Pronoun Agreement with Quantifier Phrases

Sentence Agreement
Pronoun Agreement with Quantifier Phrases	Framed \| Unframed

Read & Contrast

Singular & Plural Indefinite Pronouns

When an indefinite pronoun refers to itself and is a single person or item, a singular pronoun is used.
When an indefinite pronoun refers to itself and to more than one person or item, a plural pronoun is used.

SINGULAR QUANTIFIER	PLURAL QUANTIFIERS
Every fisherman has his pole.	All of the fishermen fry their (own) fish for dinner.
Each fisherman has his hat on.	Some of us invite our wives on trips.
One of the fishermen caught her first fish.	Half of you catch your "limit".
Each of the fishermen brought his own lunch.	Ten percent the fish have old hook marks on their mouths.
Everyone of you has your pole ready. note	None of the fish had eggs in their bodies.
None of the fish had eggs in its body. *may use singular or plural verb	A number of the fishermen were proud of their catches.

An indefinite pronoun may refer to nouns other than itself.

Everyone took my bag of chips.

Each of the fishermen took our cookies.

"Everyone's" Problem - Gender Neutral Phrasing

Objections to 'gender preference' in our English language has affected pronoun choice. Many speakers feel awkard choosing a masculine pronoun to refer to both genders..

PROBLEM	OPTIONS
Everyone had their hat. The pronoun and noun do not agree in number.	Everyone had his hat. Use "his" for both genders - formal but awkward. Everyone had her hat. Specifiy gender for all females. Everyone had their hats. Use plural form to be gender neutral (neither masculine nor femine) and the plural noun form - informal to formal use.
Everyone must file his income tax by April 15. Only men have to file their taxes?	Everyone must file his or her income tax by April 15. Conventions are formed with time and this one is not decided yet.

Practice

Choose the pronouns that best complete(s) the sentence. An asterisk * indicates an incorrect choice.

1. Have you taken ____ bath today?
a. you	Answer 1a:
b. our	Answer 1b:
c. your	Answer 1c:
d. yours	Answer 1d:
2. All of us had to take ___ baths at night.
his	Answer 2a:
my	Answer 2b:
our	Answer 2c:
ours	Answer 2d:
3. Most of us wanted to take ___ later in the evening.
his	Answer 3a:
mine	Answer 3b:
our	Answer 3c:
ours	Answer 3d:
4. None of the children forgot ___ towel.
his	Answer 4a:
her	Answer 4b
our	Answer 4c:
their	Answer 4d:
5. Anyone could take ___ time and lock the bathroom door.
his	Answer 5a:
her	Answer 5b:
our	Answer 5c:
their	Answer 5d:
6. Some of us forgot to brush ___ teeth.
his	Answer 6a:
her	Answer 6b:
our	Answer 6c:
their	Answer 6d:

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Julie Sevastopoulos - College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA

Sentence Agreement

Read & Contrast

"Everyone's" Problem - Gender Neutral Phrasing

Practice

Choose the pronouns that best complete(s) the sentence. An asterisk * indicates an incorrect choice.