Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement: Each student scratched their head.

The basics:  Nouns are people, places, or things, and because they are so numerous and common, we often use pronouns to refer to them in other ways. For example, “they,” in the last sentence, is a pronoun that stands in the place of the word “nouns” from the first sentence. In this case, “nouns” is the antecedent of the pronoun, “they,” meaning that “nouns” is the word to which “they” refers; “nouns” is what comes first (ante). Simply put, pronouns substitute for nouns; therefore, they should agree, in number, with their antecedents. If not, one reveals his poor understanding of the English language and often comes off sounding rather uneducated and even foolish.

Correct example: The student finished his work.

Correct example: The students finished their work.

This looks very easy, but many people make the common mistake of using plural pronouns to refer to singular antecedents, generic nouns, and/or indefinite pronouns. Briefly, a generic noun represents a typical member of a group. An indefinite pronoun (anyone, everybody, each, every, etc.) refers to a non-specific noun. Point is, both indefinite pronouns and generic nouns, even though they may sometimes seem to have plural meanings, are treated as singular.

Incorrect example: Whenever someone talks in this class, they always make a lot of sense.

Incorrect example: Anybody can do their job the way they need to.

Incorrect example: An American must work hard if they want to be successful.

Incorrect example: Every student has their paper. (Not unless they have the same single paper and are all holding onto it at the same time… Are you starting to get this?)

Problems with pronoun/antecedent agreement can be corrected in three ways:

1. Replace the plural pronoun with “he or she” or “his or her.” This is the easiest way to correct the error, but note that this will often require a verb change:

Whenever someone talks in this class, he or she makes a lot of sense.

2. Make the antecedent plural. Note that this may require other words to become plural as well:

All students can do their jobs the way they need to.

3. Rewrite the sentence so that there is no agreement problem:

An American who wants to be successful must work hard. (There is no pronoun in this sentence.)

PRACTICE: When rereading Paper 2, pay close attention to when you use the words “they” and “their” and other pronouns. Do a read-through devoted strictly to this exercise. Circle them, and check for agreement with their antecedents. This will be a category on the Paper 2 Grading Rubric, so don’t skip it, unless you want an “F.” What’s a better reason you want to get this straight? Remember, the primary reason is that sentences with pronoun/ antecedent issues don’t always make sense, marking the skill of the writer:

Each student scratched their head.

Think about it; do all the students share one enormous, itchy head? No, that’s disgusting! Study up!