Download The Correct Use of Pronouns

Section 11
 Case is that form of a noun or pronoun which marks
its function in a sentence
 There are three cases:
1. Nominative
2. Objective
3. Possessive
 The following are the case forms of the singular personal
pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Singular
Nominative Case
Objective Case
Possessive Case
First Person
I
me
my (mine)
Second Person
you
you
your (yours)
Third Person
Masculine: he
Feminine: she
Neuter: it
Masculine: him
Feminine: her
Neuter: it
Masculine: his
Feminine: her (hers)
Neuter: its
 The following are the case forms of the plural personal
pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Plural
Nominative Case
Objective Case
Possessive Case
First Person
we
us
our (ours)
Second Person
you
you
your (yours)
Third Person
All genders: they
All genders: them
All genders: their
(theirs)
 The following are the case forms of the relative or
interrogative pronoun who
Relative and Interrogative Pronoun Who
Singular and Plural
Nominative Case
Objective Case
Possessive Case
Simple
who
whom
whose
Compound
whoever
whomever
whosever
 What are the nominative case pronouns?




Singular: I, you, he, she, it
Plural: we, you, they
Simple: who
Compound: whoever
 Nominative case pronouns are used as subjects or as
predicate nominatives
 He and I will be in the library.
 Pronouns used as subject
 The winner will be he.
 Pronoun used as predicate nominative
 Note: A pronoun that is used as a predicate nominative will
follow a form of the verb be
 A nominative case pronoun is used as the complement
of the infinitive to be whenever the infinitive does not
have a grammatical subject of its own
 Example
 He was thought to be I.
 Since to be has no subject of its own, the complement refers
to the subject of the verb was thought, which is in the
nominative case
 You can test if you used the correct pronoun by exchanging
the pronoun complement
 He was thought to be me = Me was thought to be he.
 He was thought to be I = I was thought to be he.
 What are the objective case pronouns?




Singular: me, you, his, her, it
Plural: us, you, them
Simple: whom
Compound: whomever
 Objective case pronouns are used direct object, indirect
object, and objects of preposition
 Examples:
 Dad advised him.
 Him is a DO following the verb advised
 Dad gave him advice.
 Him is an IO between the verb gave and the DO advice
 A helicopter circled above them.
 Them is the object of the preposition above
 The subject of an infinitive is in the objective case
 Example
 They wanted us to go with them.
 Us is the subject of the infinitive to go
 The entire phrase (us to go with them) is the DO of wanted
 An objective case pronoun is used as the complement
of the infinitive to be whenever the infinitive has a
grammatical subject of its own
 Example
 They thought him to be me.
 Here the complement refers to the subject of the infinitive which
is in the objective case
 What are the possessive case pronouns?
 Singular: my, your, his, her, its
 Plural: our, your, their
 Simple: whose
 Compound: whosever
 Possessive case pronouns show ownership or relationship
 The forms my, your, her, our, and their are used before
nouns and function as adjectives
 The forms mine, yours, hers, ours and theirs functions as
pronouns (that is, they may be subjects, direct objects,
predicate nominatives, etc.)
 The forms his and its function as adjectives or as
pronouns
 Example
 His boat was old, but mine was older than his.
 The first his functions as an adjective
 Mine and the second his function as pronouns (subjects)
 And lastly, the possessive case is used to modify
gerunds
 Example
 My meeting you here is quite a coincidence.
 We appreciate your visiting us today.
 In order to know which pronoun is correct, you must first
determine how the pronoun functions in the
sentence…then select the pronoun from the correct case
 Most problems occur when the pronoun appears in a
compound construction
 In such cases, try each pronoun alone in the sentence
 If the pronoun is followed by an appositive, try the
pronoun apart from the appositive
 If the pronoun itself is used as an appositive, the pronoun
appositive must be in the same case as the word to which it
refers
 Using who, whoever, whom, whomever can be
troublesome
 If the pronoun is used as a subject or a predicate
nominative, use who or whoever
 If the pronoun is used as a direct object or an object or
preposition, use whom or whomever
 For incomplete clauses beginning with than or as, use
the pronouns that you would use if the clause were
completed