Pronoun agreement

The rule in one minute

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun so you do not repeat it: he, she, it, they, this, which. The noun it replaces is its antecedent.

The rule has two parts.

1. Agreement. The pronoun matches its antecedent in number. One player takes his or her boots. Two players take their boots.
2. Clear reference. The pronoun must point to one clear noun. If the reader cannot tell which noun she or it means, the sentence is unclear, even if the number is right.

Why it costs marks

Both parts cost marks when they go wrong. Agreement errors, such as a singular noun with a plural pronoun, are accuracy errors, and ESL writing marks them directly.

Unclear reference is less obvious but just as harmful. If a pronoun could point to two nouns, the reader must stop and guess, and that suggests weak control.

Pronouns appear in almost every sentence, so a weak habit shows through the whole piece.

Wrong and right

• Risky: Everyone must bring their own pen. Safer: Everyone must bring a pen, or All students must bring their own pens. Everyone is grammatically singular.
• Wrong: Each of the girls raised their hand. Right: Each of the girls raised her hand. Each is singular.
• Unclear: When Aisha called Nur, she was upset. Clear: When Aisha called Nur, Nur was upset. Name the person you mean.
• Unclear: The report criticised the plan, which was a mistake. Clear: Criticising the plan was a mistake. Which had no single noun to point to.
• Risky: A good teacher listens to their students. Exam-safe: Good teachers listen to their students.

Try it yourself

Fix the agreement or clarity problem in each sentence, then check below.

1. Neither of the boys finished their meal.
2. If a passenger loses their ticket, they must pay again.
3. Maya told Sara that she had won the prize.
4. The committee announced their decision on Monday.

Answers: (1) Neither of the boys finished his meal. Neither is singular. (2) Rewrite in the plural: Passengers who lose their tickets must pay again. (3) The sentence is unclear. Name the winner: Maya told Sara that Sara had won the prize. (4) A committee is one group, so use its: The committee announced its decision on Monday.

Make it a habit

When you proofread, do two checks.

Agreement. At each pronoun, find the noun it replaces and check the number. Words such as each, every, everyone, neither, either and someone look plural, but they are singular.

Either use a singular pronoun, or rewrite the sentence in the plural. The plural rewrite is often the cleanest fix.

Clarity. At each he, she, it, they, this and which, ask: could the reader point to exactly one noun? If two nouns could fit, repeat the name. Be extra careful when two people of the same gender appear in one sentence.

Where students get stuck, and how we help

Students usually get stuck on words like everyone and each, and on long sentences with two people in them. In our First Language English lessons, a teacher marks both kinds of pronoun slip in your own writing and shows the cleanest fix.

Lessons start from RM70/hr. You can book a paid one-hour trial to try it.

Next step

Practise in the practice area. Then read about tense consistency and active and passive voice. The proofreading guide shows how to check a whole essay.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to use the rule in your own writing. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.