Notional agreement refers to the agreement between a pronoun and its antecedent based on meaning rather than strict grammatical rules. This means that the agreement is based on the ideas conveyed by the sentence rather than just the number or gender of the words used. An example of notional agreement can be seen in the following sentence:
“The team, with their captain leading them, is headed to the playoffs.”
In this sentence, the noun “team” is singular, but the pronoun “their” is plural. This is because the notional agreement is based on the idea that a team is made up of individuals, making it appropriate to use a plural pronoun to refer to the individuals within the team. The notional agreement takes precedence over strict grammatical rules, making the sentence both grammatically correct and a more accurate reflection of the intended meaning.
Another example of notional agreement can be seen in the following sentence:
“Each of the students has their own style of learning.”
Here, the pronoun “their” is used instead of “his or her” to refer to the students. This is because notional agreement dictates that it is appropriate to use a plural pronoun to refer to a group of individuals, even if the group is made up of singular entities.
Notional agreement can also be used in cases where the antecedent is unclear, as in the following sentence:
“The company announced that they would be expanding their operations overseas.”
In this sentence, it is not clear whether the pronoun “they” refers to the company or a specific group within the company. However, notional agreement allows for the use of a plural pronoun in this context based on the idea that a company is made up of individuals.
In conclusion, notional agreement is a useful tool in English grammar that allows for a more flexible approach to pronoun-antecedent agreement. By basing agreement on meaning rather than strict grammatical rules, notional agreement can lead to more accurate and effective communication.