Maintain pronoun agreement and clear antecedents.
Make pronouns agree in number and point clearly to one antecedent.
核心知识
A pronoun must agree in number with the noun it replaces, and it must be obvious which noun it refers to. If a reader could point to two different nouns and say "which one does 'it' mean?" — the pronoun is unclear.
深入理解
Pronoun errors on the SAT come in two types:
Agreement errors. The pronoun doesn't match its antecedent in number:
Each student must submit their application by Friday.
"Each" is singular. In formal SAT English, the pronoun should be singular too: "his or her." (Note: the SAT follows traditional formal grammar conventions for pronoun agreement.)
Ambiguous reference. The pronoun could refer to more than one noun:
When the manager met with the client, he expressed concerns about the timeline.
Who expressed concerns — the manager or the client? The pronoun "he" is ambiguous.
The SAT fix for ambiguity is usually to replace the pronoun with the specific noun or restructure the sentence.
Key singular antecedents that trip students up:
- each, every, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, neither, either, no one, nobody
All of these are grammatically singular on the SAT, even when they seem to refer to groups.
分步讲解
- Find the pronoun in the answer choices.
- Identify its antecedent — the noun it's replacing.
- Check number agreement: singular antecedent → singular pronoun, plural antecedent → plural pronoun.
- Check clarity: could the pronoun refer to more than one noun? If so, the sentence needs restructuring or the pronoun should be replaced with the specific noun.
- Pick the choice where the pronoun clearly and correctly refers to one specific antecedent.
常见误解
- Using "they" to refer to singular indefinite pronouns like "each" or "everyone." On the SAT, these take singular pronouns in formal contexts.
- Assuming a pronoun always refers to the nearest noun. It refers to the noun it logically replaces — which isn't always the closest one.
- Overlooking ambiguity when both possible antecedents are the same gender and number. "Sarah told Maria that she should leave" — who should leave?
示例解析
Neither the lead researcher nor the graduate assistant has submitted __________ final report to the department, causing a delay in the review process.
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