Personal pronouns and indefinite pronouns
What the test asks about pronouns
The test doesn’t ask you to name kinds of pronouns. It asks whether each pronoun points clearly to one noun (a vague pronoun is an error) and whether it matches that noun in number and person. Pronoun case (I or me) and -self pronouns are on the Pronoun case page.
Vague pronouns
For example, in the sentence Sue went to the park, where she played basketball and ate ice cream, Sue 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, replace it with the noun you mean or rewrite the sentence so that only one reading is possible.
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. Sylvie 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 the blank is the subject of was, so it needs a subject pronoun. Her was is a pronoun case error: her is an object or possessive form.
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. Sylvie and Rachel is incorrect because two names joined by and form a compound subject, which is plural. A plural subject needs the plural verb were, not was.
Personal pronouns
The table below shows personal pronouns by person and number. Changes in form based on a pronoun’s role in the sentence (I/me, he/him) are covered in the Pronoun case chapter.
Personal pronouns
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First person | I | we |
| Second person | you | you |
| Third person | he, she, it | they |
He refers to a male antecedent (Bob, the king, my father), she to a female one, and they to a plural one. Current style guides, including The Chicago Manual of Style (18th ed.), APA, and MLA, also accept singular they for a person whose gender is unknown or unspecified (Everyone brought their own lunch). ETS has published no guidance on it, so on the test treat the singular choice as the safer answer. When one choice pairs a clearly singular antecedent (everyone, each, a student) with their and another choice uses a matching singular pronoun or rewords the sentence, pick the singular choice, because standardized tests are written so that no answer depends on a contested usage. The easiest way to avoid the question is a plural antecedent (All the students brought their own lunches).
I must always be capitalized.
Pronouns must match their antecedents and remain consistent throughout the sentences they appear in. One (as in One must be careful) is an indefinite pronoun, covered below, but it follows the same rule: a sentence that starts with one keeps one.
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 her friends because he wanted a big party.
c. Darla asked the guests to hide his or her 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 the parents 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 the parents 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 the parents slept is correct. The first their refers to parents and the second to daughters; each has one clear antecedent, and the last clause names the parents instead of using a pronoun that could mean either group.
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 her friends because he wanted a big party is incorrect because he has no antecedent: nothing in the sentence is a male name. Marcy is the one who wanted the party, so the pronoun should be she.
c. Darla asked the guests to hide his or her cars on a different street so as not to alert her parents is incorrect because guests is plural, so the pronoun must be plural too: their cars.
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.
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…his or her
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…his or her 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.
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
After the volunteers finished sorting the donations, he or she loaded the boxes onto the truck.
Which underlined part contains the error?
a. volunteers
b. he or she
c. loaded
d. the
e. No error
Correct answer:
The correct answer is b.
b. is correct. The pronoun refers to volunteers, which is plural, so it must be plural too: they loaded the boxes.
a. is incorrect because volunteers is the noun the pronoun should match.
c. is incorrect because loaded is in the past tense, like finished.
d. is incorrect because the is correct before truck.
e. is incorrect because he or she is singular and can’t refer to volunteers.
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
Any indefinite pronoun built with -one, -thing, or -body (anyone, everything, nobody, someone, etc.) is always singular. Note that none is an exception: it can be singular or plural.
The remaining singular indefinite pronouns don’t end in -one, -thing, or -body, so they’re worth memorizing on their own:
| another | each | either | less |
| little | much | neither | one |
| other |
A singular indefinite pronoun takes a singular verb, and the safe pronoun to pair with it on the test is a singular one, even when a plural noun follows in an “of” phrase. (Style guides now accept singular their in everyday writing, but see the advice above about contested usage.)
AVOID ON THE TEST: Each of the boys forgot their lunch.
SAFER: Each of the boys forgot his lunch.AVOID ON THE TEST: Everyone should bring their ID.
SAFER: Everyone should bring his or her ID.
You is not an indefinite pronoun: it is the second-person personal pronoun, and like your, it can be singular or plural depending on the context.
Harold, have you seen my keys?
Parents, please sign your children’s permission slips by Friday.
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.
Plural indefinite pronouns
| both | few/fewer | many |
| others | several |
Pronouns that can be singular or plural
| all | any | enough | more |
| most | none | some | such |