Mini-Lesson: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Think of pronouns as handy little words that replace nouns. Why do we use them? To avoid sounding repetitive!

• Example:

  Instead of saying "Maria loves Maria's dog," we can say

  "Maria loves her dog." ("Her" replaces "Maria's").

The antecedent is the noun (or group of words acting as a noun) that the pronoun refers back to or replaces. It's the "original" word.

• Example:

  In this sentence, "Maria loves her dog," Maria is the antecedent for the pronoun her.

The most important thing about pronouns and antecedents is that they must agree in two ways:

• Number: If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural.

• Gender (when applicable): If the antecedent is masculine, the pronoun should be masculine. If feminine, the pronoun should be feminine.