Many pronouns have antecedents, nouns or pronouns to which they refer. A pronoun and its antecedent agree when they are both singular or both plural.

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific persons or things. Even though some of the following indefinite pronouns may seem to have plural meanings, treat them as singular in formal English.

When a plural pronoun refers mistakenly to a singular indefinite pronoun, you can usually choose one of three options for revision:

Because the he or she construction is wordy, often the second or third revision strategy is more effective. Using he (or his) to refer to persons of either sex, while less wordy, is considered sexist, as is using she (or her) for all persons. Some writers alternate male and female pronouns throughout a text, but the result is often awkward. See W4-f for strategies that avoid sexist usage.

note: If you change a pronoun from singular to plural (or vice versa), check to be sure that the verb agrees with the new pronoun (see G1-e).

Generic nouns

A generic noun represents a typical member of a group, such as a typical student, or any member of a group, such as any lawyer. Although generic nouns may seem to have plural meanings, they are singular.

When a plural pronoun refers mistakenly to a generic noun, you will usually have the same three revision options as mentioned above for indefinite pronouns.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns such as jury, committee, audience, crowd, class, troop, family, team, and couple name a group. Ordinarily the group functions as a unit, so the noun should be treated as singular; if the members of the group function as individuals, however, the noun should be treated as plural. (See also G1-f.)

When treating a collective noun as plural, many writers prefer to add a clearly plural antecedent such as members to the sentence: The members of the committee put their signatures on the document.

There is no reason to draw attention to the individual members of the jury, so jury should be treated as singular.

Compound antecedents

With compound antecedents joined with or or nor (or with either . . . or or neither…nor), make the pronoun agree with the nearer antecedent.

note: If one of the antecedents is singular and the other plural, as in the second example, put the plural one last to avoid awkwardness.

exception: If one antecedent is male and the other female, do not follow the traditional rule. The sentence Either Bruce or Elizabeth should receive first prize for her short story makes no sense. The best solution is to recast the sentence: The prize for best short story should go to either Bruce or Elizabeth.