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Course: Digital SAT Reading and Writing > Unit 5
Lesson 2: FSS: Pronoun-antecedent agreementGrammar guide: Pronoun-antecedent agreement
A guide to the Standard English convention of pronoun-antecedent agreement
What is pronoun-antecedent agreement?
Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a convention of Standard English that requires a and to agree in person and number.
Incorrect:
- Cranberries are both sour and bitter, so people rarely eat it unsweetened.
Correct:
- Cranberries are both sour and bitter, so people rarely eat them unsweetened.
In both of these sentences, the bolded pronouns stand in for the noun "cranberries".
Since "cranberries" is a plural noun, it needs to be paired with the plural pronoun "they".
This same logic must be applied to all pronouns and their antecedents.
Pronoun-antecedent agreement may be tested in one of the Form, structure, and sense questions that you encounter on test day.
How to identify pronoun-antecedent agreement questions
When approaching form, structure, and sense questions, it's important to identify which Standard English conventions are being tested.
You'll know to look for pronoun-antecedent agreement errors if
- one choice uses a singular pronoun (like "it") while another choice uses a plural pronoun (like "they")
- a pronoun outside the blank refers to a noun contained within the choices
If you don't notice either of these features, then the question doesn't deal with pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Let's look at a pronoun-antecedent agreement question now:
What can make pronoun-antecedent agreement errors difficult to spot?
In simple sentences, the connection between a pronoun and its antecedent is often very clear. However, as sentences become more complex, errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement can be much more difficult to identify.
Be extra cautious when you notice any of the following:
- Distance between pronoun and antecedent
The further apart a pronoun and its antecedent are in a sentence, the harder agreement errors are to spot. Extra phrases and clauses interfere with our ability to work off instinct.
Errors in these cases are less likely to just "sound wrong". So, if you notice a pronoun way out on its own, track down its antecedent and check for agreement.
- Multiple nouns before the pronoun
When multiple nouns appear before a pronoun in a sentence, identifying the correct antecedent can be tricky. Errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement will be difficult to identify in these cases, especially if some of the nouns are plural and others are singular.
When you notice multiple nouns before the pronoun, take the time to identify the most logical antecedent.
- Pronoun before the antecedent
"Antecedent" literally means what comes before, but sometimes this relationship gets flipped. And when a pronoun becomes before its antecedent, we're less likely to notice an agreement error.
If you see a pronoun towards the beginning of the text, track down the noun it refers to and double check for agreement.
Top tips
Find the antecedent
To recognize pronoun agreement errors, we must be able to identify the antecedent of the pronoun in question—the noun that the pronoun logically refers to.
Read carefully! Antecedents can be hard to find when multiple singular and plural nouns are present.
Plug in the antecedent
If you're not sure you've identified the correct noun as the antecedent, try plugging it in where the pronoun goes. If the sentence still makes sense, you've found the antecedent!
For example:
The survival of the orangutan is threatened by the destruction of its habitat.
The only noun that can logically replace "it" in this sentence is "orangutan", so that's the antecedent:
The survival of the orangutan is threatened by the destruction of the orangutan's habitat.
A note about gendered pronouns
The SAT won't ask you to choose between a gendered pronoun ("he" or "she") and the non-gendered singular pronoun "they" when referring to a single person.
When checking for pronoun-antecedent agreement, you'll only need to determine A) if the noun is singular or plural, and B) if the noun is a person or a thing.
Your turn
Want to join the conversation?
I like how you can determine the correct answer by determining the only plural/singular one(26 votes)
It won't always be like that. I've seen questions where 'its and it's' are in the options and only one of the two is correct (though they are both singulars). same thing with they're and their(4 votes)
"a pronoun outside the blank refers to a noun contained within the choices" what does this mean?(4 votes)
This is talking about a possible question type that you could see on the SAT. The answers will all be different nouns (like singular vs plural), and you would know to pick one over the other because you know that the antecedent of that noun is a specific pronoun that only corresponds to one answer choice.
It's like the reverse setup of the answer choices asking which pronoun serves as the best antecedent for a noun that's later in the sentence.(15 votes)
is identifying the convention so important? can't we just read the passage and choices then choose what seems most logical instead of wasting time and effort on comparing the answers and predicting what's missing?(5 votes)
you better do that, if you can of course(0 votes)
- Big Tip for all of you test takers out there: You need to only read the sentence that the question is asking you to solve. Jump right to the sentence the answer choices test and not before or after that. Read from the first period to the last period.(4 votes)
why do we have to answer these questions?(2 votes)- These questions are part of the Standardized test. They are needed to ensure that the general public who takes the SAT knows the correct antecedent to use in their writing.(3 votes)
- I don't understand how 1 is wrong(2 votes)
- It's not just one organism so you have to use the plural answer(1 vote)
- "a pronoun outside the blank refers to a noun contained within the choices" what does this mean(1 vote)
- why did they use 'their' option C in the last MCQ , I always thought you have to use it for animals I am confused when to use they/them for animals and when 'it' please help .(0 votes)
So for starts, this question is really easy because we have a plural antecedent (giraffes) so our pronoun has to be plural. The only one that's plural is "their."
But to answer your question, the plural of "its" is "their." It's the same as the plural of "his/her."
Hope this helps!!(3 votes)
I hate the way notifications are displayed, especially to your comments and replays, have no overview of who wrote you, so you could barely find who wrote you after scrolling through the comments page, that's sick<<(1 vote)- I am still having trouble in subject verb agreement but i am acing this one(1 vote)
I'm still working on mastering subject-verb agreement, but I'm confident in my understanding of pronoun-antecedent agreement. I've been diligent in practicing and applying the rules, and it's starting to become second nature to me. If you have any specific questions or examples you'd like me to tackle, I'd be happy to demonstrate my understanding!(1 vote)