Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement | Examples & Tips
Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a grammar term that means a pronoun matches its antecedent (the noun or noun phrase that it represents).
Pronouns should agree with antecedents in number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third). When a pronoun refers to a person, it should also match the antecedent’s gender identity (e.g., “he,” “she,” or “they”).
| Example | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Ariana Grande hosted Saturday Night Live this week, but she didn’t perform music. | “She” is a singular, third-person pronoun, so it agrees with the antecedent. |
| My coworkers and I eat at the Olive Garden every Friday because we love the free breadsticks. | “We” is a plural, first-person pronoun. The antecedent is also plural and first-person. |
| I lost my keys again, and I can’t find them anywhere! | “Them” is a plural, third-person pronoun. “Keys” is also plural and third person. |
The most common pronoun-antecedent agreement errors involve plural or singular third-person pronouns. The following tips illustrate how to avoid these errors.
Table of contents
- Singular they and pronoun-antecedent agreement
- It vs they and pronoun-antecedent agreement
- Intervening phrase after the antecedent
- Indefinite pronouns as antecedents
- A number of vs the number of
- Titles and academic subjects as antecedents
- Impersonal pronouns as antecedents
- Frequently asked questions about pronoun-antecedent agreement
Singular they and pronoun-antecedent agreement
The third-person pronouns “they,” “them,” “theirs,” and “themselves” and the possessive adjective “theirs” can refer to things/places or people. The “they” pronouns are always plural when they refer to things/places (e.g., “pumpkins” or “the best beaches in Spain”). When they refer to people, they can be singular or plural.
- Plural: More than one person (e.g., “the neighbors”)
- Singular: One nonbinary person or one hypothetical person whose gender is irrelevant or unknown
Therefore, singular “they” agrees with a singular antecedent.
One customer requested cauliflower crust because they have a gluten allergy.
It vs they and pronoun-antecedent agreement
Most pronoun-antecedent agreement errors involve confusion between “they” and “it” pronouns. To avoid this error, always check the number (plural or singular) of the antecedent.
“They,” “them,” “theirs,” “themselves,” and “theirs” do not agree with singular antecedents that are places or objects. The correct pronouns for singular places or objects are “it,” “its,” and “itself.”
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
|
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Intervening phrase after the antecedent
Sometimes the antecedent can be confused for another noun in a sentence, especially when there’s an intervening phrase after the antecedent. For example, an antecedent might be followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g., “in the room”). To avoid this error, remember that the antecedent isn’t always the most recent noun.
- The houses on the cul-de-sac still has its original owners.
- The houses on the cul-de-sac still have their original owners.
- This box of dominoes has sentimental value because Grandpa George made them for me.
- This box of dominoes has sentimental value because Grandpa George made it for me.
Indefinite pronouns as antecedents
Indefinite pronouns, such as “everyone,” “some,” or “most” refer to general or unspecified nouns. They can also be antecedents for other pronouns in sentences, and those other pronouns should agree with the indefinite pronouns in number.
Some indefinite pronouns are always singular or plural, and others can be singular or plural depending on the context. For that reason, pronoun-antecedent agreement errors are common when indefinite pronouns are antecedents. The tips in the table below show how to avoid such errors.
| Tip | Example |
|---|---|
| “Everything” is singular even though it means “all the things.” |
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| “Both,” “few,” “fewer,” “many,” “others,” and “several” are always plural. |
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| “All,” “any,” “enough,” “more,” “most,” “none,” “some,” and “such” can be plural or singular.
They are singular when they refer to uncountable nouns (e.g., “milk”) and plural when they refer to countable nouns (e.g., “cups”). |
|
- Every apartment in this building has their own washer and dryer.
- Every apartment in this building has its own washer and dryer.
A number of vs the number of
The phrases “a number of” and “the number of” have different rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement.
“A number of” goes before a plural noun and means “several” or “a few.” An antecedent that includes this phrase is always plural (e.g., “A number of fans at the stadium received free bobbleheads when they arrived”).
“The number of” refers to the specific quantity of something, so antecedents that include this phrase are singular (e.g., “The number of students with smartphones is much higher than it was ten years ago”).
Titles and academic subjects as antecedents
Titles of creative works (e.g., the show Friends or the song “Flowers”) sometimes look like plural antecedents even though they’re singular. Even if a title has a plural noun, it’s still the name of one thing, so pronouns that represent titles should be singular (“it,” “its,” or “itself”).
The same is true for names of academic subjects that happen to be plural nouns (e.g., “Economics”).
“Paper Planes” became a hit when it was featured in Slumdog Millionaire.
The Goldbergs reminds me of my childhood, and its characters are hilarious.
Impersonal pronouns as antecedents
The impersonal pronouns “one” and “oneself” refer to all people in general. Sentences with “one” and “oneself” usually include observations or recommendations about human behavior.
A common error is to begin with “one” but switch to a plural pronoun (e.g., “themselves”) later in the sentence. The pronoun “one” does not agree with plural pronouns or plural possessive adjectives (e.g., “their”) but rather “one’s” or “oneself.”
- One should always chew with their mouth closed.
- One should always chew with one’s mouth closed.
Frequently asked questions about pronoun-antecedent agreement
- What is an antecedent?
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An antecedent is a noun or noun phrase that a pronoun, possessive adjective, or appositive refers back to.
Sentences with pronouns or possessive adjectives need to have pronoun-antecedent agreement. To achieve this, use plural pronouns/possessive adjectives for plural antecedents and singular pronouns/possessive adjectives for singular antecedents.
In this example sentence, “their” and “them” are both plural to agree with the antecedent “flowers”: “Manish took the dead flowers out of their vase and put them in the trash.”
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that provides information about its antecedent. For example in the sentence: “The poet Emily Dickinson was reclusive,” the antecedent is “Emily Dickinson,” and the appositive is “the poet.”
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use antecedents correctly in your writing.
- Is they singular or plural?
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“They” has been traditionally used as a plural pronoun, but it can be either singular or plural depending on the context.
The singular they can be used when referring to someone whose gender is unknown or irrelevant, as well as someone who identifies as nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, or otherwise uses “they/them” personal pronouns.
For example, “If a customer has any questions, they can ask the staff.”
- Is everything singular or plural?
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Everything is a singular indefinite pronoun. It can also be an antecedent for the singular pronouns “it” and “itself” or the singular possessive adjective “it.”
When “everything” is an antecedent, use singular pronouns and singular possessive adjectives (instead of plurals) to achieve pronoun-antecedent agreement (e.g., “I folded everything in the laundry basket and put it in the drawers”).
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use “everything” and other pronouns correctly in your writing.
- What is an example of an antecedent in a sentence?
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An example of an antecedent in a sentence is “When the moon is full, it sometimes has a halo.” The antecedent is “moon,” and the singular pronoun “it” refers back to the moon.
This sentence has pronoun-antecedent agreement because a singular pronoun refers to a singular antecedent. Plural pronouns agree with plural antecedents (e.g., “The cats meowed until we gave them more food”).
When you’re writing sentences that include antecedents and pronouns, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid errors.
- What is a vague pronoun reference?
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A vague pronoun reference is a pronoun that doesn’t have a clear antecedent (a noun or noun phrase that the pronoun represents). The following sentence has a vague pronoun reference: “Jeremy picked it up and carried it to the closet.”
To avoid this error, use the antecedent in the preceding sentence or earlier in the same sentence (e.g., “Jeremy picked up the package and carried it to the closet”).
In addition to naming the antecedent, pronoun-antecedent agreement is also important for clear writing. Each pronoun should agree with its antecedent in number (singular or plural).
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you avoid vague pronoun references.
