Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Take care with compound antecedents
Make pronouns and antecedents agree
Grammar

Treat most compound antecedents joined with and as plural.

With compound antecedents joined with or or nor (or with either . . . or or neither . . . nor), make the pronoun agree with the nearer antecedent.

NOTE: If one of the antecedents is singular and the other plural, as in the second example, put the plural antecedent last to avoid awkwardness.

EXCEPTION: If the two antecedents are people of different genders, do not follow the traditional rule. The sentence Either Bruce or Elizabeth should receive first prize for her poem makes no sense. The best solution is to recast the sentence: The prize for best poem should go to either Bruce or Elizabeth.

EXERCISE 22-1

Edit the following sentences to eliminate problems with pronoun-antecedent agreement. Most of the sentences can be revised in more than one way, so experiment before choosing a solution. If a sentence is correct, write “correct” after it. Possible revisions appear in the back of the book.

a. Every presidential candidate must appeal to a wide variety of ethnic and social groups if he wants to win the election.

b. Either Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington will win an award for their lifetime achievement in cinema.

c. The aerobics teacher motioned for everyone to move his or her arms in wide, slow circles.

d. The parade committee was unanimous in its decision to allow all groups and organizations to join the festivities.

e. The applicant should be bilingual if she wants to qualify for this position.