Pronouns Cases and Usage Issues

Nominative Case Pronouns (Subjects) Singular Plural 1st person I 2nd person you 3rd person he, she, it **who 1st person we 2nd person you 3rd person they

Uses for Nominative Case Pronouns Subjects of a sentence (independent clause) Ex: Susan and (I, me) sang a duet for contest. Ex: (Who, Whom) will eat the last piece of pie? Subjects of a clause (dependent clause) Ex: Although (he, him) was hot and tired, he still paid attention in English class. Ex: She is the girl (who, whom) won the award last year. Predicate Nominatives (PN) – renames the subject and follows a linking verb Ex: It was (she, her) who left the room last. Ex: (Who, Whom) was (he, him) to steal the boy’s bike?

Objective Case Pronouns (Objects) Singular Plural 1st person me 2nd person you 3rd person him, her, it **whom 1st person us 2nd person you 3rd person them

Use for Objective Case Pronouns Direct Object (DO) – follow action verbs and answer what? or whom? Ex: Keith defeated (he, him) in the tournament. Indirect Object (IO) – follow action verbs and answer to whom? or for whom? Ex: Terrence gave (she, her) a locket for her birthday. Ex: The principal gave (who, whom) the award? Object of a Preposition (OP) Ex: Please give the books to (they, them). Ex: To (who, whom) did the officer give the ticket? Object of a Verbal Phrase Ex: Choosing (they, them) for the team was a good move.

Possessive Pronouns (Ownership) Singular Plural 1st person my, mine 2nd person your, yours 3rd person his, her, hers, its 1st person our, ours 2nd person your, yours 3rd person their, theirs **No apostrophes for possessive forms!

Reflexive Pronouns (Mirror – Use “self” or “selves”) Singular Plural 1st person myself 2nd person yourself 3rd person himself, herself, itself **NOT hisself 1st person ourselves 2nd person yourselves 3rd person themselves ***NOT theirselves

Indefinite Pronouns (do not refer to a specific group) Some Body Any One No Thing Every Always singular - each, either, neither, one, another, much Always plural – both, few, many, others, several Sometimes singular/plural – all, any, most, none, some

Relative Pronouns (used to introduce adjective clauses) Who, whom, which, that, whoever, whomever, whichever, whatever

Demonstrative Pronouns (pointers) this, that, these, those

Interrogative Pronouns (Question clauses) which, who, whom, what

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement Antecedent – noun that comes before the pronoun and to which the pronoun refers **A pronoun must agree with its antecedent both in number and in gender

Pronoun Reference Errors Pronouns must make a clear reference to another noun or pronoun in the sentence. If the reader can not find a clear reference, then you have an ambiguous pronoun reference.

Unclear or Ambiguous Reference Billy and Bobby play games with their classmates, but they do not like them. Which words are unclear or ambiguous?

Sample Corrections Billy and Bobby play games with their classmates, but these boys do not like their classmates. Billy and Bobby play games with their classmates, but these boys do not like the games. Billy and Bobby play games with their classmates, but their classmates do not like the games. Billy and Bobby play games with their classmates, but the classmates do not really like these boys.

Incomplete Sentence Construction My cousin Sarah is taller than me. My cousin Sarah is taller than I (am).

These books should be placed on the table. Them books should be placed on the table. These books should be placed on the table.

Us teachers love to see our students succeed Us teachers love to see our students succeed. We teachers love to see our students succeed.