Pronouns and their Antecedents A pronoun usually refers to a noun or another pronoun called its antecedent.
1. A pronoun should agree in number and gender with its antecedent.
| Feminine | She | Her | Hers | Herself |
| Masculine | He | Him | His | Himself |
| Neuter | It | It | Its | itself |
Examples: Carlotta said that she found her book.Aaron brought his skates with him.The plant with mold on it is losing its leaves. The antecedent of a pronoun can be another kind of ronoun. In such cases, you may need to look in a phrase that follows the antecedent to determine which personal pronoun to use. Examples:Each of the girls has offered her ideas.One of the men lost his key. Some antecendents may be either masculine or feminine. In such cases, use both the masculine and the feminine forms. Examples:Every one of the parents praised his or her child’s efforts that day.No one in the senior play forgot his or her lines on opening night. 2. Use a singular pronoun to refer to anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, or something. Examples:Each of the snakes escaped from its cage.Someone in the class left behind his or her pencil. 3. Use a plural pronoun to refer to both, few, many or several. Examples:Both of the sailors asked their captain for shore leave.Many among the others waiting below deck hoped that they could go. 4. The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none and some, may be singular or plural, depending on how they are used in a sentence. Examples:All of the book is interesting, isn’t it?All of the books are interesting, aren’t they? None of the casserole is left; it was terrific!None of the casseroles are left; they were terrific! Homework: Pages 155 and 156 in Grammar Workbook.