Pronouns should be consistent in number and person.
| PERSON | Inconsistent, Not Parallel |
When we reach the age of forty, you should be more financially responsible. |
| Consistent, Parallel |
When we reach the age of forty, we should be more financially responsible. |
Some indefinite pronouns are singular (none, each, either, anybody, nobody, anything, everything, anyone, everyone, neither, no one, etc.)
See Tricky Pronouns for more practice.
| NUMBER | Inconsistent, Not Parallel |
Each person had their own needs. |
| Consistent, Parallel |
Each person had his or her own needs. (or, better yet) Each person had specific needs. |
| NUMBER | Inconsistent, Not Parallel |
Everybody has their own opinion. |
| Consistent, Parallel |
Everybody has his or her own opinion. (or, better yet) Everybody has an opinion. |
Some indefinite pronouns (all, some, several, few, both, many) are plural or singular, depending on when the pronoun refers to a countable or non-countable noun.
| NUMBER countable |
Inconsistent, Not Parallel |
Some of the fingers on my left hand lost its skin. |
| Consistent, Parallel |
Some of the fingers on my left hand lost their skin. |
| NUMBER non-countable |
Inconsistent, Not Parallel |
All of the skin on my legs lost their color. |
| Consistent, Parallel |
All of the skin on my legs lost its color. |
Consistency: Pronouns
Choose the answer which best corrects the underlined word or phrase in the sentence.
Congratulations - you have completed Consistency: Pronouns.
You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.
Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
Your answers are highlighted below.