Writing Module
Noun/Pronoun Agreement
Noun/pronoun
agreement is when
the pronoun agrees
with the noun it refers
to—in gender and
number.
A pronoun refers to a noun that was mentioned earlier in the text.
This noun is called the antecedent. For example:
The employee read the review on her performance.
Her is the pronoun and refers to the antecedent, employee.
Bob and Harry travel a lot for their jobs.
Their is the pronoun and refers to the antecedent, Bob and Harry.
The pronoun must agree with the noun it refers to—in gender and
number. This is called noun/pronoun agreement.
You often can trust your ear when it comes to detecting pronoun
errors. Read the example out loud, and see if you can determine
whether or not it is incorrect because of the way it sounds.
The executive board hesitates to punish their own
members for ethics violations.
Read the example again out loud:
The executive board hesitates to punish their own
members for ethics violation.
To your ear, the use of their should have sounded awkward.
Executive board is singular, so the pronoun should have been its.
Read the following out loud.
The executive board hesitates to punish its own members
for ethics violations.
This should sound better to your ear.
Noun/pronoun agreement sometimes results in two common types of
errors.
Noun-Pronoun Agreement Version 1.0 1 of 3
Ask yourself the
following question
when you proofread
your work: Is it
completely clear to
whom or what the
pronoun is referring in
the sentence?
Error 1: The pronoun reference to the antecedent is vague or
ambiguous.
The first common error with noun/pronoun agreement occurs when
the pronoun reference to the antecedent is vague or ambiguous. For
example:
Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.
Is it referring to the motorcycle or the tree?
I don’t think they should show violence on the TV.
Who are they?
If you put this sheet of instructions in your notebook, you
can refer to it.
Is it referring to the sheet or the notebook?
When you proofread your writing, ask yourself: Is it completely
clear to whom (or to what) the pronoun is referring?
Error 2: It is unclear whether the pronoun is singular or plural.
The second common error with noun/pronoun agreement occurs with
pronoun number. Should you use the singular pronoun or the plural
pronoun? For example:
The average male moviegoer expects to see at least one
scene of violence per film, and they are seldom
disappointed.
The pronoun they is referencing the average male moviegoer.
They is plural and moviegoer is singular.
This results in an error in the pronoun number.
Noun-Pronoun Agreement Version 1.0 2 of 3
Another question to
ask yourself when
you proofread your
work: Does the
pronoun agree in
number with the noun
to which it is referring?
The correct sentence should read:
The average male moviegoer expects to see at least one
scene of violence per film, and he is seldom disappointed.
Singular pronouns include:
I, me other each
he, him mine everyone
she, her yours everybody
it his, hers nobody
each this no one
another either neither
one
Plural pronouns include:
we, us those
they, them these
both
The following pronouns can be singular or plural, depending on the
context in which they are used:
some who
none which
ours what
you that
When you proofread you writing, ask yourself: Does the pronoun
agree in number with the noun to which it refers?
To recap the two rules of noun/pronoun agreement.
Rule 1: The noun to which the pronoun refers is clear.
Rule 2: The number of the pronoun matches the number of the
noun.
If you follow the basic rules provided when writing and proofreading
your papers, you should have no problem with noun/pronoun
agreement.
Return to the Graduate Success Prep Program available through
the myFranklin Web site and do the exercises for this module.
Noun-Pronoun Agreement Version 1.0 3 of 3