3 of 13

Indefinite Pronouns: They’re usually singular

Another	Anybody	Anyone	Anything
Each	Either	Everybody	Everyone
Everything	Little	Much	Neither
Nobody	Someone	No one	Nothing
One	Other	Somebody	Something

4 of 13

Except when they’re plural

Both	Few	Many
Others	Several

5 of 13

Or when they’re singular or plural, depending on context

All All of the gas is gone. All of the kids are gone. (“All” refers to “gas” in the first sentence and “kids” in the second)�	Any�Any of the jewelry is yours for the taking. Any of my cousins are right for the part (“Any” refers to “jewelry” in the first sentence and “cousins” in the second)	More More of the plot is revealed in act three. More of our plans are going towards breaking him out of jail. (“More” refers to “plot” in the first sentence and “plans” in the second).
Most Most of the cake was gone when I got home. But most of the cookies were still there. (“Most” refers to “cake” in the first sentence and “cookies” in the second)	None None of the material was covered in the test review. None of the students were happy about that. (“None” refers to “material in the first sentence and “students” in the second)	Some Some of the fault was the teacher’s for being disorganized. Some of the students were so angry they complained to her boss. (“Some” refers to “fault” in the first sentence and “students” in the second)

6 of 13

Singular Nouns that Can Refer to a Man or a Woman.

A person should be able to make up their own mind about prayer in schools.
A teacher should show their students love and compassion.
Often, a doctor will leave their patients waiting for a ridiculously long time.

7 of 13

Generally, these errors occur

because the writer is trying to avoid sexism.
When you don’t know if the antecedent is male or female, it seems logical to use the pronoun “they.”

8 of 13

When you can, just make the antecedent plural

A person should be able to make up their own mind about prayer in schools (incorrect).

People should be able to make up their own mind about prayer in schools (correct).

A teacher should show their students love and compassion (incorrect).

Teachers should show their students love and compassion (correct).

Often, a doctor will leave their patients waiting for a ridiculously long time (incorrect).

Often, doctors will leave their patients waiting for a ridiculously long time (correct).

9 of 13

General Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Rules

Compound antecedents are usually plural;

Joey and Melissa think their kids are brilliant.

If two antecedents are joined by either/or, neither/nor, the pronoun agrees with the antecedent closest to it;

Either Michael or his friends will bring their video games to the party.
Either his friends or Michael will bring his video games to the party. (This sentence is correct, but sounds illogical. Word the sentence like the first example rather than the second).

The pronoun agrees with the antecedent, not the object of the prepositional phrase;

Each of the dogs needs its own crate.

10 of 13

General Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Rules

Collective noun can be either singular or plural, depending on the context.

The jury took only two hours to reach its verdict. (Emphasizes the singularity of the jury)
The jury took only two hours to reach their verdict. (Emphasizes the jury as a group of individuals)

Avoid sexism

Not “A doctor should listen carefully to his patients.”
But rather (1) making the pronoun and its antecedent plural, or (2) reword the sentence.

Doctors should listen carefully to their patients.
Doctors should listen carefully to patients.

11 of 13

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns need to agree in person, gender and number
Case	Nominative-the pronoun acts as a subject		Objective-the pronoun acts as a object		Possessive-the pronoun shows ownership
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
First person	I	we	me	us	my, mine	our, ours
Second person	you	you	you	you	your(s)	your(s)
Third person	he she it	they	him her It	them	his her(s) its	their(s)

12 of 13

Notes about pronoun cases

The implied “you” is the subject of an imperative.

Use nominative forms for subjects and subject complements (the adjective, noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb renaming or describing the subject).

Use objective forms for:

direct objects (directly receiving action from the subject; find the direct object by asking subject+verb+what? or who?),

indirect objects (whatever or whoever receives the action from the direct object) and

The officer gave Tom a fine for speeding.

SHE gave HIM IT for speeding.

objects of the preposition

…for THAT.

1 of 13

2 of 13