Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners - Robin Torres-Gouzerh 2016

Personal pronouns and collective nouns
15 Agreement with nouns

Pronouns replace nouns in a sentence. Like nouns, pronouns can act as the subject or the object of a sentence. A singular pronoun is used to replace a singular noun.

A boy ran into the living room. He was looking for his toy.

Did you see the boy come in? Did you see him come in?

A plural pronoun is used to replace a plural noun.

Some children ran out to the garden. They were looking for Easter eggs.

They gave candy to some children. They gave candy to them.

Personal pronouns and collective nouns

When a collective noun refers to a single, impersonal entity, a singular pronoun (such as it) is used.

My work team is large. It is composed of 20 analysts.

When a collective noun refers to a group of various individuals, a plural pronoun (such as they or them) is used.

That family is close and caring. They are always there to support each other.

Exercise 15.1 Complete each sentence with the appropriate singular or plural pronoun and the appropriate form of the verb in parentheses, where given. More than one correct answer may be possible.

Example The chorus sang beautifully. They were(was | were) given a loud ovation.

1. The crowd was screaming throughout the concert. ... (was | were) more enthusiastic about the band than I had expected.

2. The audience clapped loudly. Obviously, ... had loved the show.

3. A polo team is relatively small. ... (doesn’t | don’t) have as many players as a rugby team.

4. The basketball team felt discouraged, because ... had lost to the opposing team.

5. I wrote a story on the average American family. During my research, I found out that ... (is | are) composed of about two children.

6. I have a wonderful group of co-workers. I enjoy working with very much, and ... (appreciates | appreciate) my work.

7. The fans became more and more excited as the game progressed. ... began to chant and wave flags in the air.

8. The audience at the Philip Glass concert was huge. ... exceeded 20,000 people.

9. The marketing team is pretty large. ... (consists consist) of 32 research specialists, 5 accountants, 10 secretaries, and 2 managers.

10. Martha and David finally saved enough money to begin making payments on the new car ... bought.

11. The research team is planning a trip to southern Mexico. ... (is | are) going to have fun.

12. There aren’t enough people registered for the course. ... (is | are) probably going to be canceled.