Look Good in Print

This text will refresh your memory or introduce you to the common writing rules for Standard American English. It addresses the 22 most common errors found in writing. Applying and using the fundamentals of good writing will ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and achieves your intended purposes.

02A: SYNTAX AND WORD CHOICE

6. Agree with Antecedents 

When pronouns are substituting for nouns, they must agree with their antecedent (the noun they are substituting for). 

SENTENCE 1: Adrienne's teammate, Rex, wants his lunch break early today.

SENTENCE 2: Adrienne's teammates, Rex and Rachel, want their lunch break early today.

Notice the domino effect of changing "teammate" to "teammates" in Sentence 2. Because the antecedent noun - teammate(s) - changed, two subsequent words in the sentence had to change. The verb changed from wants to want, and the pronoun changed from his to their. These changes keep the verb and the pronouns in agreement with their antecedent. 

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in both gender and number. Look at the following sentences. The antecedent is underlined and its pronoun is in blue. 

NO:  Please ensure that each manager brings his laptop to the meeting. 

YES: Please ensure that all managers bring their laptops to the meeting. 

Both of these sentences are grammatically correct. Note the following style guideline, however: In the first sentence, the antecedent (manager) is singular; so is the pronoun (his). But is each manager necessarily male? The second sentence corrects this problem by making the antecedent plural (managers) so that the gender-neutral plural pronoun "their" can be used. 

You could change the sentence to "each manager brings his/her laptop," but this construction is unwieldy. Use the plural instead.

Try to spot the common error in the following sentence:

Please ensure the customer is satisfied before they leave the store.

Language is constantly evolving. The use of the gender-neutral singular "they" has become so common that it was named the "word of the year" in 2015. Interested? Check out the article at right.

In everyday speech, we often use "they" (a plural pronoun) when the antecedent ("customer") is singular. In writing, maintain agreement by using plural antecedents and pronouns whenever possible.  

Is a company singular or plural? A business is a single entity, which means that it takes a singular pronoun:

NO: Microsoft is a great company; they have an excellent benefits package.

YES: Microsoft is a great company; it has an excellent benefits package.

Is a team (or other group of people) singular or plural? In business, a team is made up of a number of individuals. However, because the team is an entity distinct from its individual members, use a singular pronoun (and verb) when referring to the team as a whole:

NO: The sales team achieved their target.  
YES: The sales team achieved its target.

ALSO YES:  The members of the sales team achieved their targets.

Who vs. that. When choosing between "who" and "that" to refer to a team, choose "that". 

NO: The bonus went to the team who achieved its target.  
YES: The bonus went to the team that achieved its target.


The general rule is to use "who" (not "that") when referring to people:

NO: Travelers that want reimbursement should submit their receipts.

YES:  Travelers who want reimbursement should submit their receipts.