How do you make a pronoun agree with its antecedent and refer to it clearly on the ACT, and how do you fix a vague or ambiguous pronoun?
Pronoun agreement and reference on ACT English: matching a pronoun to its antecedent in number (singular antecedents, including indefinite pronouns, take singular pronouns), and fixing unclear reference where a pronoun has no clear antecedent or could point to more than one noun.
A focused answer to pronoun agreement and reference on ACT English: matching a pronoun to its antecedent in number, treating indefinite pronouns and collective nouns correctly, and fixing vague or ambiguous reference where a pronoun has no clear or single antecedent, with a routine for the underlined pronoun.
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What this skill is asking
A pronoun stands in for a noun (its antecedent), and the ACT tests two things about that relationship: the pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number, and it must refer to it clearly. Agreement errors are usually a singular antecedent paired with a plural pronoun; reference errors are a pronoun that is vague (no clear antecedent) or ambiguous (could point to more than one noun). The skill is checking both the number and the clarity of every pronoun.
Agreement in number
The first check is number: singular with singular, plural with plural.
The most common agreement error pairs a singular indefinite pronoun or collective noun with "they" or "their". "A student should submit their work" technically mismatches "a student" (singular) with "their" (plural); the ACT's formal answer is "his or her work" or a rewrite to a plural subject ("Students should submit their work").
Clear reference
The second check is reference: the pronoun must clearly point to one noun.
The tell for a reference problem is that you have to pause and ask "who?" or "what?" when you read the pronoun. If the answer is not immediately one noun, the reference is faulty.
Fixing a pronoun on an underlined portion
Run both checks, number and clarity, on the underlined pronoun.
Why both checks matter together
Pronoun questions fail in two ways, and the ACT uses both, so you run two checks: does the pronoun match its antecedent's number, and does it clearly point to one noun? Agreement is a number rule (and overlaps with subject-verb agreement and the singular indefinite pronouns); reference is a clarity rule (and overlaps with word choice, since naming the noun is often the most precise fix). When a pronoun makes you ask "who?", name the noun; when it mismatches a singular antecedent, make it singular. Together these resolve the pronoun questions reliably.
Try this
Q1. What two things must be true of every pronoun on the ACT, and which kinds of antecedents most often cause agreement errors? [Recall]
- Cue. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and refer to it clearly. Agreement errors most often come from singular indefinite pronouns (everyone, each, someone) and collective nouns (company, team), which the ACT treats as singular but speech often pairs with "they".
Q2. Explain what is wrong with "The school updated its website and posted them online" and fix it. [Short explanation]
- Cue. "Them" is a plural pronoun, but its intended antecedent ("website", or the updates to it) is singular or unclear, so the reference is faulty. If "them" means the website, make it singular and clear: "The school updated its website and posted it online." If it means specific items, name them: "...and posted the new pages online."
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of ACT exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
ACT English (style)1 marksChoose the best option: 'Every student must bring their own laptop.' assuming the ACT tests strict agreement. (A) NO CHANGE (B) his or her own laptop (C) they're own laptop (D) its own laptopShow worked answer →
The correct answer is (B), "his or her own laptop". "Every student" is singular (the indefinite "every" makes it singular), so a strictly agreeing pronoun is the singular "his or her". The ACT tests formal agreement here.
Why not the others: (A) "their" is plural and does not strictly agree with the singular "every student" in the formal usage the ACT rewards; (C) "they're" means "they are", a contraction, not a possessive; (D) "its" is for things, not a person. The singular "his or her" agrees in number with "every student".
ACT English (style)1 marksChoose the best option: 'When Maria met Joan, she had just returned from Peru.' If the writer means Maria returned from Peru, which is clearest? (A) NO CHANGE (B) she, Joan, had just returned (C) Maria had just returned (D) they had just returnedShow worked answer →
The correct answer is (C), "Maria had just returned". In the original, "she" is ambiguous: it could refer to Maria or Joan. Replacing the pronoun with the name "Maria" makes the reference clear.
Why not the others: (A) leaves the ambiguity; (B) names the wrong person (Joan) and is awkward; (D) "they" wrongly suggests both returned. When a pronoun could point to more than one noun, the fix is to name the intended noun.
Related dot points
- Subject-verb agreement on ACT English: matching a verb to its true subject in number, ignoring prepositional phrases and other words between subject and verb, and handling tricky subjects (indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, collective nouns, and inverted there-is and here-are structures).
A focused answer to subject-verb agreement on ACT English: finding the true subject and matching the verb in number, ignoring phrases that come between them, and handling indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, collective nouns, and inverted there-is structures, with a routine for the underlined verb.
- Pronoun case on ACT English: choosing the subject case (I, he, she, we, they, who) for subjects and the object case (me, him, her, us, them, whom) for objects, and handling the test's favorite cases (compounds like 'my friend and I/me', comparisons with than, and who versus whom).
A focused answer to pronoun case on ACT English: using subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they, who) for subjects and object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them, whom) for objects, and the tricky cases of compound subjects and objects, comparisons with than or as, and who versus whom, with a drop-the-other-noun test.
- Commonly confused words on ACT English: distinguishing homophone and near-homophone pairs (their/there/they're, your/you're, its/it's, then/than, affect/effect, fewer/less, who's/whose) by meaning and part of speech, and choosing the spelling that fits the sentence.
A focused answer to commonly confused words on ACT English: telling apart homophone and near-homophone pairs (their/there/they're, your/you're, its/it's, then/than, affect/effect, fewer/less) by meaning and part of speech, with quick tests and a routine for choosing the right word in an underlined portion.
- Word choice and precision on ACT English: selecting the word whose denotation and connotation exactly fit the sentence's meaning and context, rejecting vague or approximately right words, and using surrounding context to pick the precise term in an underlined portion.
A focused answer to word choice and precision on ACT English: choosing the word whose exact meaning and connotation fit the context, telling a precise choice from a vague or approximately right one, and using the surrounding sentence to pick the right term, with a routine for the underlined word.
Sources & how we know this
- Description of the ACT English Test — ACT, Inc. (2025)
- Preparing for the ACT Test — ACT, Inc. (2025)