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12. Achieve pronoun agreement:
Ensure that a pronoun agrees with its antecedent and make sure readers know which word is replaced by the pronoun.
pronouns: I, he, she, we, us, they, it, one...
antecedents: the word the pronoun refers to
Incorrect:
Incorrect:
If novices practice writing, he can become an expert writer.
Correct:
If novices practice writing, they can become expert writers.
they=pronoun
novices=antecedent
Principle: if you begin with the general pronoun “one,” use it consistently in the rest of the sentence.
Principle: if you begin with the general pronoun “one,” use it consistently in the rest of the sentence.
Incorrect:
Incorrect:
No matter which political party one belongs to, you should listen to both candidates before voting.
Correct:
No matter which political party one belongs to, one should listen to both candidates before voting.
commentary: if you begin with “one” then you need to sustain the same pronoun throughout the sentence.
Principle: ensure that readers know which antecedent the pronoun refers to.
Principle: ensure that readers know which antecedent the pronoun refers to.
Incorrect: Drew knows more about hunting than Sean because he learned how to hunt from his father---a hunting guide.
Incorrect: Drew knows more about hunting than Sean because he learned how to hunt from his father---a hunting guide.
Correct: Drew knows more about hunting than Sean because Drew learned it from his father---a hunting guide.
Correct: Drew knows more about hunting than Sean because Drew learned it from his father---a hunting guide.
Incorrect: Both of my mentors have quiet, unassuming mannerisms; he does his job because he loves it and cares about contributing to the community.
Incorrect: Both of my mentors have quiet, unassuming mannerisms; he does his job because he loves it and cares about contributing to the community.
Correct: Both of my mentors have quiet, unassuming mannerisms; they do their jobs because they love them and care about contributing to the community.
Correct: Both of my mentors have quiet, unassuming mannerisms; they do their jobs because they love them and care about contributing to the community.
Incorrect: Each of these companies had their books audited.
Incorrect: Each of these companies had their books audited.
Correct: Each of these companies had its books audited.
Commentary: “each” is the antecedent and “each” is singular, so the proper pronoun to replace “each” is “its”.
Gender-neutral Pronoun Principle: use the pronoun “they” to refer to a singular antecedent, if a person’s preferred pronoun is they or unknown. In September 2019, Merriam-Webster’s added a new definition to the entry for "they" in its online dictionary. They can refer to a “single person whose gender identity is nonbinary”. This makes pronoun usage more inclusive.
Correct: Julie is conducting their research paper on interpretive methods of the Supreme Court for their senior project.
Correct: Alex always reads one article from the New York Times; they like to be informed about current events.
Principle: “They” is also used “as a generic third-person singular pronoun to refer to a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant to the context”.
Correct: Each Varsity tennis player should practice serving three times a week; they should also implement patterns during points.
Principle: pronoun references to a hypothetical or anonymous person can employ “they” as opposed to he or she or “s/he”.
Correct: When an influencer posts on Instagram, they can reach thousands of viewers instantly.
Correct: revised without a pronoun: An influencer who posts on Instagram can reach thousands of viewers instantly.
Correct: I was very impressed with the candidate's resume so scheduled an interview with them.
Traditional pronoun agreement: Each student in the “Writing Across the Curriculum” course wants to do well on his or her revisions of papers.
Correct: Each sudent in the “Writing Across the Curriculum” course wants to do well on their revisions of papers.
Correct: revised without a pronoun: Everyone in the “Writing Across the Curriculum” course wants to do well on revisions of papers.
Works Cited
“Guidelines for Inclusive Language.” Linguistic Society of America, 2016, www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/guidelines-inclusive-language.
“Pronouns.” The Chicago Manual of Style Online, U of Chicago, 2017, www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Pronouns.html.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed., American Psychological Association, 2020.
“They, Pron.” Merriam-Webster, 2020, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they.
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