Personal pronouns and indefinite pronouns
Pronouns
Here, Sue, a noun, is the antecedent for the singular pronoun she. The substitution is simple and obvious.
Pronoun confusion occurs when it is not clear which noun a pronoun refers to.
For example:
Pete and Tom went to the grocery store, and when they came out, he couldn’t find the car.
Here, he is an unclear pronoun because it is not possible to tell which man lost the car.
To fix the sentence, we must write:
Pete and Tom went to the grocery store, and when they came out, Pete couldn’t find the car.
In other words, if a pronoun could refer to more than one noun in the sentence, you must use a noun instead.
Practice question
Sylvie asked Rachel whether _____ was the teacher’s favorite student.
Choose the correct answer:
a. Her
b. Rachel
c. She
d. They
e. Sylvia and Rachel
Correct answer:
The correct answer is b. Rachel.
Rachel is correct because it clarifies which girl might be the teacher’s favorite.
a. Her is incorrect because it is a possessive pronoun, and nothing is owned by the pronoun in this sentence.
c. She is incorrect because it causes pronoun confusion. Since both Sylvie and Rachel are girls, the sentence must clarify which one might be the favorite.
d. They is incorrect because “they was” is ungrammatical.
e. Sylvia and Rachel is incorrect because it is a compound noun, which means it is plural. Plural nouns and pronouns must be matched with plural verbs.
Personal pronouns
The personal pronoun charts throughout this section detail the changes that pronouns undergo because of their position in a given sentence. Memorize them.
Personal pronouns
| Voice | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First person | I | we |
| Second person | you | you |
| Third person | he, she, it, one | they |
Although third-person pronouns may be in flux in real life, they have not changed on standardized tests. This means that the antecedent for he will always be a man’s name, and the antecedent for she will be a woman’s name. They is only used as a plural pronoun and never as a replacement for he or she.
I must always be capitalized.
Pronouns must match their antecedents and remain consistent throughout the sentences they appear in.
INCORRECT: One must take care to safeguard your belongings when travelling.
CORRECT: You must take care to safeguard your belongings when travelling.
CORRECT: One must take care to safeguard one’s belongings when travelling.
Practice question
Select the sentence that does NOT contain a pronoun error:
a. Darla reminded Marcy that she wanted to plan a surprise party for their parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
b. Marcy sent invitations to each person that they were friends with.
c. Darla asked everyone to hide their cars on a different street so as not to alert her parents.
d. I accepted the invitation gladly because i had wanted to see the interior of their house for years.
e. Darla and Marcy’s parents were thrilled to see all their friends and eat the great food that their daughters had prepared in all-night cooking marathons while they slept.
Correct answer:
The correct answer is e. Darla and Marcy’s parents were thrilled to see all their friends and eat the great food that their daughters had prepared in all-night cooking marathons while they slept.
Darla and Marcy’s parents were thrilled to see all their friends and eat the great food that their daughters had prepared in all-night cooking marathons while they slept is correct. All of the third-person plural pronouns (they, their) are correct because their antecedent is parents.
a. Darla reminded Marcy that she wanted to plan a surprise party for their parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary is incorrect because it is unclear whether she refers to Darla or Marcy.
b. Marcy sent invitations to each person that they were friends with is incorrect because the third-person plural pronoun has no clear referent.
c. Darla asked everyone to hide their cars on a different street so as not to alert her parents is incorrect. Since everyone is singular, the sentence should be rewritten.
d. I accepted the invitation gladly because i had wanted to see the interior of their house for years is incorrect because the second I is not capitalized.
Pronoun number
A pronoun must match its antecedent in number. There are only two choices:
- Singular
- Plural
Singular nouns must have singular pronouns, and plural nouns must have plural pronouns.
For example:
Lucy lost her locket when she dropped it in the lake.
Lucy is singular because the name refers to one person, so the singular pronouns her and she are correct.
Practice question
To make the salad, combine kale, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and dried cranberries, but make sure you wash it first.
What is the antecedent for it in the sentence?
a. Salad
b. Kale
c. Cucumbers
d. Carrots
e. Tomatoes
Correct answer:
The correct answer is b. Kale.
Kale is correct because it is the only singular ingredient in the list.
a. Salad is incorrect because kale is closer to the pronoun in the sentence.
c. Cucumbers is incorrect because it is a singular pronoun and requires a singular antecedent.
d. Carrots is incorrect because it is a singular pronoun and requires a singular antecedent.
e. Tomatoes is incorrect because it is a singular pronoun and requires a singular antecedent.
Indefinite pronouns
Unlike personal pronouns, which have a specific, named referent, indefinite pronouns are generalized. Some are singular and refer to singular antecedents, some are plural and used for plural antecedents, and still others can be either singular or plural, depending on the context in which they are used.
Singular indefinite pronouns
| another | anybody | anyone | anything |
| each | either | enough | everybody |
| everyone | everything | less | little |
| much | neither | nobody | no one |
| nothing | one | other | you |
Here’s a shortcut:
Any word ending in -one, -thing, or -body is always singular.
Singular indefinite pronouns that don’t end in -one, -thing, or -body
| another | each | either | enough |
| less | much | neither | one |
| other | you |
Note that you and your can be singular or plural depending on the context.
Harold, have you seen my keys?
Parents, please sign your childrens’ permission slips by Friday.
Obviously, Harold is one person, so you is singular. Parents is plural, so your is plural.
Practice question
_____ of the girls in Mrs. Henderson’s fifth grade class hoped that she would be chosen to play Elphaba in the school’s production of Wicked.
Choose the correct answer:
a. All
b. Either
c. Enough
d. Each
e. Every
Correct answer:
The correct answer is d. Each.
Each is correct because it refers to each individual girl. The context clue is she, which is singular.
a. All is incorrect because it is plural, whereas she is singular.
b. Either is incorrect because it implies only two choices.
c. Enough is incorrect because it does not make sense in context.
e. Every is incorrect. To be correct, it would need to be every one.
Practice question
Many naturally smart people reach a point in school where they suddenly find that _____ can’t glide by on _____ natural talents anymore and actually have to work to achieve what they previously took for granted.
Choose the correct answer:
a. They…their
b. You…your
c. He or she
d. You…their
e. One…their
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a. They…their.
They…their is correct because these pronouns refer correctly back to people. They also match the sentence’s use of they in two other places.
b. You…your is incorrect because they are second-person pronouns whereas people is third person.
c. He or she is incorrect because the pronouns are singular whereas people is plural.
d. You…their is incorrect because you is second person and cannot refer to people.
e. One…their is incorrect because one is singular whereas people is plural.
Plural indefinite pronouns
| both | few/fewer | many |
| others | several |
Pronouns that can be singular or plural
| all | many | more | most |
| none | some | such |
Practice question
Amy decided that there were so _____ indefinite pronouns that no one person could possibly learn them all.
Choose the correct answer:
a. Much
b. Many
c. Few
d. Less
e. More
Correct answer:
The correct answer is b. Many.
Many is correct because indefinite pronouns are countable.
a. Much is incorrect because it is used for uncountable amounts.
c. Few is incorrect because it contradicts the meaning of the sentence.
d. Less is incorrect because it is used for uncountable amounts and also contradicts the sentence.
e. More is incorrect because of the way the sentence is worded. To use it correctly, the sentence would need to compare two quantities.