Pronoun Agreement and Clarity (SAT Writing)

What is a Pronoun?

Replaces a noun

Common pronouns:

• Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
• Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• Relative: who, whom, whose, which, that

Antecedent: The noun the pronoun refers to

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Rule: Pronouns must match their antecedents in NUMBER

Singular antecedent → singular pronoun Plural antecedent → plural pronoun

Singular Pronouns

he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, its

Plural Pronouns

they, them, their, theirs

Common Agreement Errors

Error 1: Singular Antecedent, Plural Pronoun

❌ "Each student must bring their book."

• "Each" = singular
• "Their" = plural

✓ "Each student must bring his or her book." ✓ "Students must bring their books." (make both plural)

Error 2: Indefinite Pronouns

These are SINGULAR:

• Everyone, everybody, everyone
• Anyone, anybody, anything
• Someone, somebody, something
• No one, nobody, nothing
• Each, either, neither

❌ "Everyone should do their best." ✓ "Everyone should do his or her best." ✓ "All students should do their best." (use plural antecedent)

Error 3: Compound Subjects with "Or"

Use pronoun that matches the CLOSER noun

"Either the teacher or the students will present their project." (Students is closer and plural → their)

"Either the students or the teacher will present her project." (Teacher is closer and singular → her)

Pronoun Clarity

Rule: Antecedent must be CLEAR

Unclear pronoun reference = error

Error: Ambiguous Antecedent

❌ "John told Mark that he won the award."

• Who won? John or Mark? Unclear!

✓ "John told Mark that Mark won the award." ✓ "John told Mark, 'You won the award.'"

Error: No Clear Antecedent

❌ "In the article, it says climate is changing."

• What is "it"? The article isn't a person who says things!

✓ "The article states that climate is changing." ✓ "According to the article, climate is changing."

Error: Pronoun Too Far from Antecedent

❌ "The scientist studied the cells. Many tests were performed. She was surprised by the results."

• Too much between "scientist" and "she" - could be confusing

✓ Keep pronouns close to their antecedents

Pronoun Case

Subject Pronouns

Used as subject of sentence

I, you, he, she, it, we, they

"She and I went to the store."

Object Pronouns

Used as object of verb or preposition

me, you, him, her, it, us, them

"The teacher called him and me." "Between you and me..." (after preposition "between")

Common Case Errors

❌ "Me and him went shopping." ✓ "He and I went shopping." (subjects)

❌ "The gift is for John and I." ✓ "The gift is for John and me." (object of preposition)

Trick: Remove the other person

• "The gift is for I" → sounds wrong!
• "The gift is for me" → correct!

Relative Pronouns

Who vs. Whom

Who: Subject (does the action) Whom: Object (receives the action)

"Who is coming?" (subject) "To whom should I give this?" (object of preposition)

Trick: Replace with he/him

• He is coming → WHO
• Give it to him → WHOM

Who vs. Which vs. That

Who/whom: People Which: Things (non-essential clauses) That: Things or people (essential clauses)

"The woman who won the prize..." (person) "The book that I read..." (thing, essential) "The book, which was long, was interesting." (thing, non-essential)

Possessive Pronouns

Its vs. It's

Its: Possessive (belonging to it) "The dog wagged its tail."

It's: Contraction (it is) "It's raining."

Their vs. There vs. They're

Their: Possessive (belonging to them) "Their house is blue."

There: Location or placeholder "There is a problem." "Put it over there."

They're: Contraction (they are) "They're coming soon."

Your vs. You're

Your: Possessive "Your book is here."

You're: Contraction (you are) "You're welcome."

SAT Strategies

Check Agreement

Find the antecedent - is pronoun singular/plural matching?

Look for Indefinite Pronouns

Everyone, each, someone = SINGULAR

Test Pronoun Clarity

Can you clearly identify what the pronoun refers to?

Remove Compounds

"John and I" → test with just "I"

Check Possessives

Its vs. it's, their vs. they're, your vs. you're

Common SAT Traps

Trap 1: "Everyone" Sounds Plural

❌ "Everyone brought their lunch" ✓ "Everyone brought his or her lunch"

Trap 2: "Between you and I"

Always "between you and ME" (object of preposition)

Trap 3: It's vs. Its

Apostrophe = contraction, not possessive!

Trap 4: Vague "This" or "It"

❌ "The study found problems. This is important." ✓ "The study found problems. This discovery is important."

SAT Tips

• Singular indefinite pronouns: everyone, anyone, someone, each, either, neither
• Check number agreement: singular antecedent = singular pronoun
• Clear antecedent: must be obvious what pronoun refers to
• Subject pronouns: I, he, she, we, they
• Object pronouns: me, him, her, us, them
• "Between you and ___" → always ME (object!)
• Its = possessive; It's = it is
• Their = possessive; They're = they are; There = location
• Who = subject; Whom = object
• Remove compounds to test case (John and I → I went)