1. Pronouns
Cases and Usage Issues

2. 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

3. 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?

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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!

7. 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

8. 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

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

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

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

12. 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

13. 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.

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

15. 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.

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

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

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