{"id":263,"date":"2016-05-19T19:57:31","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T19:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=263"},"modified":"2016-11-08T00:28:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T00:28:05","slug":"text-pronoun-antecedents","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-introtocollegecomp\/chapter\/text-pronoun-antecedents\/","title":{"raw":"Pronoun Antecedents","rendered":"Pronoun Antecedents"},"content":{"raw":"<h2>Antecedent Clarity<\/h2>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-2297\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/06\/21153634\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-11.36.04-AM-300x273.png\" alt=\"Icon of two squares, one solid and one dotted line, connected by two curved arrows\" width=\"150\" \/>We've already defined an <strong>antecedent<\/strong> as the noun (or phrase) that a pronoun is replacing. The phrase \"antecedent clarity\" simply means that is should be clear who or what the pronoun is referring to. In other words, readers should be able to understand the sentence the first time they read it\u2014not the third, forth, or tenth.\u00a0In this page, we'll look at\u00a0some examples of common mistakes that can cause confusion, as well as ways to fix each\u00a0sentence.\r\n\r\nLet's take a look at our first sentence:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Rafael told Matt to stop eating his cereal.<\/p>\r\nWhen you first read this sentence, is it clear if the cereal Rafael's\u00a0or Matt's? Is it clear when you read the sentence again? Not really, no. Since both Rafael and Matt are singular, third person, and masculine, it's\u00a0impossible to tell whose cereal is being eaten (at least from this sentence).\r\n\r\nHow would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"654515\"]<strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"654515\"]Let's assume the cereal is Rafael's:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Rafael's cereal.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Matt\u00a0was eating Rafael's\u00a0cereal. Rafael told him to stop it.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nWhat if the cereal is Matt's?:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Matt's cereal.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Matt was eating his own cereal when Rafael told him to stop.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">These aren't the only ways to revise the sentence. However, each of these new sentences has made it clear whose cereal it is.<\/span>\r\n\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\nWere those revisions what you expected them to be?\r\n\r\nLet's take a look at another example:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. They make all sorts of delicious things.<\/p>\r\nWhen you read this example, is it apparent who the pronoun\u00a0<em>they<\/em> is referring to? You may guess that <em>they<\/em> is referring to the French\u2014which is probably correct. However, this is not actually stated, which\u00a0means that there isn't actually an antecedent. Since every pronoun needs an antecedent, the example\u00a0needs to be revised to include one.\r\n\r\nHow would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"654516\"]<strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong>[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"654516\"]Let's assume\u00a0that is is the French who make great cuisine:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. The\u00a0French\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Katerina was really excited to try the\u00a0cuisine in France on her semester abroad in Europe. The French make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. The\u00a0people there\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>One of the things Katerina was really excited about on her semester abroad in Europe was trying French cuisine. It comprises\u00a0all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\nAs you write, keep these two things in mind:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Make sure your pronouns always have an antecedent.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Make sure that it is clear what their antecedents are.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\r\nRead the following passage, then re-write it using as many pronouns as possible, while still retaining clarity.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Marina\u00a0and Marina's\u00a0twin sister\u00a0Adriana often fought over small things. Marina frequently took\u00a0Adriana's clothes without asking and never returned them. Adriana always ate the last piece of dessert, even if Mariana had saved it for Mariana. However, Mariana always made sure Adriana knew about the sales at Adriana's favorite stores, and Adriana\u00a0baked Mariana's favorite cookies at least once a month.<\/p>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"371426\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"371426\"]Here is\u00a0one possible solution:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Marina\u00a0and <strong>her<\/strong>\u00a0twin sister\u00a0Adriana often fought over small things. Marina frequently took\u00a0Adriana's clothes without asking and never returned them. Adriana always ate the last piece of dessert, even if Mariana had saved it for <strong>herself<\/strong>. However, Mariana always made sure Adriana knew about the sales at Adriana's favorite stores, and Adriana\u00a0baked Mariana's favorite cookies at least once a month.<\/p>\r\nYou could possibly say \"Mariana made sure Adriana knew about the sales at her favorite stores,\" but there is still room for misinterpretation, so saying \"Adriana's favorite stores\" is more clear.\r\n\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Antecedent Agreement<\/h2>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-2318\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/06\/21161812\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-12.17.45-PM-300x199.png\" alt=\"Icon of a black hand and white hand shaking\" width=\"150\" \/>As you write, make sure that you are using the correct pronouns. When\u00a0a pronoun matches the person\u00a0and\u00a0number of its antecedent, we say that it\u00a0<strong>agrees<\/strong> with it antecedent. Let's look at a couple of examples:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>I hate it when Zacharias tells me what to do. <strong>He<\/strong>'s so full of <strong>himself<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Finnegans\u00a0are shouting\u00a0again. I swear you could hear <strong>them<\/strong> from across\u00a0town!<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIn the first sentence, <em>Zacharias<\/em>\u00a0is singular, third person, and masculine. The pronouns\u00a0<em>he<\/em> and\u00a0<em>himself<\/em> are also singular, third person, and masculine, so they agree. In the second sentence,\u00a0<em>the Finnegans<\/em>\u00a0is plural and third person. The pronoun\u00a0<em>them<\/em> is also plural and third person.\r\n\r\nWhen you select your pronoun, you also need to ensure you use the correct case of pronoun. Remember we learned about three cases: subject, object, and possessive. The case of your pronoun should match its role in the sentence. For example, if your pronoun is doing an action, it should be a subject:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>He<\/strong>\u00a0runs every morning.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>I<\/strong> hate it when <strong>she<\/strong> does this.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHowever, when something is being done to your pronoun, it should be an object:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Birds have always hated <strong>me<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>My boss wanted to talk to <strong>him<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Give\u00a0<strong>her<\/strong>\u00a0the phone and walk away.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\r\nReplace each\u00a0bolded word with the correct pronoun:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li><strong>Hannah<\/strong> had always loved working with plants.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>People often lost patience with <strong>Colin<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Justin was unsure how well <strong>Justin<\/strong> and Terry\u00a0would\u00a0together.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Alicia and Katie<\/strong> made a formidable\u00a0team.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"697932\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"697932\"]\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li><strong>She<\/strong>\u00a0had always loved working with plants.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>She <\/em>is a\u00a0subject case, singular, feminine, third-person pronoun.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>People often lost patience with <strong>him<\/strong>.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>Him<\/em>\u00a0is an object case, singular, masculine, third-person pronoun.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Justin was unsure how well <strong>he<\/strong>\u00a0and Terry\u00a0would\u00a0together.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><em>He<\/em>\u00a0is a subject\u00a0case, singular, masculine, third-person pronoun.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>They<\/strong>\u00a0made a formidable\u00a0team.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nHowever, things aren't always this straightforward. Let's take a look at some examples where things are a little more confusing.\r\n<h2>Person and Number<\/h2>\r\nSome of the trickiest\u00a0agreements are with\u00a0indefinite pronouns:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Every student should do his\u00a0or\u00a0her best on this assignment.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>If nobody lost his or her scarf, then where did this come from?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nAs we learned earlier in this outcome, words like <em>every<\/em> and\u00a0<em>nobody<\/em> are\u00a0singular, and demand singular pronouns.\u00a0Here are some of the words that fall into this category:\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>anybody<\/td>\r\n<td>anyone<\/td>\r\n<td>anything<\/td>\r\n<td>each<\/td>\r\n<td>either<\/td>\r\n<td>every<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>everybody<\/td>\r\n<td>everyone<\/td>\r\n<td>everything<\/td>\r\n<td>neither<\/td>\r\n<td>no one<\/td>\r\n<td>nobody<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>nothing<\/td>\r\n<td>one<\/td>\r\n<td>somebody<\/td>\r\n<td>someone<\/td>\r\n<td>something<\/td>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nSome of these may feel \"more singular\" than others, but they all are technically singular. Thus, using \"he or she\" is correct (while\u00a0<em>they<\/em> is incorrect).\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Anyone going on this hike\u00a0should plan on being in the canyon\u00a0for at least seven hours; he or she should prepare accordingly.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>I know somebody has been\u00a0throwing his or her trash away in my dumpster, and I want him or her to stop.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHowever, as you may have noticed, the phrase \"he or she\" (and its other forms) can often make your sentences clunky. When this happens, it may be best to\u00a0revise your sentences to have plural antecedents.\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\r\nHere's a paragraph that uses \"he or she\" liberally:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Every writer will experience writer's block at some point in his or her career. He or she will suddenly be unable to move on in his or her work.\u00a0A lot of people have written about writer's block, presenting different strategies to \"beat the block.\" However, different\u00a0methods work for different people. Each writer must find\u00a0the solutions that work best for him or her.<\/p>\r\nHow would you best revise this paragraph? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"725756\"]Show Possible Revisions[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"725756\"]There are a couple of different ways you could revise this paragraph:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Writers will all experience writer's block at some point in their\u00a0careers. They\u00a0will suddenly be unable to move on in their\u00a0work. A lot of people have written about writer's block, presenting different strategies to \"beat the block.\" However, different methods work for different people. Writers must find the solutions that work best for them.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>As a writer, you\u00a0will experience writer's block at some point in your\u00a0career. You\u00a0will suddenly be unable to move on in your\u00a0work. A lot of people have written about writer's block, presenting\u00a0different strategies to \"beat the block.\" However, different methods work for different people. You\u00a0must find the solutions that work best for you.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nWere those revisions what you expected them to be?\r\n\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Case<\/h2>\r\n<h3><em>You and I<\/em> versus\u00a0<em>You and Me<\/em><\/h3>\r\nSome\u00a0of the most common pronoun mistakes\u00a0occur with the decision between \"you and I\" and\u00a0\"you and me.\" \u00a0People will often say things like \"You and me should go out for drinks.\"\u00a0Or\u2014thinking back on the rule that it should be \"you and I\"\u2014they will say \"Susan assigned the task to both you and I.\" However, both of these sentences are wrong.\u00a0Remember that every time you use a pronoun you need to make sure that you're using the correct case.\r\n\r\nLet's take a look at the first sentence: \"You and me should go out for drinks.\" Both pronouns are the subject of the sentence, so they should be in subject case: \"You and I should go out for drinks.\"\r\n\r\nIn the second sentence (Susan\u00a0assigned the task to both you and I), both pronouns are the object of the sentence, so they should be in object case: \"Susan\u00a0assigned the task to both you and me.\"\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> This is the same principle that is\u00a0behind the\u00a0<em>who<\/em> versus\u00a0<em>whom<\/em> debate.\u00a0<em>Who<\/em> is the subject case\u00a0of the word, and\u00a0<em>whom<\/em> is the object case.<\/div>","rendered":"<h2>Antecedent Clarity<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2297\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/06\/21153634\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-11.36.04-AM-300x273.png\" alt=\"Icon of two squares, one solid and one dotted line, connected by two curved arrows\" width=\"150\" \/>We&#8217;ve already defined an <strong>antecedent<\/strong> as the noun (or phrase) that a pronoun is replacing. The phrase &#8220;antecedent clarity&#8221; simply means that is should be clear who or what the pronoun is referring to. In other words, readers should be able to understand the sentence the first time they read it\u2014not the third, forth, or tenth.\u00a0In this page, we&#8217;ll look at\u00a0some examples of common mistakes that can cause confusion, as well as ways to fix each\u00a0sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at our first sentence:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Rafael told Matt to stop eating his cereal.<\/p>\n<p>When you first read this sentence, is it clear if the cereal Rafael&#8217;s\u00a0or Matt&#8217;s? Is it clear when you read the sentence again? Not really, no. Since both Rafael and Matt are singular, third person, and masculine, it&#8217;s\u00a0impossible to tell whose cereal is being eaten (at least from this sentence).<\/p>\n<p>How would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q654515\"><strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q654515\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Let&#8217;s assume the cereal is Rafael&#8217;s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Rafael&#8217;s cereal.<\/li>\n<li>Matt\u00a0was eating Rafael&#8217;s\u00a0cereal. Rafael told him to stop it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What if the cereal is Matt&#8217;s?:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rafael told Matt to stop eating Matt&#8217;s cereal.<\/li>\n<li>Matt was eating his own cereal when Rafael told him to stop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These aren&#8217;t the only ways to revise the sentence. However, each of these new sentences has made it clear whose cereal it is.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Were those revisions what you expected them to be?<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at another example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. They make all sorts of delicious things.<\/p>\n<p>When you read this example, is it apparent who the pronoun\u00a0<em>they<\/em> is referring to? You may guess that <em>they<\/em> is referring to the French\u2014which is probably correct. However, this is not actually stated, which\u00a0means that there isn&#8217;t actually an antecedent. Since every pronoun needs an antecedent, the example\u00a0needs to be revised to include one.<\/p>\n<p>How would you best revise this sentence? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q654516\"><strong>Show Possible Revisions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q654516\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Let&#8217;s assume\u00a0that is is the French who make great cuisine:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her\u00a0semester\u00a0abroad\u00a0in Europe. The\u00a0French\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<li>Katerina was really excited to try the\u00a0cuisine in France on her semester abroad in Europe. The French make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<li>Katerina was really excited to try French cuisine on her semester abroad in Europe. The\u00a0people there\u00a0make all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<li>One of the things Katerina was really excited about on her semester abroad in Europe was trying French cuisine. It comprises\u00a0all sorts of delicious things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As you write, keep these two things in mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure your pronouns always have an antecedent.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure that it is clear what their antecedents are.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Read the following passage, then re-write it using as many pronouns as possible, while still retaining clarity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Marina\u00a0and Marina&#8217;s\u00a0twin sister\u00a0Adriana often fought over small things. Marina frequently took\u00a0Adriana&#8217;s clothes without asking and never returned them. Adriana always ate the last piece of dessert, even if Mariana had saved it for Mariana. However, Mariana always made sure Adriana knew about the sales at Adriana&#8217;s favorite stores, and Adriana\u00a0baked Mariana&#8217;s favorite cookies at least once a month.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q371426\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q371426\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Here is\u00a0one possible solution:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Marina\u00a0and <strong>her<\/strong>\u00a0twin sister\u00a0Adriana often fought over small things. Marina frequently took\u00a0Adriana&#8217;s clothes without asking and never returned them. Adriana always ate the last piece of dessert, even if Mariana had saved it for <strong>herself<\/strong>. However, Mariana always made sure Adriana knew about the sales at Adriana&#8217;s favorite stores, and Adriana\u00a0baked Mariana&#8217;s favorite cookies at least once a month.<\/p>\n<p>You could possibly say &#8220;Mariana made sure Adriana knew about the sales at her favorite stores,&#8221; but there is still room for misinterpretation, so saying &#8220;Adriana&#8217;s favorite stores&#8221; is more clear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Antecedent Agreement<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2318\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/06\/21161812\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-12.17.45-PM-300x199.png\" alt=\"Icon of a black hand and white hand shaking\" width=\"150\" \/>As you write, make sure that you are using the correct pronouns. When\u00a0a pronoun matches the person\u00a0and\u00a0number of its antecedent, we say that it\u00a0<strong>agrees<\/strong> with it antecedent. Let&#8217;s look at a couple of examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I hate it when Zacharias tells me what to do. <strong>He<\/strong>&#8216;s so full of <strong>himself<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Finnegans\u00a0are shouting\u00a0again. I swear you could hear <strong>them<\/strong> from across\u00a0town!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the first sentence, <em>Zacharias<\/em>\u00a0is singular, third person, and masculine. The pronouns\u00a0<em>he<\/em> and\u00a0<em>himself<\/em> are also singular, third person, and masculine, so they agree. In the second sentence,\u00a0<em>the Finnegans<\/em>\u00a0is plural and third person. The pronoun\u00a0<em>them<\/em> is also plural and third person.<\/p>\n<p>When you select your pronoun, you also need to ensure you use the correct case of pronoun. Remember we learned about three cases: subject, object, and possessive. The case of your pronoun should match its role in the sentence. For example, if your pronoun is doing an action, it should be a subject:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>He<\/strong>\u00a0runs every morning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>I<\/strong> hate it when <strong>she<\/strong> does this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, when something is being done to your pronoun, it should be an object:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Birds have always hated <strong>me<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>My boss wanted to talk to <strong>him<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Give\u00a0<strong>her<\/strong>\u00a0the phone and walk away.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Replace each\u00a0bolded word with the correct pronoun:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Hannah<\/strong> had always loved working with plants.<\/li>\n<li>People often lost patience with <strong>Colin<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Justin was unsure how well <strong>Justin<\/strong> and Terry\u00a0would\u00a0together.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alicia and Katie<\/strong> made a formidable\u00a0team.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q697932\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q697932\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">\n<ol>\n<li><strong>She<\/strong>\u00a0had always loved working with plants.\n<ul>\n<li><em>She <\/em>is a\u00a0subject case, singular, feminine, third-person pronoun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>People often lost patience with <strong>him<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li><em>Him<\/em>\u00a0is an object case, singular, masculine, third-person pronoun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Justin was unsure how well <strong>he<\/strong>\u00a0and Terry\u00a0would\u00a0together.\n<ul>\n<li><em>He<\/em>\u00a0is a subject\u00a0case, singular, masculine, third-person pronoun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>They<\/strong>\u00a0made a formidable\u00a0team.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, things aren&#8217;t always this straightforward. Let&#8217;s take a look at some examples where things are a little more confusing.<\/p>\n<h2>Person and Number<\/h2>\n<p>Some of the trickiest\u00a0agreements are with\u00a0indefinite pronouns:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Every student should do his\u00a0or\u00a0her best on this assignment.<\/li>\n<li>If nobody lost his or her scarf, then where did this come from?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As we learned earlier in this outcome, words like <em>every<\/em> and\u00a0<em>nobody<\/em> are\u00a0singular, and demand singular pronouns.\u00a0Here are some of the words that fall into this category:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>anybody<\/td>\n<td>anyone<\/td>\n<td>anything<\/td>\n<td>each<\/td>\n<td>either<\/td>\n<td>every<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>everybody<\/td>\n<td>everyone<\/td>\n<td>everything<\/td>\n<td>neither<\/td>\n<td>no one<\/td>\n<td>nobody<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>nothing<\/td>\n<td>one<\/td>\n<td>somebody<\/td>\n<td>someone<\/td>\n<td>something<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Some of these may feel &#8220;more singular&#8221; than others, but they all are technically singular. Thus, using &#8220;he or she&#8221; is correct (while\u00a0<em>they<\/em> is incorrect).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anyone going on this hike\u00a0should plan on being in the canyon\u00a0for at least seven hours; he or she should prepare accordingly.<\/li>\n<li>I know somebody has been\u00a0throwing his or her trash away in my dumpster, and I want him or her to stop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, as you may have noticed, the phrase &#8220;he or she&#8221; (and its other forms) can often make your sentences clunky. When this happens, it may be best to\u00a0revise your sentences to have plural antecedents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a paragraph that uses &#8220;he or she&#8221; liberally:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Every writer will experience writer&#8217;s block at some point in his or her career. He or she will suddenly be unable to move on in his or her work.\u00a0A lot of people have written about writer&#8217;s block, presenting different strategies to &#8220;beat the block.&#8221; However, different\u00a0methods work for different people. Each writer must find\u00a0the solutions that work best for him or her.<\/p>\n<p>How would you best revise this paragraph? Type your ideas in the text frame below, and then look at the suggested revisions.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q725756\">Show Possible Revisions<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q725756\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">There are a couple of different ways you could revise this paragraph:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Writers will all experience writer&#8217;s block at some point in their\u00a0careers. They\u00a0will suddenly be unable to move on in their\u00a0work. A lot of people have written about writer&#8217;s block, presenting different strategies to &#8220;beat the block.&#8221; However, different methods work for different people. Writers must find the solutions that work best for them.<\/li>\n<li>As a writer, you\u00a0will experience writer&#8217;s block at some point in your\u00a0career. You\u00a0will suddenly be unable to move on in your\u00a0work. A lot of people have written about writer&#8217;s block, presenting\u00a0different strategies to &#8220;beat the block.&#8221; However, different methods work for different people. You\u00a0must find the solutions that work best for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Were those revisions what you expected them to be?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Case<\/h2>\n<h3><em>You and I<\/em> versus\u00a0<em>You and Me<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>Some\u00a0of the most common pronoun mistakes\u00a0occur with the decision between &#8220;you and I&#8221; and\u00a0&#8220;you and me.&#8221; \u00a0People will often say things like &#8220;You and me should go out for drinks.&#8221;\u00a0Or\u2014thinking back on the rule that it should be &#8220;you and I&#8221;\u2014they will say &#8220;Susan assigned the task to both you and I.&#8221; However, both of these sentences are wrong.\u00a0Remember that every time you use a pronoun you need to make sure that you&#8217;re using the correct case.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at the first sentence: &#8220;You and me should go out for drinks.&#8221; Both pronouns are the subject of the sentence, so they should be in subject case: &#8220;You and I should go out for drinks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the second sentence (Susan\u00a0assigned the task to both you and I), both pronouns are the object of the sentence, so they should be in object case: &#8220;Susan\u00a0assigned the task to both you and me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> This is the same principle that is\u00a0behind the\u00a0<em>who<\/em> versus\u00a0<em>whom<\/em> debate.\u00a0<em>Who<\/em> is the subject case\u00a0of the word, and\u00a0<em>whom<\/em> is the object case.<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-263\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Text: Pronoun Antecedents. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Image of two squares. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Didzis Gruznovs. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Noun Project. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=replace&#038;i=201238\">https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=replace&#038;i=201238<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Image of handshake. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Lauren Manninen. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Noun Project. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=agree&#038;i=11865\">https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=agree&#038;i=11865<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":7,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Text: Pronoun Antecedents\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Image of two squares\",\"author\":\"Didzis Gruznovs\",\"organization\":\"The Noun Project\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=replace&i=201238\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Image of handshake\",\"author\":\"Lauren 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