)

Rule 3. You must make sure that a pronoun agrees with its antecedent in gender. That is, for masculine, feminine, neuter and common genders, the pronouns shall be used accordingly. (Learn about gender system in English)

• Wrong: Sofia is talking to his friend. ("Sofia" = feminine gender and "his" refers to masculine gender-no agreement)
• Right: Sofia is talking to her friend. ("Sofia" = feminine gender and "her" refers to feminine gender-there's agreement) 

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Worksheet and Exercises 

Question 1. Select the appropriate pronouns from the options.

a. Have you submitted .....own assignment? (his or your)

b. She looks like ....mother (her or his)

c. He will hurt........(herself or himself)

d. One should mind......own business. (his or one's)

e. Everybody is aware of ........self. (his or her/your)

Question 2. Use the appropriate pronouns in the blank spaces.

a. Enjoy........

b. She sometimes talks to........

c. He is better than....brother 

d. I'm as good as....father.

e. You, mind .....own business. 

FAQs - Pronoun Antecedent Agreement 

What is pronoun antecedent agreement?

Pronoun antecedent agreement means the match of a pronoun with its antecedent in number, person and gender. That is, we use pronouns according to what they refer to.

Which sentence has a pronoun antecedent agreement error?

The following sentences have a pronoun antecedent agreement error:

a. Sofia has submitted his assignment.

b. John sometimes talks to herself.

c. I don't like your own face.

d. She is talking to his friend.

e. Veronica loves his children.