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Pronouns have to agree

Pronouns have to agree with the words they are referring to (called their antecedents). A pronoun must match its antecedent in three ways: person, number and gender.

Agreement in person

First person
  • I (me, my, mine)
  • we (us, our, ours)
 I have my work cut out for me.
We leave tomorrow on our vacation.
Second person
  • you (your, yours)
Have you girls finished your meal?
Harry, you dropped your glasses.
Third person
  • he (him, his)
  • she (her, hers)
  • it (its)
  • they (them, their, theirs)
 One of the boys forgot his boots.
Lara stared at her compass.
The firm advertises its products well.
The robins built their nest in the oak.

Note: Nouns and indefinite pronouns are third-person antecedents. Be careful not to create an error in pronoun agreement by shifting person:

Incorrect: Canadians should be proud of our country. [3rd + 1st]

Correct: Canadians should be proud of their country. [3rd]
We Canadians should be proud of our country. [1st]

Incorrect: Everyone should send in your application today. [3rd + 2nd]

Correct: Everyone should send in the application today. [reworded]
You should all send in your applications today. [2nd]

Agreement in number

A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in number-that is, they must both be singular or plural:

The actor performed his part remarkably well. [both singular]
The students studied for their exam together. [both plural]

Agreement in gender

In English, there are three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.

The plural pronoun they and its forms are gender-inclusive; they automatically agree with antecedents of any gender:

My aunts built this stone wall with their bare hands. [feminine]
The boys sold the vegetables they had grown themselves. [masculine]
After signing the cheques, John mailed them. [neuter]

But the singular pronouns he, she, it and their forms are gender-specific, so we must be careful to use a singular pronoun that matches the gender of its antecedent:

I saw Nicole. She was taking her dog for a walk. [feminine]
Ivor dragged himself over the rocks, scraping his knees. [masculine]
The dog pricked up its ears when it heard the voices. [neuter]

A special problem: gender-inclusive words

Indefinite pronouns (everyone, anyone, etc.) and many nouns (member, student, performer, child, person, etc.) are gender-inclusive—they can refer to both males and females. When a singular antecedent is gender-inclusive, the singular pronoun referring to it must include both genders as well:

No witness could recall everything he or she had seen.
Everyone has submitted his or her forms.

However, the inclusive structures he or she, his or her, etc., can become awkward if repeated throughout a text. To avoid them, try one of the methods below:

  • Make your antecedent plural:

No witnesses could recall everything they had seen.
All the members have submitted their forms.

  • Reword the sentence to get rid of the pronoun:

No witness could recall the incident completely.
Everyone has submitted the necessary forms.

Note: In speech and informal writing, the plural pronoun they (or their) is often used to refer to a singular antecedent that is gender-inclusive:

No witness could recall everything they had seen.
Everyone has submitted their forms.

In formal writing, this usage is not yet widely accepted and should be avoided.

Date Modified: 2012-03-29

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