2. Nouns, Pronouns & Agreement

A pronoun takes the place of a noun (its antecedent). The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number (singular/plural) and gender.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement:

• WRONG: Every student must bring their own pencil. (Every student is singular)
• CORRECT: Every student must bring his or her own pencil.
• CORRECT (rewritten plural): All students must bring their own pencils.

Pronoun case -- subject vs. object:

• Use I, he, she, we, they, who as the subject of a verb.
• Use me, him, her, us, them, whom as the object of a verb or preposition.

• WRONG: Me and him went to the store.
• CORRECT: He and I went to the store.
• WRONG: The prize was given to she and I.
• CORRECT: The prize was given to her and me.

Who vs. whom: use who when it is a subject ('Who called?'); use whom when it is an object ('To whom did you speak?'). A quick test: if you can substitute 'him' or 'her', use 'whom'.

Vague pronouns have no clear antecedent:

• WRONG (vague): When Carlos talked to the manager, he said he was unhappy. (Who is 'he'?)
• CORRECT: When Carlos talked to the manager, Carlos said he was unhappy.

Subject-verb agreement: the verb must match the subject in number, not the nearest noun.

• WRONG: The box of nails are heavy.
• CORRECT: The box of nails is heavy. (subject = box, singular)

⚠️ Common mistake: matching the verb to the noun closest to it rather than to the real subject. Always identify the true subject first, then choose the verb.

💡 Tip: to test pronoun case, remove the other person from the sentence. 'Me went to the store' sounds wrong immediately; 'I went to the store' sounds right.