Agreement of the Relative Pronoun with its Antecedent

The Relative Pronoun derives its meaning from the Noun word or phrase which precedes it, known as the Antecedent. Hence, for all practical purposes it must conform to the person, number and gender of the antecedent. The number and person of the Relative Pronoun is reflected through the verb which is used , therefore, if the Noun word which forms the Antecedent is singular, it makes sense that the verb that follows the Relative Pronoun must accordingly be singular and matching in gender.

 

Examples:

1. The boys who were regular, performed remarkably well. (Since the antecedent ‘boys’ is third person plural, accordingly the verb used ‘were’ is also third person plural)

2. I, who am the Captain, will show you the way. (The Antecedent is ‘I’, therefore the verb is first person singular ‘am’.

3. The girl, who was ever so graceful, stood first in the pageant. (The Antecedent ‘girl’ is third person Singular, hence the verb that follows ‘was’ is also third person singular).

4. They, who lead by example are never short of followers. (The Antecedent ‘they’ is third person plural, hence the verb are is also third person plural.

5. It is who I am. (I being the Antecedent is first person singular, hence the verb ‘am too follows the same trend.)


· To make matters simple, it is always advisable to place the Relative Pronoun, close to the Antecedent.

Example: (The first one is always preferred)

6. The girl, who showed such exemplary courage, is the daughter of my childhood friend, Sita.

The girl, who is the daughter of my childhood friend, Sita, showed exemplary courage.

 

· The scope for error creeps in the fact that many a times the Pronoun does not immediately follow the antecedent and as such we have a string of words in between , which needs to be overlooked in our quest to form grammatically correct sentence structures.

Examples:

(i) Dennis, one of the class members, who has chosen Thomas Jefferson as his topics, is absent.( The verb ‘has’ is Singular since it takes its meaning from the antecedent Dennis, overlooking what comes after that.)

 

Special cases of Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

1. If the subjects are joined by ‘and’ the pronoun needs to be plural but if it is or/nor, then the pronoun agrees with the Subject closest to it.

Examples:

(i) Either the doctor or nurses who attended to her, failed in their job.

(ii) Both Mary and Suze, who are otherwise brilliant, failed to live up to their expectations on the final day.

(iii) Neither he nor his friend who was there, helped the accident victim.


2. If the Pronoun is referring to a unit like a country or a team, then the pronoun needs to take a Singular verb.

Examples:

(i)The country, whichstands united in this hour of grief, shall hence take a tough stand on terrorism.

(ii) The team, which always puts in its best, couldn’t accept the final outcome, stoically.


3. Some words like news / measles may sound plural nut are actually singular and hence take singular verbs.

(i) The news, which has shook the nation, send ripples amidst its citizens across the globe

(ii) Measles, which was thought to be under control, has spread again in recent years.





English Grammar and Composition

From Agreement of the Relative Pronoun with its Antecedent to HOME PAGE

New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.


Recent Articles

  1. Amphibolic Pathway | Definition | Examples | Pentose Phosphate Pathway

    Jun 06, 24 10:40 AM

    Amphibolic Pathway
    Definition of amphibolic pathway- Amphibolic pathway is a biochemical pathway where anabolism and catabolism are both combined together. Examples of amphibolic pathway- there are different biochemical…

    Read More

  2. Respiratory Balance Sheet | TCA Cycle | ATP Consumption Process

    Feb 18, 24 01:56 PM

    ATP Synthase in Mitochondria
    The major component that produced during the photosynthesis is Glucose which is further metabolised by the different metabolic pathways like glycolysis, Krebs cycle, TCA cycle and produces energy whic…

    Read More

  3. Electron Transport System and Oxidative Phosphorylation | ETC |Diagram

    Feb 04, 24 01:57 PM

    Electron Transport Chains
    It is also called ETC. Electron transfer means the process where one electron relocates from one atom to the other atom. Definition of electron transport chain - The biological process where a chains…

    Read More

  4. Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle | Krebs Cycle | Steps | End Products |Diagram

    Jan 28, 24 12:39 PM

    Aerobic Respiration
    This is a type of process which execute in a cyclical form and final common pathway for oxidation of Carbohydrates fat protein through which acetyl coenzyme a or acetyl CoA is completely oxidised to c…

    Read More

  5. Aerobic Respiration | Definition of Aerobic Respiration | Glycolysis

    Dec 15, 23 08:42 AM

    Aerobic Respiration
    This is a type of respiration where molecular free oxygen is used as the final acceptor and it is observed in cell. Site of Aerobic Respiration - Aerobic respiration is observed in most of the eukaryo…

    Read More