The document discusses pronoun-antecedent agreement, explaining that pronouns must agree in number with their antecedents. It also covers collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, pronouns joined by "either/or" and "neither/nor", gender-inclusive language, pronoun case, and comparisons using pronouns after "than" or "as". Examples are provided to illustrate correct and incorrect pronoun usage according to these rules.

2. Pronoun-antecedent
Agreement
An antecedent is the noun that a pronoun is standing in for.
Agreement means a singular antecedent is followed by a singular
pronoun. And, a plural antecedent must be followed by a plural pronoun.
Dave and Donna played their guitars.
Dave and Donna are the antecedents. Since there are two of them, you
must use “their.
Tom played his saxophone.
Tom is the antecedent. Since there is only one of him, you must use “his.”

3. Collective Nouns
Use a singular pronoun to refer to a collective noun whose
parts act as a single unit.
The team will play its first game today.
Use a plural pronoun to refer to a collective noun whose parts
act individually.
The jury have not made up their minds yet.

4. Indefininte Pronouns
 Certain words seem plural, but because the number involved is
indefinite, they take a singular pronoun.
 These words are: someone, somebody, everyone, everybody,
anybody, nobody, anyone.
 Everyone going to the concert should remember his or her
ticket.
 As discussed in our lecture, it often makes sense to change the
indefinite pronoun to a more definite word to avoid the wordy
construction, his or her.
 Students going to the concert should remember their tickets.

5. Pronouns joined by either/or and
neither/nor
The pronoun that refers to antecedents joined by or or nor
should agree with the noun or pronoun nearest to it.
Neither the library nor the schools have replaced their
books with ebooks yet.
“schools” is closet to the pronoun.
Either the schools or the library will replace its books with
ebooks this year.
“library” is closest to the pronoun

6. AWord about Gender
When the antecedent of a singular pronoun
could be either male or female, use the phrase
his or her.
Each athlete practiced his or her skills.
If this sounds wordy, you can change the
sentence to make both the pronoun and its
antecedent plural.
All the athletes practiced their skills.

7. Pronoun case
There are two forms of pronouns, whose use is dependent
upon the rolet they play in sentences.
The two forms, or cases, are subject and object case.
Subject case pronouns: I,we, you, he, she, they, it, who
These pronouns stand in for the subject of the sentence.
Object case pronouns: me, us, you, him, her, them, it,
and whom
 These pronouns stand in for, or act as, the direct object of a
verb or the object of a preposition in the sentence.

8. Pronoun Case examples
1. Us Americans appreciate our freedom.
This is incorrect because the sentence needs a subject pronoun.
2. We Americans appreciate our freedom.
This is correct because “we” is a subject case pronoun.
3.To who it may concern, I’m leaving.
This is incorrect because the sentence calls for an object pronoun.
4.To whom it may concern, I’m leaving.
This is correct because “whom” is an object pronoun.

9. One final consideration
In situations where the sentence involves a comparison
using the words than or as, you need to use the subject
pronoun.This is tricky to remember because the verb after
the comparison is often missing.
We are happier than them.
“them” is incorrect because the sentence is a comparison and
should really read… .
We are happier than they (are).

10. One final consideration
In situations where the sentence involves a comparison
using the words than or as, you need to use the subject
pronoun.This is tricky to remember because the verb after
the comparison is often missing.
We are happier than them.
“them” is incorrect because the sentence is a comparison and
should really read… .
We are happier than they (are).