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Grammar Boot Camp #5: Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Case

Examples

Pronoun Reference

By SL. Kaley Keene

Amy told Bernadette that her boyfriend is annoying. -Whose boyfriend is annoying? From this, we can't be sure-

Corrected: Amy's boyfriend is annoying, and she told Bernadette.

Our Earth is dying. They should do something to preserve our planet! -Who is "they"?-

Corrected: Our Earth is dying. The US government should do something to preserve our planet!

Writers have to be careful to not confuse their readers. Pronouns can replace thousands of nouns, so the writer must be very certain that the reader can tell exactly which noun or nouns are being replaced. The problem is that sometimes the antecedent (the noun being replaced) isn't clear or there isn't one at all.

It makes me so happy when my cat licks my nose.

-Where is the antecedent?-

Corrected: My cat licking my nose makes me so happy. -Don't use an ambiguous "it"-

Subjective Case Objective Case Possessive Case Reflexive/Intensive Case

Correct use of "it": That essay was so great that I shared it with my colleagues.

I

You

He

She

It

We

They

Who

Me

You

Him

Her

It

Us

Them

Whom

My, Mine

Your, Yours

His

Her, Hers

Its

Our, Ours

Their, Theirs

Whose

Myself

Yourself, Yourselves

Himself

Herself

Itself

Ourselves

Themselves

Reflexive/Intensive Case

Who vs. Whom

Pronoun Agreement

Pronoun Case

Comparisons

This chart shows you how to figure out which pronoun to use depending on the structure of your sentence.

Pronouns must agree in number and in person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd)

Look at your chart from the third slide or on your handout. "Whom" falls under Objective Case and "who" falls under Subjective Case. One really simple way to remember how to use "who" vs. "whoM" is that "M".

Consider these sentences.

Compound Subjects

When to use "I" vs. "me".

She loves children. Children do not love her.

Let's look at two sentences.

Cynthia loves her daughter more than I.

Cynthia loves her daughter more than me.

Both are grammatically correct, but both have different meanings.

The men took their wives out to eat. -Correct-

A student must study in order to pass his/her exams.- Correct-

A student must study hard to pass their exams. -Incorrect-

I love going to the beach at night because you can hear the loud crashing of the waves against the shore. -Incorrect-

I love going to the beach at night because I can hear the loud crashing of the waves against the shore. - Correct-

If you can replace the pronoun with "hiM/her", use "whoM". If you can replace the pronoun with "he/she", use "who".

These pronouns are used only to reflect or intensify the action of the subject of a clause.

For example,

She dyed her hair herself.

I can make my way in this world myself.

He wrote that essay himself.

They made that mess themselves.

You can clean up this mess yourselves. (plural "you" in this case)

You can pay that bill yourself.

It is stronger by itself.

In the first sentence, we use "she" because "she" is the subject of the sentence; however, in the second sentence we use "her" because there is no verb for "her" to latch on to. In the second sentence, "Children" are the subjects and "her" is the object.

You would never say "Me went to the store." Why? Because "me" can never be a subject of a sentence. You'd say "I went to the store." Same with "My friend sent I to the store." You'd say "My friend sent me to the store." because "Cynthia" is the subject of that sentence, not "I".

Elliot and me went to the movies yesterday. - This is incorrect- Why? Because "me" can only be used as an object, and this sentence is attempting to use it as a subject. Let's try again.

Elliot and I went to the movies yesterday. -Correct-

Now, what happens when we do this...

Cynthia sent Elliot and I to the store. -Incorrect use of "I"- Why? Because "I" can only be used as a subject and this sentence is attempting to use it as an object.

Cynthia sent Elliot and me to the store. -Correct!-

For example,

To whom are you referring? To him or her?

For whom is this gift? For him or her?

Tabitha, who eats a lot, needs to work out. Who eats a lot? She does.

Pronoun case is recognizing that pronouns must change their form based upon what function they play in a sentence.

1st sentence: In English, we can sometimes omit implied verbs. In this sentence, the verb "am" is omitted; therefore, this sentence truly means that Cynthia has more love for her daughter than I do.

2nd sentence: "Me" is an object, so in this case, Cynthia has more love for her daughter than she does for me.

Subjective and Objective Case

Possessive Case

I see this mistake happen very often, so let's address it with the use of the sentences below.

Often times, student writers use "it's" and "its" either interchangeably or incorrectly.

contraction for "it is" = it's; possessive case of "it" = its

Him and I are going to the movies. -Incorrect- Why? Because "Him" cannot be a subject.

He and I are going to the movies. -Correct-

Him is going to the movies. -Incorrect-

He is going to the movies. -Correct-

The dog bit me and him! -Correct- Why? Because in this case, "him" is acting as an object, along with "me", creating compound objects in this sentence.

For example,

The insect picks up breadcrumbs to bring back to its family. - possessive

It's (it is) going to rain today. - contraction

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