Page 7 Pronoun Agreement

Or is it whom ?

Function Agreement

A pronoun may not agree with its antecedent.

Subject
 I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who
Object me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom



 A subject pronoun replaces a subjective (doing the action) noun.
An object pronoun replaces an objective (receiving the action) noun.


Example 1

Crystal and me are going shopping.

  • Really? Me is going shopping?

Correct: Crystal and I are going shopping.


Example 2

Jamal wants to come with you and I.

  • Really? Jamal wants to come with I?

Correct: Jamal wants to come with you and me.


Number Agreement:


The pronoun must match the noun it replaces in number, gender, and person. 
  • A singular antecedent always needs a singular pronoun.
  • A plural antecedent always needs a plural pronoun.

In the following example, the pronouns do not agree with the pronoun they replace:


Singular Example:

The children were excited; each had their own questions for the teacher.

Correct: The children were excited; each had his or her own questions for the teacher.

The word, "each," is singular, so you should use use "his" and "her."


Plural Example:

Whenever someone visits us, they seem to enjoy themselves.

Correct: Whenever people visit us, they seem to enjoy themselves.

The word, "people," is plural, so you should use "they" and "themselves." 
A pronoun that contains the word, "one," "thing," or "body" is singular.

Example someone, everyone, anyone, no-one, something, everything, anything, nothing, nobody, somebody, anybody, everybody.

Difficult Pronouns


  1. Use who when you are talking about people.


Example: The child who is wearing the red shirt dropped the ball.


  1. Use which when you are talking about things.


Example: The ball which bounced over the roof is lost.


  1. Use that when the following information is essential to the sentence.


Example: The dog that he adopted was from the SPCA.


  1. Use which if the information that follows is not essential to the sentence.


Example: The dog, which was a Doberman Pincher, was adopted from the SPCA.



When you have completed all parts of Assignment 5,

    • be sure you have renamed your file (YOURNAME) la 8-4-5
    • upload the completed assignment into the 4.5 Assignment file on the next page
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