Pronoun–antecedent agreement means a pronoun must match the noun it refers to—its antecedent—in number and, when relevant, person and gender.
How to fix agreement errors
First, identify the pronoun and the noun it replaces:
Every student should submit their assignment.
- Pronoun: their
- Antecedent: every student
Although student is grammatically singular, singular they/their is widely accepted when gender is unknown or irrelevant. The sentence is correct in most modern styles. In highly traditional formal writing, you can revise it to avoid disagreement:
All students should submit their assignments.
This plural revision is usually more natural than writing his or her.
Common errors and corrections
Singular and plural mismatch
Incorrect:
The employees completed his or her training.
Correct:
The employees completed their training.
Because employees is plural, the pronoun must also be plural.
Incorrect:
Each of the reports has their own cover page.
Possible corrections:
Each of the reports has its own cover page.
All the reports have their own cover pages.
Words such as each, either, neither, everyone, everybody, someone, anyone, and nobody are grammatically singular, even when they refer broadly to people.
Collective nouns
A collective noun may be singular when the group acts as one unit:
The committee announced its decision.
When emphasizing individual members, a plural rewrite is often clearer:
The committee members explained their objections.
Person mismatch
Do not shift unnecessarily between first, second, and third person.
Inconsistent:
When a person applies, you must provide identification.
Consistent:
When people apply, they must provide identification.
Or:
When you apply, you must provide identification.
Ambiguous antecedents
Agreement alone is not enough; the reader must know which noun the pronoun represents.
Unclear:
When the manager spoke to the assistant, she seemed upset.
Clearer:
The manager seemed upset while speaking to the assistant.
Or:
The assistant seemed upset while speaking to the manager.
Quick editing checklist
For each pronoun:
- Find the noun it replaces.
- Check whether that noun is singular or plural.
- Match the pronoun’s number: it/its for singular things and they/their for plural nouns.
- Keep the grammatical person consistent: I/we, you, or he/she/they.
- Make sure the antecedent is unmistakable.
- If the sentence sounds awkward, make both the antecedent and pronoun plural.
A useful editing pattern is:
Singular: Each participant should bring their identification.
Plural rewrite: Participants should bring their identification.
Direct-address rewrite: You should bring your identification.
In most contemporary writing, singular they is clear, inclusive, and grammatically accepted. When a style guide discourages it, rewriting the sentence in the plural is generally the cleanest solution.