23c Take care with compound antecedents.

The example reads,

(Italics) President Obama and Chinese President Xi (End Italics) held a meeting at which (Italics) they (End Italics) formally signed the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. The phrase President Obama and Chinese President Xi is marked, and an arrow from the word they points to this phrase.

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

The examples read,

Either (Italics) Bruce (End Italics) or (Italics) Sebastian (End Italics) should receive first prize for (Italics) his (End Italics) poem. An arrow from the word his points to the word Sebastian.

Neither the (Italics) mouse (End Italics) nor the (Italics) rats (End Italics) could find (Italics) their (End Italics) way through the maze. An arrow from the word their points to the word rats.

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 one antecedent is male and the other female, do not follow the traditional rule. The sentence Either Bruce or Elizabeth should receive first prize for her short story makes no sense. The best solution is to recast the sentence: The prize for best short story should go to either Bruce or Elizabeth.

Exercise 23–1

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.

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

2. If someone wants to ride David’s motorcycle, he/she has to wear a helmet.

3. The trainer motioned for everyone to move his or her arms in wide, slow circles.

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

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