A pronoun must always agree with its antecedent in person (first, second, third), number (singular, plural), and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter).

Incorrect At tonight’s meeting, please ask the chairperson for their opinion on the matter. [Chairperson is singular; their is plural.]

Correct At tonight’s meeting, please ask the chairperson for her opinion on the matter. [This indicates that the person speaking/writing knows that the chairperson is female.]

Incorrect Each of the students was prepared with his homework. [This assumes that the writer knows that the entire class is made up of boys; if the class includes girls, the writer’s choice can be considered sexist, as the writer failed to consider the girls’ presence.]

Correct Each of the students was prepared with his or her homework.

Correct All of the students were prepared with their homework. [Changing each (singular) to all (plural) also resolves the error.]

When two or more words joined by and function as the subject of the sentence, they form a plural, compound subject. A compound subject, when functioning as an antecedent, requires a plural pronoun.

Millie, Isaac, and Ralph focused their attention on their tests.

However, if the nouns in a compound subject refer to the same person, then the antecedent is singular and the pronoun that refers to it is also singular.

The producer and star of the movie always eats her breakfast before going on set.

When an antecedent is a compound subject joined by or or nor, its pronoun must agree with the word that is closest to it.

Neither Isaac nor the girls brought their uniforms to school.

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When an antecedent is a singular indefinite pronoun (another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something), it takes a singular pronoun.

One of the homesteaders abandoned his land.

Collective nouns generally refer to a group acting as a unit (e.g., chorus, team, staff). Most collective nouns used as antecedents take singular pronouns.

The committee was dedicated to meeting its goals.

If group members in a collective noun act as individuals, the noun takes a plural pronoun instead.

Because the committee couldn’t agree, their meeting was a disaster.