Pronoun antecedent agreement worksheet with answer - Free Printable
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Step-by-step solution for: Pronoun antecedent agreement worksheet with answer
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Show Answer Key & Explanations
Step-by-step solution for: Pronoun antecedent agreement worksheet with answer
Let’s go through each sentence one by one. We need to pick the correct pronoun that matches its antecedent (the noun it refers to). Remember:
- Singular antecedents → singular pronouns (his, her, its)
- Plural antecedents → plural pronouns (their, them)
- “Or/nor” joins two singular nouns → use singular pronoun
- Collective nouns (like “team,” “cast”) can be singular or plural depending on meaning — if acting as one unit → singular; if acting as individuals → plural
- Words like “anybody,” “everyone,” “nobody,” “each,” etc. are always singular
Now let’s solve each:
1. Neither Mary nor Laura has turned in her report.
→ Two singular people joined by “nor” → singular pronoun. Since both are female, “her” is fine.
2. Anybody can learn to set up his or her own tent.
→ “Anybody” is singular → needs singular pronoun. Traditionally “his” was used, but modern usage accepts “his or her” for gender neutrality. In this worksheet, they seem to accept “his” or “their” — but since “anybody” is singular, we should avoid “their”. However, looking at other answers in the sheet, sometimes “their” is accepted informally. But strictly speaking, it should be “his” or “his or her”. Let’s check the pattern — in #5, “Anyone” uses “he” — so maybe they prefer traditional singular. Wait — actually, in #3, “Each of the boys” uses “his” — so likely they want singular masculine unless specified. But #9 says “Everyone should do (his, their)” — and answer key probably allows “their” now? Hmm. Actually, many schools now accept “their” as singular they. Looking at the examples given in the intro: “Anyone can achieve his or her goals.” So they show “his or her”. But in the exercises, they give options like (his, their). For consistency with the intro example, I’ll go with “his” where possible, but note that “their” is increasingly accepted. However, since this is a grammar exercise testing agreement, and “anybody” is grammatically singular, the technically correct answer is “his” (or “his or her”, but only “his” is offered as option besides “their”). Wait — no, in #2 it’s (his, their). So between those two, “his” is grammatically correct per traditional rules. But let’s see what the worksheet expects. Looking ahead — in #5: “Anyone can join our group if (he, they) is really interested.” — here “is” is singular verb, so must match singular subject → “he”. So similarly, #2 should be “his”.
Actually, let me re-read the instructions: “Underline the correct pronoun.” And the options are given in parentheses. So for each, choose one.
I think for accuracy based on standard grammar taught in schools:
1. her
2. his *(since “anybody” is singular)*
3. his *(“each” is singular)*
4. his *(“neither Tom nor Jim” — both singular, joined by nor → singular pronoun; traditionally “his”)*
5. he *(“anyone” is singular, and verb “is” confirms singular → “he”)*
6. its *(“team” as single unit → singular)*
7. his *(“either Bill or Tony” — singular subjects → singular pronoun; assume male names → “his”)*
8. his *(“everyone” is singular)*
9. them *(“politics” is plural concept? Wait — “George wants to go into politics; he finds ___ exciting.” Politics is treated as singular usually? No — “politics” can be singular or plural. Here, “finds” is singular verb, but object is “it” or “them”? Actually, “politics” as a field is singular → “it”. But wait — the option is (it, them). If “politics” means political activities, could be plural. But typically in such contexts, it’s singular. Example: “Politics is complicated.” So “he finds it exciting.” But let’s check — in some dialects, “politics” takes plural verb. But here verb is “finds” — singular — so subject is “he”, object is “politics” — which is being referred to by pronoun. Standard usage: “politics” as a subject is singular → “it”. But I’ve seen both. Given the context, and that “he finds ___ exciting”, and politics is an abstract concept, likely “it”. BUT — wait, look at the sentence: “George wants to go into politics; he finds (it, them) exciting.” — “politics” here might refer to multiple aspects, so “them”? Actually, no — “politics” is uncountable noun, usually singular. I think “it” is correct. But let me confirm with common usage. Most style guides say “politics” is singular. So “it”. However, I recall that in British English, collective concepts sometimes take plural. But since this is general American school grammar, likely “it”. But wait — the answer might be “them” because “politics” implies multiple issues? I’m confused. Let’s skip and come back. Actually, upon second thought — in this context, “go into politics” means enter the field, which is singular. So “it”. But I’ve seen exercises where “politics” takes plural pronoun. To resolve: look at verb — “finds” is singular, but that’s for “he”, not for the object. The object pronoun doesn’t affect the verb. So it’s about whether “politics” is considered singular or plural. According to Merriam-Webster, “politics” can be singular or plural depending on meaning. When referring to the art or science of government, it’s singular. When referring to political opinions or activities, it can be plural. Here, “go into politics” suggests the field → singular → “it”. But the sentence says “he finds ___ exciting” — if it’s the field, “it”; if it’s the activities, “them”. Given ambiguity, but since the worksheet likely expects consistency, and most similar sentences treat such nouns as singular, I’ll go with “it”. But let’s check online or standard answers — actually, I remember that in many textbooks, “politics” in this context takes “it”. So #9: it
Wait — I think I made a mistake. Let me list all with reasoning:
1. Neither Mary nor Laura → singular → her (both female)
2. Anybody → singular → his (traditional)
3. Each → singular → his
4. Neither Tom nor Jim → singular → his
5. Anyone → singular → he (verb “is” confirms)
6. The team → acting as unit → its
7. Either Bill or Tony → singular → his
8. Everyone → singular → his
9. Politics → typically singular in this context → it
10. Everyone → singular → his
11. Some of the team → “some” refers to members → plural → their
12. Every class officer → singular → his or her? Options are (her, their) — “every” is singular, so “her” if assuming female, but traditionally “his”. But since “her” is an option, and no gender specified, perhaps “her” is acceptable? But better to use “his” if available — but here only “her” or “their”. Since “every” is singular, “their” is incorrect traditionally. So “her” — but that assumes gender. This is tricky. In modern usage, “their” is accepted, but for strict grammar, “her” is singular. I think the worksheet expects “her” here? Or maybe “their” is wrong. Let’s see — in #13, “my” vs “your” — different. For #12, “Every class officer will do (her, their) best.” — since “officer” is singular, and “her” is singular, while “their” is plural, so “her” is grammatically correct, even if gendered. Perhaps the worksheet assumes female officers? Unlikely. Maybe it’s a trick. Actually, in many current curricula, they accept “their” for singular they. But given the intro examples use “his or her”, I think for consistency, we should choose the singular option. So “her”.
This is getting messy. Let me try to find a pattern from the provided examples in the text:
In the intro:
- “Each of the boys has his own savings account.” → “his”
- “Anyone can achieve his or her goals.” → shows both
- “John nor Dave could find his jacket.” → “his”
- “A dog or a cat can find its way home.” → “its”
- “The cast is having its picture taken.” → singular
- “The cast quickly took their places...” → plural
So for collective nouns, depends on meaning.
For indefinite pronouns: anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, one, somebody, someone — all singular.
So for #12: “Every class officer” — “every” makes it singular → needs singular pronoun. Options: “her” or “their”. “Their” is plural, so incorrect traditionally. “Her” is singular, so correct, even if gender-specific. Perhaps the worksheet intends “her” as the singular choice.
Similarly, #13: “I find that playing bridge is hard on (my, your) nerves.” — “I” is speaker, so “my” nerves.
#14: “Some of the vanilla” — “vanilla” is uncountable, singular → “its”
#15: “Everybody” → singular → “his” (options: his, their) — again, “his” is singular
#16: “Someone” → singular → “his”
#17: “One” → singular → “his” (traditionally)
#18: “Each of us” → “each” is singular → “his” or “their”? Options: (his, their) — “each” is singular, so “his”
#19: “Has anyone lost (her, their) jacket?” — “anyone” singular → “her” or “their”? Again, “her” is singular, “their” plural. But “jacket” is singular, so pronoun should agree with antecedent “anyone”, not “jacket”. So “her” for singular.
#20: “Nobody” → singular → “his”
But I know that in contemporary usage, “their” is widely accepted as singular they, especially when gender is unknown. However, since this worksheet provides examples using “his” and “his or her”, and in the exercises, for #5 they have “(he, they)” with verb “is”, which requires “he”, so they are enforcing traditional agreement.
Therefore, I will go with traditional grammar:
1. her
2. his
3. his
4. his
5. he
6. its
7. his
8. his
9. it *(politics as singular concept)*
10. his
11. their *(“some of the team” — team members, plural)*
12. her *(singular “every officer”, and “her” is singular option)*
13. my *(speaker is “I”)*
14. its *(vanilla is singular)*
15. his *(everybody singular)*
16. his *(someone singular)*
17. his *(one singular)*
18. his *(each singular)*
19. her *(anyone singular)*
20. his *(nobody singular)*
But for #9, I'm still unsure. Let me double-check "politics". Upon quick research in my mind: In sentences like "Politics is dirty," it's singular. "He studies politics" — singular. "He finds politics exciting" — "politics" is object, and pronoun would be "it". Yes, I think "it" is correct.
For #12, if "every class officer" is singular, and options are "her" or "their", "her" is the only singular choice, so it must be "her", even if it assumes gender. Perhaps the worksheet has a bias, or it's acceptable in context.
Similarly, for #19, "anyone" is singular, so "her" is chosen over "their".
Now, let's write the final answers as per the numbering.
Final Answer:
1. her
2. his
3. his
4. his
5. he
6. its
7. his
8. his
9. it
10. his
11. their
12. her
13. my
14. its
15. his
16. his
17. his
18. his
19. her
20. his
- Singular antecedents → singular pronouns (his, her, its)
- Plural antecedents → plural pronouns (their, them)
- “Or/nor” joins two singular nouns → use singular pronoun
- Collective nouns (like “team,” “cast”) can be singular or plural depending on meaning — if acting as one unit → singular; if acting as individuals → plural
- Words like “anybody,” “everyone,” “nobody,” “each,” etc. are always singular
Now let’s solve each:
1. Neither Mary nor Laura has turned in her report.
→ Two singular people joined by “nor” → singular pronoun. Since both are female, “her” is fine.
2. Anybody can learn to set up his or her own tent.
→ “Anybody” is singular → needs singular pronoun. Traditionally “his” was used, but modern usage accepts “his or her” for gender neutrality. In this worksheet, they seem to accept “his” or “their” — but since “anybody” is singular, we should avoid “their”. However, looking at other answers in the sheet, sometimes “their” is accepted informally. But strictly speaking, it should be “his” or “his or her”. Let’s check the pattern — in #5, “Anyone” uses “he” — so maybe they prefer traditional singular. Wait — actually, in #3, “Each of the boys” uses “his” — so likely they want singular masculine unless specified. But #9 says “Everyone should do (his, their)” — and answer key probably allows “their” now? Hmm. Actually, many schools now accept “their” as singular they. Looking at the examples given in the intro: “Anyone can achieve his or her goals.” So they show “his or her”. But in the exercises, they give options like (his, their). For consistency with the intro example, I’ll go with “his” where possible, but note that “their” is increasingly accepted. However, since this is a grammar exercise testing agreement, and “anybody” is grammatically singular, the technically correct answer is “his” (or “his or her”, but only “his” is offered as option besides “their”). Wait — no, in #2 it’s (his, their). So between those two, “his” is grammatically correct per traditional rules. But let’s see what the worksheet expects. Looking ahead — in #5: “Anyone can join our group if (he, they) is really interested.” — here “is” is singular verb, so must match singular subject → “he”. So similarly, #2 should be “his”.
Actually, let me re-read the instructions: “Underline the correct pronoun.” And the options are given in parentheses. So for each, choose one.
I think for accuracy based on standard grammar taught in schools:
1. her
2. his *(since “anybody” is singular)*
3. his *(“each” is singular)*
4. his *(“neither Tom nor Jim” — both singular, joined by nor → singular pronoun; traditionally “his”)*
5. he *(“anyone” is singular, and verb “is” confirms singular → “he”)*
6. its *(“team” as single unit → singular)*
7. his *(“either Bill or Tony” — singular subjects → singular pronoun; assume male names → “his”)*
8. his *(“everyone” is singular)*
9. them *(“politics” is plural concept? Wait — “George wants to go into politics; he finds ___ exciting.” Politics is treated as singular usually? No — “politics” can be singular or plural. Here, “finds” is singular verb, but object is “it” or “them”? Actually, “politics” as a field is singular → “it”. But wait — the option is (it, them). If “politics” means political activities, could be plural. But typically in such contexts, it’s singular. Example: “Politics is complicated.” So “he finds it exciting.” But let’s check — in some dialects, “politics” takes plural verb. But here verb is “finds” — singular — so subject is “he”, object is “politics” — which is being referred to by pronoun. Standard usage: “politics” as a subject is singular → “it”. But I’ve seen both. Given the context, and that “he finds ___ exciting”, and politics is an abstract concept, likely “it”. BUT — wait, look at the sentence: “George wants to go into politics; he finds (it, them) exciting.” — “politics” here might refer to multiple aspects, so “them”? Actually, no — “politics” is uncountable noun, usually singular. I think “it” is correct. But let me confirm with common usage. Most style guides say “politics” is singular. So “it”. However, I recall that in British English, collective concepts sometimes take plural. But since this is general American school grammar, likely “it”. But wait — the answer might be “them” because “politics” implies multiple issues? I’m confused. Let’s skip and come back. Actually, upon second thought — in this context, “go into politics” means enter the field, which is singular. So “it”. But I’ve seen exercises where “politics” takes plural pronoun. To resolve: look at verb — “finds” is singular, but that’s for “he”, not for the object. The object pronoun doesn’t affect the verb. So it’s about whether “politics” is considered singular or plural. According to Merriam-Webster, “politics” can be singular or plural depending on meaning. When referring to the art or science of government, it’s singular. When referring to political opinions or activities, it can be plural. Here, “go into politics” suggests the field → singular → “it”. But the sentence says “he finds ___ exciting” — if it’s the field, “it”; if it’s the activities, “them”. Given ambiguity, but since the worksheet likely expects consistency, and most similar sentences treat such nouns as singular, I’ll go with “it”. But let’s check online or standard answers — actually, I remember that in many textbooks, “politics” in this context takes “it”. So #9: it
Wait — I think I made a mistake. Let me list all with reasoning:
1. Neither Mary nor Laura → singular → her (both female)
2. Anybody → singular → his (traditional)
3. Each → singular → his
4. Neither Tom nor Jim → singular → his
5. Anyone → singular → he (verb “is” confirms)
6. The team → acting as unit → its
7. Either Bill or Tony → singular → his
8. Everyone → singular → his
9. Politics → typically singular in this context → it
10. Everyone → singular → his
11. Some of the team → “some” refers to members → plural → their
12. Every class officer → singular → his or her? Options are (her, their) — “every” is singular, so “her” if assuming female, but traditionally “his”. But since “her” is an option, and no gender specified, perhaps “her” is acceptable? But better to use “his” if available — but here only “her” or “their”. Since “every” is singular, “their” is incorrect traditionally. So “her” — but that assumes gender. This is tricky. In modern usage, “their” is accepted, but for strict grammar, “her” is singular. I think the worksheet expects “her” here? Or maybe “their” is wrong. Let’s see — in #13, “my” vs “your” — different. For #12, “Every class officer will do (her, their) best.” — since “officer” is singular, and “her” is singular, while “their” is plural, so “her” is grammatically correct, even if gendered. Perhaps the worksheet assumes female officers? Unlikely. Maybe it’s a trick. Actually, in many current curricula, they accept “their” for singular they. But given the intro examples use “his or her”, I think for consistency, we should choose the singular option. So “her”.
This is getting messy. Let me try to find a pattern from the provided examples in the text:
In the intro:
- “Each of the boys has his own savings account.” → “his”
- “Anyone can achieve his or her goals.” → shows both
- “John nor Dave could find his jacket.” → “his”
- “A dog or a cat can find its way home.” → “its”
- “The cast is having its picture taken.” → singular
- “The cast quickly took their places...” → plural
So for collective nouns, depends on meaning.
For indefinite pronouns: anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, one, somebody, someone — all singular.
So for #12: “Every class officer” — “every” makes it singular → needs singular pronoun. Options: “her” or “their”. “Their” is plural, so incorrect traditionally. “Her” is singular, so correct, even if gender-specific. Perhaps the worksheet intends “her” as the singular choice.
Similarly, #13: “I find that playing bridge is hard on (my, your) nerves.” — “I” is speaker, so “my” nerves.
#14: “Some of the vanilla” — “vanilla” is uncountable, singular → “its”
#15: “Everybody” → singular → “his” (options: his, their) — again, “his” is singular
#16: “Someone” → singular → “his”
#17: “One” → singular → “his” (traditionally)
#18: “Each of us” → “each” is singular → “his” or “their”? Options: (his, their) — “each” is singular, so “his”
#19: “Has anyone lost (her, their) jacket?” — “anyone” singular → “her” or “their”? Again, “her” is singular, “their” plural. But “jacket” is singular, so pronoun should agree with antecedent “anyone”, not “jacket”. So “her” for singular.
#20: “Nobody” → singular → “his”
But I know that in contemporary usage, “their” is widely accepted as singular they, especially when gender is unknown. However, since this worksheet provides examples using “his” and “his or her”, and in the exercises, for #5 they have “(he, they)” with verb “is”, which requires “he”, so they are enforcing traditional agreement.
Therefore, I will go with traditional grammar:
1. her
2. his
3. his
4. his
5. he
6. its
7. his
8. his
9. it *(politics as singular concept)*
10. his
11. their *(“some of the team” — team members, plural)*
12. her *(singular “every officer”, and “her” is singular option)*
13. my *(speaker is “I”)*
14. its *(vanilla is singular)*
15. his *(everybody singular)*
16. his *(someone singular)*
17. his *(one singular)*
18. his *(each singular)*
19. her *(anyone singular)*
20. his *(nobody singular)*
But for #9, I'm still unsure. Let me double-check "politics". Upon quick research in my mind: In sentences like "Politics is dirty," it's singular. "He studies politics" — singular. "He finds politics exciting" — "politics" is object, and pronoun would be "it". Yes, I think "it" is correct.
For #12, if "every class officer" is singular, and options are "her" or "their", "her" is the only singular choice, so it must be "her", even if it assumes gender. Perhaps the worksheet has a bias, or it's acceptable in context.
Similarly, for #19, "anyone" is singular, so "her" is chosen over "their".
Now, let's write the final answers as per the numbering.
Final Answer:
1. her
2. his
3. his
4. his
5. he
6. its
7. his
8. his
9. it
10. his
11. their
12. her
13. my
14. its
15. his
16. his
17. his
18. his
19. her
20. his
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of worksheets on pronoun antecedent agreement with answers.
