代名詞的配合（pronoun agreement）是一個 時常被同學們忽略了的問題，但掌握它的用法其實十分重要。
了解它不但有助同學避免寫作時可能犯的錯誤，亦可幫助解決Paper 1 Reading中的難題。
數目人稱性別須相符
簡單來說，代名詞在數目（number）、人稱（person）及性別（gender）上，一定要符合與它所取代的名詞（antecedent）：
Mary loves swimming. She goes to the beach every Sunday.
She和它所取代的名詞Mary同樣是第三身、單數及女性。
同學之所以時常犯錯，主要是忽略了以下：
1. Indefinite pronoun. 雖然大部分的indefinite pronouns意思上是plural（複數），但偏偏文法上它們大部分，如anyone、everyone、someone、somebody、each等等都是singular（單數）：
Everyone should bring his or her textbook to class.
2. 留意neither...nor或either...or等句式。當運用這些句式時，代名詞應配合較近的antecedent：
Neither Paul nor Mary will get her money back.
上文下理看指稱
Reference（指稱）的問題在Paper 1 Reading中常見；要處理它們，最佳辦法就是要細心閱讀有關問題句子的上文下理；因為有時候，antecedent可在代名詞的前面出現，有時則在後面出現：
Getting lost, she felt she had been wandering in the forest for hours. By the time Mary was saved by the rescuers, she realized only two hours had passed.
句中第一個和第二個she在Mary前面出現，而最後一個she則在Mary後面出現。
Exercise
Underline the correct pronoun.
1. Each of the students is willing to give [his or her, their] used textbooks to the poor.
2. The various pieces of oak furniture are still beautiful, but I have decided to remove [it, them] due to the lack of space in my new flat.
Answers
1. Each of the students is willing to give his or her used textbooks to the poor.
2. The various pieces of oak furniture are still beautiful, but I have decided to remove them due to the lack of space in my new flat.
■Dr. A. Chan，哲學博士，哲學碩士，英語講師。熟悉公開考試之出題模式與評分準則，任教英語。
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