What Is a Pronoun Agreement Error Example

Pronoun agreement errors can be a common issue in writing, and they can have a negative impact on the clarity and credibility of a piece of content. In short, a pronoun agreement error occurs when the pronoun used does not match the noun it is referring to in terms of number and gender.

To give an example of a pronoun agreement error, let`s consider the following sentence:

“Each of the students should submit their homework by tomorrow.”

In this case, the pronoun “their” is used to refer to the singular noun “each,” which is grammatically incorrect. Instead, the sentence should read:

“Each of the students should submit his or her homework by tomorrow.”

Alternatively, you could rephrase the sentence to avoid the issue altogether:

“All students should submit their homework by tomorrow.”

Another common type of pronoun agreement error involves gender. For instance:

“Every person should be able to choose what they want to wear.”

Here, the pronoun “they” is used to refer to the gender-neutral noun “person,” but this can be problematic as it can lead to confusion or imply that the writer has a preference for using plural pronouns as opposed to gender-neutral singular pronouns like “they” and “them.” A more appropriate way to write this sentence would be:

“Every person should be able to choose what he or she wants to wear.”

Or:

“Everyone should be able to choose what they want to wear.”

In conclusion, pronoun agreement errors can be easy to make but are also easy to fix. As a copy editor, it`s important to keep an eye out for them and make sure that pronouns match their corresponding nouns in number and gender. Doing so can help to ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and professional.