create a video to explain pronoun antecedent agreement
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Welcome to our lesson on pronoun-antecedent agreement! This is a fundamental grammar rule that helps make your writing clear and correct. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways: number, gender, and person. Let's look at a simple example: Sarah lost her keys. Here, Sarah is the antecedent, and her is the pronoun that refers back to Sarah.
Now let's focus on agreement in number. This means singular antecedents must take singular pronouns, and plural antecedents must take plural pronouns. For example, we say the dog wagged its tail, not their tail, because dog is singular. Similarly, we say the students finished their homework, not his homework, because students is plural. This rule helps maintain clarity in your writing.
Gender agreement is another important aspect of pronoun-antecedent agreement. Pronouns must match the gender of their antecedents. Use he or him for masculine antecedents like John. Use she or her for feminine antecedents like Mary. Use it or its for neuter antecedents like objects or animals when gender is unknown. Mixing genders creates confusion, so John finished her work would be incorrect.
Some cases require special attention. Indefinite pronouns like everyone are traditionally singular but often take plural pronouns in modern usage. Compound antecedents joined by and are usually plural. When joined by or or nor, the pronoun agrees with the closer antecedent. Collective nouns can be singular when acting as one unit, or plural when referring to individual members. These tricky cases show why careful consideration is important.