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PRONOUN USAGE NOTES
PART I: PERSONAL PRONOUNS/CASES
Personal Pronouns: A pronoun that changes form depending on what person is referred to.
1st person—person speaking (I, we)
2nd person—person spoken to (you)
3rd person—person other than the speaker or the person spoken to (he, she, it, they)
Pronoun Cases: The case or form changes depending on the use of the pronoun.
Singular Pronouns
Nominative Case
I
you
he, she, it
1st
person
person
3rd person
2nd
Objective Case
me
you
him, her, it
Possessive Case
my, mine
your, yours
his, her, hers, its
Plural Pronouns
Nominative Case
we
you
they
1st
person
person
rd
3 person
2nd
Objective Case
us
you
them
Possessive Case
our, ours
your, yours
their, theirs
PART II: NOMINATIVE CASE
Used as:
1.
2.
SUBJECT
PREDICATE NOMINATIVE
A. The Nominative Case as a Subject:
She is a good friend of mine.
Problem Situations:
1.
A compound subject
 The girls and (he, him) went to the movies.
 Try each subject separately.
The girls went to the movies.
(He, him) went to the movies.
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2.
A pronoun and a noun appositive
 (We, us) freshmen wish we didn’t have to write a research paper
 Remove the appositive
 (We, us) freshman wish we didn’t have to write a research paper.
B. The Nominative Case as a Predicate Nominative
 Predicate nominative is a noun that follows a linking verb
 SUBJECT = PREDICATE NOMINATIVE
(Common linking verbs: AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE, MAY BE, etc.)
Example: It was he who suggested that they take a day off of work.
PART III: THE OBJECTIVE CASE
Used in the following ways:
1. Direct object
2. Indirect object
3. Object of the preposition
A. As a direct object:
Jessica decided to call him.
The explosion frightened my friends and me.
B. As an indirect object”
I handed him my math homework.
C. As an object of a preposition:
He stood in line between you and me.
NOTE: Again, watch out for the following scenarios:
1. Compound object—I made sure to call Sam and (she, her).
2. Noun appositive—Everyone blames (we, us) students for the trouble.
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PART IV: WHO VS. WHOM
Nominative—who, whoever
Objective—whom, whomever
When WHO/ WHOM is used in a subordinate clause, the use of the pronoun is determined by its
function IN THE CLAUSE.
Steps in Using Who/ Whom:
1. Find the subordinate clause
2. Determine how the pronoun is used IN the clause
 SUB, PN, DO, IO, OP
 Identifying the subject and verb of the clause may help
3. Determine the case of the pronoun based on the usual rules
4. Select the correct from of the pronoun
NOTE: No words outside of the clause affect the case of the pronoun.
Example: Herb Matthew, (who, whom) I sat next to, fell asleep during the last act of the play.
1.
2.
3.
4.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE: (who, whom) I sat next to
FUNCTION IN CLAUSE:
 Subject of clause = I
 Verb of clause = sat (action)
 (Who, whom) = object of preposition
CASE
 Object of Preposition = OBJECTIVE
FORM
 OBJECTIVE IS WHOM
 Hint: If you have BOTH an action verb and its subject WITHIN the
clause you’ve bracketed off, it’s always WHOM; if not, it’s WHO!
Example: I voted for Margaret O’Rourke (who, whom) my friends recommended.
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Example: Do you know (who, whom) she is?
1.
2.
3.
4.
PART V: INCOMPLETE CONSTRUCTION
Occurs when part of the sentence is omitted but understood
Example:
My sister is older than I.
(IMPLIED: My sister is older than I [am old]).
After than and as in an incomplete construction, use the form of the pronoun that you would use if
the construction were completed. You should aim to complete the construction in your own writing!
Example:
Fran was as delighted as (I, me).
Fran was as delighted as I was.
Sometimes the choice of pronoun affects the meaning of the entire sentence.
Example:
I know Jerry better than (he, him).
Does it mean that I know Jerry better than I know him?
OR
Does it mean I know Jerry better than he knows Jerry?
PART IV: WHO’S vs. WHOSE
Who’s = who is
Example: Do you know who’s on first base?
Whose= possessive
Do you know whose baseball mitt this is?
Circle the correct choice in the following sentences:
1. I cannot remember (who’s, whose) attending the picnic.
2. Amanda wondered (who’s, whose) textbook was left behind today.
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