Pronoun Agreement and Reference

According to the rules of subject-verb agreement, phrases or clauses between the subject and the verb do not change the

number

A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in

number, gender, and person

Read the sentences. Horses from the ranches gallops in the nearby fields. The horses often chase rabbits, squirrels, or possum. Which is the best way to fix the subject-verb agreement error in these sentences?

Change "gallops" to "gallop"

Read the sentences. Jaden was intent on fixing the bicycle ______. He didn't want any help from Pierre or Borja. Which best fits in the blank?

himself

Read the paragraph. [1] Our house was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. [2] It was common for an enslaved person to stop there on their way to the North. [3] The Underground Railroad were a network of hiding places. [4] The cellar beneath our house has a secret door that was installed to trick slave catchers. Which sentence has a pronoun-antecedent agreement error?

sentence 2

Read the paragraph. [1] Our house was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. [2] The Underground Railroad were a network of hiding places. [3] The cellar beneath our house has a secret door that was installed to trick slave catchers. [4] Living in a piece of American history is pretty interesting. Which sentence has a subject-verb agreement error?

sentence 2

Read the sentence. Allie considered it carefully, and ______ decided to train for the marathon herself. Which type of pronoun would best complete the sentence?

subjective

Which sentence has a pronoun usage error?

The audience left its seats after curtain call.

Read the sentence. At the performance tonight, I am going to perform a jazz piece that I choreographed ______! Which best fits in the blank?

myself

Read the sentences. I was shocked when my teammates complained about our new workout schedule. I myself am enjoying its new challenges. Which part of these sentences is the intensive pronoun?

myself

Read the sentence. We rode our bikes to meet them at the lake. Which part of the sentence is the subjective pronoun?

we

Read the paragraph. [1] Alejandro's guidance counselor is helping him plan his schedule for next year. [2] She suggests that he take AP Chemistry and AP French to improve his chances of getting into college. [3] Neither he nor his parents thinks he'll have time to do the work for both courses. [4] Alejandro plans to wait until the week before school starts to decide. Which sentence has a subject-verb agreement error?

sentence 3

Read the paragraph. [1] Jenna is brainstorming topics for a term paper for her history class. [2] Although she wants to get started as soon as possible, she also wants to choose a subject she's passionate about. [3] She's strongly considering writing about Sally Ride, because he was the first American woman in space. [4] Jenna might also write about Eleanor Roosevelt, but that would require more background research. [5] If she decides to write about Marie Curie, she could use the research she did for a project about radiation for Chemistry class. [6] Some options is better than others, but by choosing carefully in advance, Jenna thinks she'll get a better grade in the end. Which sentences have errors?

sentences 3 and 6

Which best describes a rule for subject-verb agreement?

singular subjects have singular verbs

Read the paragraph. [1] Alejandro's guidance counselor is helping him plan his schedule for next year. [2] She suggests that he take AP Chemistry and AP French to improve his chances of getting into college. [3] Neither he nor his parents think he'll have time to do the work for both courses. [4] Each of the teachers teach in a different way. Which sentence has an indefinite-pronoun verb agreement error?

not sentence 3