Agreement

Indefinite Pronouns

Pronoun - Verb Agreement

A Named Subject vs. an Indefinite Pronoun

Indefinite pronouns are words which replace nouns without specifying which noun they replace.

SUBJECT IS NAMED	SUBJECT IS AN INDEFINITE PRONOUN
Tom caught twelve fish.	Someone caught twelve fish.
We all caught fish.	All caught fish.
Norman, Tom and I didn't give up.	Nobody gave up.
A fish got away.	One got away.

Singular Indefinite Pronouns

I don't think is ready to go.

is ready to go.

AFTER A NEGATIVE VERB	A POSITIVE OR A NEGATIVE VERB	AFTER A POSITIVE VERB
anybody	everybody	somebody	nobody
anyone	everyone	someone	no one
anything	everything	something	nothing
	either		neither
	one / another / each	little
any (noncount noun)	all (noncount noun)	some (noncount noun)	none (noncount noun)
*much (used mainly in questions and negative sentences)	more / most (noncount nouns)

Plural Indefinite Pronouns

I don't think are ready to go.

are ready to go.

AFTER A NEGATIVE VERB	A POSITIVE OR A NEGATIVE VERB	AFTER A POSITIVE VERB
	both / several / others	few
any (count noun)	all (count noun)	some (count noun)
	many / more / most (count nouns)	none (count noun) (plural is informal)

chips

Indefinite Pronoun refers to self or other(s)

INDEFINITE PRONOUN REFERS TO SELF	INDEFINITE PRONOUN REFERS TO OTHER THAN SELF
Everyone took his potato chips. (Each person had his own personal bag.)	Everyone took my potato chips. (They took my chips.)
	Everyone took their potato chips.(They took chips from another group.)
	Everyone took our potato chips. (They took chips belonging to us.)
	Everyone took his potato chips. (They took chips belonging to some other guy.)
	Everyone took her potato chips. (They took chips belonging to some other woman.)

Indefinite Pronoun vs. Expression of Quantity Agreement

INDEF PRN	POSSESSIVE PRONOUN	EXPRESSION OF QUANTITY	POSSESSIVE PRONOUN
A singular pronoun is used when the indefinite pronoun refers to itself and is a single person or item.		A plural pronoun is used when the indefinite pronoun refers to itself and more than one person or item. The pronoun agrees with closest noun in the quantity phrase.
Everyone	has his pole.	All of the fishermen	fry their (own) fish for dinner.
Each	has his hat on.	Some of us	invite our wives on trips. (refers to the individuals)
One	caught her first fish.	Some of the group	likes its organization. (refers to the group)
Each	brought his own lunch.	Some of the group	like their privacy. (refers to the individuals)
Another	caught his limit	Half of you	catch your "limit".
Everybody	has her hopes high. (if all are females)	Ten percent of the the fish	have old hook marks on their mouths.
Nobody	has his pole ready.	None of the fish	had eggs in their bodies.
None	has eggs in its body. (a fish)	A number of the fishermen	were proud of their catches.

Also see: Quantity Phrs

"Everyone's" Problem - Gender Neutral Phrasing

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

PROBLEM	SOLUTIONS
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. Specify gender for all females. Everyone had their hats. Use plural form to be gender neutral (neither masculine nor fe mine) 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.

Also see Gender Agreement

Practice

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

#	YOUR RESPONSE	FEEDBACK
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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