Advanced Pronoun and Subject-Verb Agreement

Advanced Pronoun Explanation

As learned from a previous lesson, subject pronouns replace the subject that do the action (the verb) while object pronouns replace the noun that catches the verb (but isn’t the subject of the sentence). For a recap, visit our basic pronoun usage guide. The rules for subject and object pronouns also apply to compound subjects. An example of a compound subject is demonstrated below:

If we wanted to construct another sentence following the above example, the subject pronoun that would replace the compound subject would be they/their.

Bill and his dog ran home. They were rained on the entire journey.

Subject, object, and possessive pronouns are one type of pronoun category called personal pronouns. There are six more types. While this may seem daunting, patience and practice can help you memorize and master them.

2. Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns demonstrate or point to nouns. They refer to the proximity and number of nouns in which you’re identifying.

Proximity	Singular	Plural
Close	This	These
Far	That	Those

• This jacket is way better than that one.
• These sweaters are way uglier than those ones.

3. Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns interrogate or ask questions. They ask about persons or things. They include who, whom, which and what. Some have more specific rules:

1. Who: Acts as the subject doing the verb (used for people)
2. Whom: Acts as the object catching the verb (used for people)
3. Which: Specifying one or more from a previously mentioned or known selection
4. What: A general question

• Who asked that?
• Whom should we choose?
• Which is the best option?
• What are you doing?

3. Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns relate one clause to another. While the list of relative pronouns are almost all the same as interrogative pronouns, their usage isn’t restricted to questions. The relative pronouns are:

1. Who: Acts as the subject doing the verb (used for people)
2. Whom: Acts as the object catching the verb (used for people)
3. Which: Specifying one or more from a previously mentioned or known selection
4. That: Identify specific thing observed by the speaker
5. Whoever: Acts as the subject doing the verb (used for people)
6. Whomever: Acts as the object catching the verb (used for people)
7. Whichever: Used to express a lack of restriction in choice (from a limited set)

These pronouns can initially appear confusing because of their likeness. So, let’s break them down a pair at a time.

• We all know who did it.
• Whom should I choose?

Notice in the first example that who (the pronoun replacing a noun) did something. Who did (verb) it. In the second example, whom doesn’t do any action at all. If we rearranged the sentence, it’s true subject becomes clear: I should choose whom? I is doing the action and is the subject. Thus, whom catches the verb. A great trick to solving whether to use who/whom is to ‘answer’ the sentence replacing who/whom with he/him (or she/her). For example:

1. Convert We all know who did it to We all know he/him did it.
2. We all know him did it clearly sounds wrong.
3. We all know he did it is correct, thus we know to replace he with who.

This same trick works with whoever and whomever (since they follow the same rules). Whoever/whomever can be converted to either he/him. The hardest part is restructuring the sentence for the trick to work. Omit lingering dependent clauses if they have nothing to do with the dependent clause in which whoever/whomever is present. View the following examples to see their before and after conversion:

1. Whoever/Whomever did this will pay.
2. Him did this
3. He did this
4. Whoever did this will pay.

1. We will appoint whoever/whomever you endorse.
2. We will appoint he
3. We will appoint him
4. We will appoint whomever you endorse.

The remaining relative pronouns that and whichever have their own rules. That is used for things or classes (or types) of people (like a soccer team). It’s important to note that that can is also used as a determiner (modify a noun through preceding it). An example of it used as determined is: that man over there. That used as a relative pronoun would look like: It was the red team that won the least games this year. Notice that if we swapped who for that in this example, it sounds correct: It was the red team who won the least games this year. However, this example is grammatically incorrect since it referring to a team. Below are more examples of that used as a relative pronoun:

• The road that ruined our tires is being repaired.
• This is the cat that always visits us.
• The council that owns the place are missing.

As stated above, whichever denotes a lack of restriction in choice from a limited set. In other words, it usually means that you can freely choose any one of the offerings. In sentence form, this looks like:

• This morning I baked a variety of pies. Choose whichever one you want.
• Come on whichever day you’re free.
• Out of the options I’ve displayed, select whichever one you like the most.

4. Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to an indefinite (or not defined) person or thing. Words that lack precision but outline all, any, some, or none are indefinite pronouns. Some examples are: all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody, and someone. Used in a sentence, they look like:

• Nobody knew what was happening.
• Everything was scattered.
• Somebody answered the phone.
• Several were already leaving.

5. Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns is a reflection of the sentence’s subject. These pronouns include: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. These examples must necessarily replicate the number and point of view of the subject. Used in a sentence, they look like:

• The cat licked itself.
• The team congratulated themselves.
• Take a look at yourselves.

6. Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns replicate the form of reflexive pronouns but are used for immediate intensification of the subject. These pronouns, unlike reflexive pronouns, do not need to refer back to the subject. They simply intensify the pronoun, meaning they can be omitted entirely. If you wish to know if the pronoun in the sentence is intensive or reflexive, simply remove it and see if the sentence still makes sense. If it’s still coherent, the pronoun is intensive. Practice on the examples below, then go back and try the same rule on the above reflexive pronouns.

• She cooked herself a meal.
• I will do it myself.
• You should take the money yourself.

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Now that you’ve seen the seven types of pronouns, try the questions below. Afterward, check your answers at the bottom of the page.

Questions

Difficulty: Easy

1. This/Those cat is so cute!
2. That/These dogs won’t stop following us.
3. I have nothing to hide from anybody/nobody.
4. You said everyone/everything should attend the meeting.
5. The chair moved by itself/themselves.

Difficulty: Medium

1. Pick whenever/whichever day works best for you.
2. The man cleaned itself/himself.
3. The woman who/that owns the store.
4. The turtle who/that always passes the store was so slow.
5. We all know who/whom did it.

Difficulty: Hard

1. Who/Whom stole my pencil?
2. The council will recruit whoever/whomever the leader likes.
3. Whoever/Whomever wrote that book is genius.
4. Who/Whom did he resemble?
5. I will deal with this myself. Is the pronoun myself reflexive or intensive in this example?
6. You ate by yourself? Is the pronoun yourself reflexive or intensive in this example?

Answers

Difficulty: Easy

1. This cat is so cute!
2. These dogs won’t stop following us.
3. I have nothing to hide from anybody.
4. You said everyone should attend the meeting.
5. The chair moved by itself.

Difficulty: Medium

1. Pick whichever day works best for you.
2. The man cleaned himself.
3. The woman who owns the store.
4. The turtle that always passes the store was so slow.
5. We all know who did it.

Difficulty: Hard

1. Who stole my pencil?
2. The council will recruit whomever the leader likes.
3. Whoever wrote that book is genius.
4. Whom did he resemble?
5. I will deal with this myself. The pronoun myself is intensive in this example.
6. You ate by yourself? The pronoun yourself is reflexive in this example.

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Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Explanation

Subject-verb agreement is a skill that we use everyday. It is when the subject agrees with its connected verb in form (singular or plural). In other words, a singular subject must take a singular verb while a plural subject must take a plural verb.

• The man (singular subject) is (singular verb) happy
• They (plural subject) are (plural verb) happy

Within subject-verb agreement are several sub-rules. They are listed below:

	Verb Agreement	Examples
Subjects connected by and	Plural verb	Correct: The man and woman talk to the chef. Incorrect: The man and woman talks to the chef.
Singular subjects connected by or	Singular Verb	Correct: The cat or dog has destroyed my homework! Incorrect: The cat or dog have destroyed my homework!
Plural Subjects connected by or	Plural Verb	Correct: Supermarkets or farmers sell fresh produce. Incorrect: Supermarkets or farmers sells fresh produce.
Singular and plural subjects connected by or	Singular or plural verb (depends which subject is closer to the verb)	Correct: The cats or the dog is outside. Incorrect: The cats or the dog are outside.

These rules are helpful when the verb immediately follows its subject. However, the verb can sometimes be placed far from its subject (fit with modifiers in between). For example, the sentence: The woman with one hundred dogs is outside. The verb is is singular because it is referring to one woman (despite her having one hundred dogs). This demonstrates how subject-verb agreement persists despite their placement in a sentence.

The following rules show how subjects and verbs agree in less evident instances:

Rule	Example
A compound subject connected by and takes a plural verb no matter what additional information is between them.	Correct: The woman and her vicious dog are coming toward us. Incorrect: The woman and her vicious dog is coming toward us.
When compound subjects are combined by nor, the verb agrees with the form (singular vs plural) of the subject that is closer.	Correct: Neither our cats nor our dog has fleas. Incorrect: Neither our cats nor our dog have fleas.
When a prepositional phrase (preposition + object | ex: with the tattered binding) comes between a subject and verb, the agreement persists. [Click on preposition to see more examples]	Correct: The books with the tattered binding do not sell. Incorrect: The books with the tattered binding does not sell.
Each, one of, and every take singular verbs.	Correct: One of the football players is hurt. Incorrect: One of the football players are hurt.
A number takes a plural verb while the number takes a singular verb.	Correct: A number of the cattle are missing. Incorrect: A number of the cattle is missing Correct: The number of cattle missing is shocking. Incorrect: The number of cattle missing are shocking.
All, any, most, more, some, and none can be singular or plural depending on their connected noun.	Correct: All the water is missing. Incorrect: All the water are missing. Correct: All the trees are missing. Incorrect: All the trees is missing.
Collective nouns (like family, crew, and assembly) take singular verbs and pronouns when the whole group does something.	Correct: The family sing every night. Incorrect: The family sings every night.

These rules clearly require practice to get down. Study each instance until you feel confident enough to attempt the questions below. Afterward, check your answers at the bottom of the page.

Questions

1. The cat and the dog with the dirty paw is/are running toward us.
2. The number of people here is/are astounding.
3. A number of people is/are outside.
4. None of the people has/have anything.
5. The men in the jerseys paint/paints the lines on the field.
6. The crew try/tries to steer the boat.
7. Every kid is/are present.
8. Neither the men nor the girl has/have a jacket.
9. Most of the water is/are gone.
10. Neither the kid nor his parents go/goes out much.

Answers

1. The cat and the dog with the dirty paw are running toward us.
2. The number of people here is astounding.
3. A number of people are outside.
4. None of the people have anything.
5. The men in the jerseys paint the lines on the field.
6. The crew tries to steer the boat.
7. Every kid is present.
8. Neither the men nor the girl has a jacket.
9. Most of the water is gone.
10. Neither the kid nor his parents go out much.