Is it "the team lost their game" or "its game"?

In standard American English, its: the team acts as one unit. Kids hear their constantly in casual speech and sports announcing, so this is a convention worth teaching explicitly; state tests side with its, and so do our answer keys.

What about singular they?

Singular they is widely accepted in modern usage when a person's identity is unknown or general. Our practice items sidestep the debate on purpose: every sentence has a clear antecedent with one standard answer, so students build the matching habit without wading into style arguments.

4th grade pronoun-antecedent agreement

4th grade pronoun-antecedent agreement worksheets

Fourth graders handle agreement when the antecedent hides: collective nouns that act singular (the team won its game), compound subjects that act plural (Ravi and Zoe shared their notes). Find the true owner, then match.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.3.1.f.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll get

Circle the letter of the pronoun that matches its owner.

The student council presented plan for the book fair. their · his · its
Answer: its
Tariq taught three new chess openings. himself · herself · themselves
My brother packs own lunch every morning. his · their · her

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 4th grade sheet

4th grade sheets draw from 80 sentences, 10 to a page. All 60 of 3rd grade's sentences are here too, plus 20 more.

Some of the answers:

hertheirshetheyheitherselfitselfthemselves

Choose the word. Circle the letter of the pronoun that matches its owner. 10 questions per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Two traps deserve names. The nearest-noun trap: in "the box of crayons lost its lid," the arrow goes to box, not crayons. And the collective trap: team, class, and family take its in standard American usage even though they contain many people. Students who ask "what does the arrow really point to?" beat both traps.

Watch for: The pronoun matches its owner, not the nearest noun. In 'Maya put the books in her bag', her matches Maya, not books. In formal writing, a team, class, or family counts as one thing and takes its.

Common questions about 4th grade pronoun-antecedent agreement

Is it "the team lost their game" or "its game"?: In standard American English, its: the team acts as one unit. Kids hear their constantly in casual speech and sports announcing, so this is a convention worth teaching explicitly; state tests side with its, and so do our answer keys.
What about singular they?: Singular they is widely accepted in modern usage when a person's identity is unknown or general. Our practice items sidestep the debate on purpose: every sentence has a clear antecedent with one standard answer, so students build the matching habit without wading into style arguments.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.3.1.f. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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