Yours, Mine and Ours: Using Pronouns Correctly

For your message to be clear, the pronoun needs to refer specifically to the given noun, and to agree with that noun in number, gender and person. Here are three rules to help you.

Incorrect: “Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.” (Is “it” the motorcycle or the tree?)
Correct: “The motorcycle was not damaged even though it hit the tree.”

One way to assure you’re being clear is to draw a line from your pronoun to its antecedent. If another noun with the same gender or number appears between your antecedent and your pronoun, revise the sentence.

Incorrect: “If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker.”
Correct: “If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker.”
Correct: “If students park their cars on campus, they have to buy parking stickers.”

Words such as “everybody,” “anybody,” “anyone,” “each,” “neither,” “nobody,” “someone” and “person” are singular and take singular pronouns.

Incorrect: “Neither of the girls brought their umbrellas.”
Correct: “Neither of the girls brought her umbrella.”

Incorrect: “Everyone ought to do their best.”
Correct: “Everyone ought to do his or her best.”

Note: The construction “he or she” or “his or her” can be cumbersome. To avoid it, if possible use a plural noun as your antecedent so that you can use “they” or “their” as your pronoun. If you use a singular noun and the context makes the gender clear, you can use just “his” or “her” rather than “his or her.”

Incorrect: “The candidate must provide their background information.”
Correct: “The candidate must provide his or her background information.”
Correct: “The candidates must provide their background information.”
Correct: “Each candidate for the Women of the Year award must provide her background information.”

By the way, a company or business takes a singular verb and the singular pronouns “it” and “its,” rather than the plural pronouns “they” and “their.”

Incorrect: “The company released their earnings report.”
Correct: “The company released its earnings report.”

Incorrect: “When a person comes to class, you should have your homework ready.”
Correct: “When people come to class, they should have their homework ready.”
Correct: “When you come to class, you should have your homework ready.”

Some of this material was adapted from the Purdue Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_pronuse.html)

©2006, Communications Plus

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—Kay Paumier, Communications Plus