How Pronouns and Antecedents Work Together

Khan Academy

This educational video provides a clear and accessible introduction to pronoun-antecedent agreement, a fundamental concept in English grammar. The narrators, David and Beth, begin by breaking down the etymology of the word "antecedent" to help students understand its meaning as "something that goes before." Through a digital whiteboard demonstration, they illustrate how pronouns function as stand-ins for nouns and why they must align logically with the words they replace. The video explores two primary types of agreement: gender and number. Using the example of a character named Jillian, the lesson demonstrates how to select the correct gendered pronouns (she/her) to avoid confusion. It then moves to a plural example involving snowballs and monkeys to explain number agreement, showing why "they" is the correct pronoun for a plural noun while "it" would be incorrect. The narrators use humor and simple illustrations to make these abstract grammatical rules concrete and memorable. For educators, this resource serves as an excellent tool for introducing or reviewing sentence structure and mechanics. It addresses common student errors in writing, particularly the mismatch between singular nouns and plural pronouns or vice versa. The visual nature of the explanation, where words are highlighted and connected with arrows on screen, provides a strong scaffold for visual learners to grasp the relationship between different parts of speech.