Question

practice a making pronouns and antecedents agree
read each sentence. then, circle the pronoun in parentheses that agrees with its antecedent.
example: each teacher greeted (their, its) students.
answer: each teacher greeted (their, its) lunch.

1. neither ilene nor her sister brought (her, its) lunch.
2. all of the girls wore (her, their) raincoats.
3. karen and lucy hugged (her, their) father.
4. the team lined up to receive (his, their) individual uniforms.
5. the committee held (its, their) first meeting.
6. the group expressed (its, their) conflicting views.
7. nick or alex will recite (its, his) poem.
8. gina and amy will read (her, their) stories to the children.

practice b supplying pronouns that agree with their antecedents
read each sentence. then, fill in the blank with a pronoun that agrees with its antecedent.
example: each contestant submitted ______ recipe for the contest.
answer: their

1. jayla and nico completed ______ history project.
2. either mia or isabel has left ______ backpack on the bus.
3. each volunteer has ______ own responsibilities at the shelter.
4. the school board voiced ______ individual concerns.
5. the cast must bring ______ costumes home with them.

writing and speaking application
write three sentences using the names of characters from movies or tv shows you have seen. use personal pronouns in each of your sentences. read your sentences to a partner, who should correct any mistakes in pronoun - antecedent agreement.

Explanation:

1. "Jayla and Nico" is a plural antecedent, so "their" is used.
2. When "either...or" is used with singular nouns "Mia" and "Isabel", the pronoun should agree with the nearer antecedent. Here, the nearer is singular, but to be gender - neutral, "their" can be used.
3. "Each volunteer" is singular, but "their" is used as a gender - neutral option.
4. "The school board" is a collective noun, and here "its" can be used to refer to the board as a single entity.
5. "The cast" is a collective noun. Since they are taking costumes home as individuals, "their" is appropriate.

Answer:

1. their
2. their
3. their
4. its
5. their