Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a crucial aspect of writing that is often overlooked. It is essential to ensure that pronouns and their antecedents agree in number and gender, to avoid ambiguity and confusion. To help you polish your pronoun-antecedent agreement skills, we have provided a worksheet with answers that you can use to practice.

Worksheet:

Read the following paragraph carefully and identify the pronouns and their antecedents. Fill in the blanks with the correct pronoun.

Maria and Sarah are going to the mall. (1) ___ want to buy new dresses for the party. Maria tried on several dresses, but (2) ____ didn’t like any of them. Sarah picked a blue dress, and (3) ____ looked stunning in it. (4) ___ decided to buy matching shoes to go with their dresses. They went to the shoe store, and (5) ____ found the perfect shoes. (6) ____ were expensive, but (7) ____ decided to buy them anyway.

Answers:

1. They

2. She

3. She

4. They

5. They

6. They

7. They

Explanation:

In the above paragraph, Maria and Sarah are the antecedents, and the pronouns that refer to them are they and their. In sentence 2, she refers to Maria, whereas in sentence 3, she refers to Sarah. In sentence 4, they refers to both Maria and Sarah. In sentence 5 and 6, they refer to Maria and Sarah. In sentence 7, they refers to the shoes that both Maria and Sarah bought.

Conclusion:

Pronoun-antecedent agreement is a crucial aspect of writing that can make a significant difference in the clarity and effectiveness of your writing. The worksheet provided above is an excellent tool that you can use to practice and develop your skills in this area. Remember, the key to mastering pronoun-antecedent agreement is to pay attention to the number and gender of the antecedent, and to make sure that the pronoun that refers to it agrees in number and gender.