Download Pronouns

Pronouns
 There are many kinds of pronouns. Early on in our
discussions, we will concentrate on personal
pronouns, but we will also cover demonstrative
pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and, to a lesser extent,
interrogative and relative pronouns. (Read about
them!)
 Pronouns are not nouns, but are words that take the
place of noun and function in a similar fashion. In
fact, the “pro” in “pronoun” is Latin for “in place of.”
 The word that a pronoun substitutes for is an
antecedent. That term is also based on Latin, and is
roughly translated as the word “that came before.”
o In almost all cases with personal pronouns, an
antecedent is required. With some of the other
kinds of pronouns, you can have sentences
without obvious antecedents, but whether you an
antecedent is present or not, a writer must
always be clear about what noun a pronoun is
replacing (who “he” is… what “it” refers to… that
is meant by “this or “those,” et cetera)
 We use pronouns so much so we don’t have to keep
repeating the antecedent. (In this example, the
antecedent is highlighted in blue and the pronouns
are highlighted in yellow.)
o The boy went inside his house to ask his mother
if he might ride his bicycle to a nearby park.
rather than….
o The boy went inside the boy’s house to ask the
boy’s mother if the boy might ride the boy’s
bicycle to a nearby park.
 An antecedent is generally close by the pronoun that
replaces it—if not in the sentence itself, then perhaps
in the previous sentence or two. Much of the time
(>75%), the antecedent is the last used noun.
o Because she had lost her car keys, my mother
went tearing through every room in the house
until she found them.
o
 When a writer uses “I,” “me, “my,” “mine,” and
“myself”, he or she is making a reference to self.
Hence, even if the writer’s name does not appear in a
passage, we can nevertheless assume that the
antecedent for these first person personal pronouns is
the writer him- or herself.
o I wish my garden were more colorful and vibrant.
(The antecedent of these pronouns is understood
to be the writer/speaker of the sentence.)
 Pronoun reference error: when antecedent is unclear
o John and his friend went shopping at the mall,
and he bought a suit. (Who bought the suit?)
 Many readers will glance at this sentence
and answer that John bought the suit, but
that’s just a supposition, or guess. In the
sentence, as written, it is simply unclear
whether the antecedent for he is “John” or
“his friend.” In this respect, the writer had
given the issue up for interpretation. And
that’s never good, for while most readers will
assume that John bought the suit, others
may have understood it to be the friend who
purchased the garment. And in the end, we
don’t really know which readers are right,
and with such a vague and ambiguous
sentence, we can’t be certain what the writer
meant.
 A clearer sentence would be: “John went
shopping at the mall along with his friend
and bought a suit.” Or “John and his friend
went shopping at the mall, and the friend
bought a suit.” Or “John went shopping at
the mall along with his friend, who bought a
suit.”
 Notice that clarification of pronoun reference
can involve rephrasing or repositioning
certain words in a sentence, or it may involve
eliminating the use of a pronoun, especially if
a discussion involves numerous people of
the same gender.
o John said that his dad said that he was going
fishing. (unclear)(Is John going fishing, or is it the
dad who is going?)
o John’s father said he was going fishing.
(unclear)(Readers still cannot say for certain who
is going fishing.)
 John’s father said, “I am going fishing.”
(clearer)(Here, it is clear: the dad is going
fishing.)
 John said that his father was going fishing.
(clear)(We know from this sentence that it is
John’s father who is going fishing.)
 John’s father commented that John was
going fishing. (clearer) (Readers will
understand from this sentence that John is
going fishing, as opposed to his father’s
going fishing.)
o Pronoun agreement error: when pronouns are
fundamentally different than the antecedent,
especially in terms of number and gender.
 Each student was asked to bring their
completed medical form for the school trip.
 The problem is a mismatch: Each student
singular subject was asked singular verb to
bring their plural pronoun completed medical
form singular noun for the school trip.
 A corrected version of the sentence: “Each
student was asked to bring his or her
completed medical form for the school trip.”
Or “Each student was asked to bring her
completed medical form for the school trip.”
Or “Each student was asked to bring his
completed medical form for the school trip.”
Or “Students were asked to bring their
completed medical forms for the school trip.”
 Pronoun case error: when an incorrect version of a
pronoun is used or is asked to function in a way it’s
not designed to function.
o Example: My mother and me traveled across
country to see my grandfather before he died.
(This sentence should use “my mother and I,” not
“my mother and me.”)
 In this sentence the word “me” is appearing
in front of “traveled,” a verb. That verb calls
for a subject, but “me” is not capable of
serving as a subject. “I,” on the other hand,
is a subject case pronoun.
o Another example: If you have any questions or
customer complaints, direct them to either myself
or one of the other shift managers. (This
sentence should say, “either me or one of the
other shift managers.”)
 In this sentence the word “myself” is part of a
prepositional phrase and is purporting to
function like the object of the preposition.
However, as a reflexive case pronoun, it
cannot function that way. “Me,” an object
case pronoun, is what the sentence calls for.
 Case is the concept of fashioning pronouns to serve
various specific functions within sentences. Hence,
the personal pronouns (and some other pronouns)
have different versions of themselves. Depending on
how a writer phrases his or her sentence, a reference
to self might require be accomplished by any of the
following words: “I,” “me,” “my,” “mine,” or “myself.”
 There are four basic “cases” upon which we will
concentrate: subjective, objective, possessive, and
reflexive. For each of the seven personal pronouns,
I’ve provided a list of the various cases.
o Subject case: I, we, they, he, she, it, you
 These words are used when you want a
pronoun to function as the subject of the
sentence.
 Some books/teachers refer to them as
nominative case pronouns.
o Object case: me, us, them, him, her, it, you
 These words are used when a pronoun is
functioning as a direct object, an indirect
object, an object of the preposition, the
object of an infinitive phrases, and the like.
o Possessive case (which function as adjectives):
my/mine, our/ours, their/theirs, his, her/hers, its,
your/yours
 Possessive pronouns function as adjectives
which are used to “show ownership” (as
many grammar books say) or to describe an
association between the antecedent and a
person or object.
 As with many adjectives, possessive
pronouns often appear directly in front of a
noun: my car, his sister, your exam.
 Other times, we phrase things differently and
must use different versions of the words:
 That dog is mine.
 It’s hers.
 Which house belongs to them? That
one on the corner is theirs.
 His is the first bedroom on the right.
(Here, coincidentally, a possessive
pronoun serves as the subject of the
sentence. This is possible because, in
the intricate world of grammar, the
antecedent for “his” is a bedroom
presumed to be owned by a man or
boy.)
 Some students get confused and think
possessive pronouns are different from
possessive adjectives. But possessive
pronouns are possessive adjectives!!! They
are just a particular kind of possessive
adjective. I think the confusion stems from
the fact that the vast majority of possessive
adjectives are created from nouns and
require apostrophes in their spelling. There
are considerably fewer possessive
pronouns, and thanks to the concept of case,
are sort of preformed words that don’t
require apostrophes.
 John’s car is red. (possessive adjective
created from the proper noun John)
 His car is red. (possessive pronoun
whose antecedent refers to the male
owner of the car.)
 I asked John’s girlfriend if she would
give me his phone number since I had
accidentally deleted his from my cell
phone. She didn’t actually have it in her
phone, either, but she borrowed her
best friend’s phone and looked it up for
me. (In these sentences, I highlighted
all the possessive adjectives. The pink
represents possessive adjectives
created by nouns. The green
represents possessive pronouns.
Despite being outnumbered by nounbased possessive adjectives, it is typical
to use more possessive pronouns in
sentences than other possessive
adjectives)
o Reflexive: myself, ourselves, themselves,
himself, herself, itself, yourself/yourselves
 Some grammar sources try to distinguish
reflexive pronouns from intensive pronouns
despite the fact that they are represented by
the very same words. Intensive pronouns
emphasize another used pronoun or nouns
whereas a reflexive pronoun renames a
noun, most often the subject. The difference
is reflected in these examples:

They complained about her dishonesty, but
they themselves lied. (“Themselves” is said
to intensify “they.”)
He hurt himself when he tripped on the
sidewalk. (“Himself” renames “he,” and
would therefore be considered a reflexive
pronoun.
For our purposes, these distinctions are
pretty subtle, so we will not attempt to
differentiate reflexive pronouns and intensive
pronouns.
 Sentences with pronouns, their cases identified:
 I (subjective) travel a lot.
 He (subjective) dances very well.
 He (subjective) gave the trophy to me
(objective/object of the preposition) when I
(subjective) won the tournament.
 He (subjective) gave me (objective/indirect
object) the trophy when I (subjective) won
the tournament.
 She (subjective) asked me (objective/indirect
object) a question.
 I (subjective) answered her (objective/direct
object).
 Joan asked her (possessive) brother to fix
her (possessive) car and park it
(objective/direct object) in her (possessive)
neighbor’s driveway.
 “Momma, I (subjective) did it (objective)
myself (reflexive)!”
 Melissa and he (subjective) ate their
(possessive) supper, paid the bill, left the
restaurant, and went on their (possessive)
way.
 He (subjective) asked me (objective/indirect
object) to keep Joan’s secret between us
(objective) / him (objective) and me
(objective).
 He (subjective) slept through his
(possessive/adjective) algebra class and
didn’t take any notes.
 When they (subjective) went to the lake, the
boat wouldn’t start because it (subjective)
didn’t have any gas.
 My (possessive/adjective) friend hurt himself
(reflexive) by running and tripping on the
curb.
 I (subjective) love my kids even though they
make me mad at times.
 My friend hit himself on the shoulder when
the barbell he was holding slipped from his
hands.
 My mother went to the grocery store to buy
the ingredients for her special cake, but it
didn’t have any in stock.
 My mother went to the grocery store to buy
the ingredients for her special cake, but they
weren’t available.
 Whenever my dog sees itself in a mirror, it
barks like crazy.
 Whenever my dog sees herself in a mirror,
she barks like crazy.
 My friend is planning a going-away party for
Lisa, Melissa, and me.
 Some people learn from their mistakes, and
some individuals just repeat them.
 My professor, Laura Foster-Eason, is going
to the Texas Rangers’ game; she is going by
herself. Hopefully, her team will win, and
she will be very pleased.
 Laura hopes her favorite baseball team will
win, and she will probably have to cross her
fingers and pray.
 My favorite team, the Texas Rangers, won
the AL championship; it doesn’t have to win
tonight.
 I personally like the Rangers but don’t watch
the team as much as I did in my youth.
 The Texas Rangers play a game tonight; my
family and friends of ours are going to watch
the team play.
o Seeming Exceptions (But not really):
 First exception: sentences that make
comparisons.
 These exceptions involve “understood”
or “implied” elements of sentences,
especially predicates. What this
statement means is that we write the
sentence considering words that don’t
actually appear on the page.
 Comparisons use the subject case:
 He is taller than I.
o What’s implied? He is taller than I
(am tall).
o Hence, even though “am tall”
doesn’t appear in the sentence, we
structure the sentence as though it
were there.
o Writing He is taller than me isn’t
grammatical because “me” is the
wrong case to fit the grammatical
structure of the implied predicate:
He is taller than me (is tall).
 Other examples:
o Nobody sings as well as she
(sings).
 --or—
 Nobody sings as well as she
sings.
o He runs faster than I (run).
o Nobody is as good as she (is good).
o My friend is smarter than I (am
smart).
o She is smarter than I.
o He is more sensitive than I.
o Nabeel is more sensitive than
Mariam.
o He is more sensitive than she is.
o I am more sensitive than __they___
(are sensitive).
o
o He is way more awesome than I
(am awesome).
o He is more intelligent than
they/others (are intelligent).
 Errors with sentences that make
comparisons are quite common,
especially in our conversations, and
sentences like, I wish I were more like
her make ready sense to people.
 Most of the time, such errors go
unnoticed or are not remarked upon, so
it is easy to develop a tolerance for
hearing them. In other words, they don’t
“sound wrong” to many people. Worse
yet, correct versions of the sentences
may actually feel uncomfortable to some
speakers. This is why it is problematic
to rely only on the instinct of how
something sounds to determine whether
it’s proper English or not.
 Sometimes, it depends on meaning whether
you use subject or object case in a sentence
in which a writer makes a comparison of two
other individuals rather than between him- or
herself and another.
 You trust Mr. Aton more than me.
o This would mean that the writer
thinks that the person to whom he
is speaking trusts Mr. Aton more
than that person trusts the writer.
--or-o You trust Mr. Aton more than (you
trust) me.
 You trust Mr. Aton more than I.
o This would mean that the writer
thinks that the person to whom he
is speaking trusts Mr. Aton more
than the writer trusts Mr. Aton.
--or-o You trust Mr. Aton more than I (trust
him).
 Probably, it is better all the way around
to write out the implied elements than
risk being unclear, so…

You trust Mr. Aton more than you
trust me.
--or-o You trust Mr. Aton more than I trust
him.
o
 I have more fear of him than you.
(Here, the meaning is unclear.)
o Clearer: I have more fear of him
than you do. (Meaning is clear: the
writer compares how much fear of
“him” she or she has compared to
how much fear “you”--whoever you
is--has of “him.)
o Clearer: I have more fear of him
than I have of you. (Meaning is
clear: The writer’s fear of “him” or
less than the writer’s fear of “you.”)
 I believe her more than him. (Here, the
meaning is unclear.)
o Clearer: I believe her more than I
believe him. (Meaning is clear)
o Clearer: I believe her more than he
believes her. (Meaning is clear).
o
 Exception #2: Answering the phone and
other subject complements:
 This is she.
 This is he.
 This is I.
 In these sentences, “she,” “he,” and “I”
are all predicate pronouns that go with
the linking verbs. Predicate pronouns
that accompany linking verbs are often
called subject complements, which is a
good name for them because they use
subject case pronouns.
 All of these versions of the sentences
are improper:
o This is her.
o This is him.
o This is me. –or-- It’s me.
o In these sentences, the problem is
that the pronouns appear in
objective case. These may be
further examples that may convince
you of the need to re-train your
instincts because, to a lot of people,
these sentences sound “okay.”
o Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those
 Demonstrative pronouns serve as adjectives.
 This sweater, those doughnuts, that man,
these days
 This will be on the exam. (wrong)
 This information will be on the exam.
(correct)
 That’s a good idea, Jim! (weak)
 That idea is a good one, Jim! (better)
 This material will be on the exam. (correct)
 This formula will be on the exam. (correct)
 (You) Go get me that can of Coca-Cola.
 (You) Go find me these candy bars.
 These people are driving me crazy.
 Those cans of juice contain ample vitamins.
 Those girls make me sick.
 Who is taking you to the dance?
 With whom are you going to the dance?
 Who are you going to the dance with?
 Who are you?
 You are who?
 Those girls make me sick with all the silly
tricks they play on my brother and me, and I
just wish they would be more like our male
cousins, who are always fun.
 Anna asked me if I wanted to go hiking with
her since it seems that the summer’s hot
days have gone.
 We had very nice weather today, but this
morning was so chilly that my son asked me
for a light jacket.
 This morning was cooler than yesterday, and
the crisp air felt great to me.
 It was a nice day for those people who hated
the hot summer days.
 I am glad that this summer is over; I can’t
wait for the snow days to come.
 I love days like these, where the weather is
temperate, and there is no need for jackets.
 These girls were picking on my little brother
at the park, so I asked the girls to leave him
alone.
 These two days of cool weather felt really
refreshing to me after this long, hot summer.
 Those Texas Rangers did very well; my
professor and I are very pleased with the
team.
 The Texas Rangers are planning to go
through hard games just like that last one,
where the team lost against Seattle.
 Last week was a good time for the Greenhill
team to win the game. My daughter and I
kept on clapping the whole time while those
good players who won the game were
playing hard.
 Personal pronouns: various forms (cases) of I, he,
she, they, we you, and it
 Indefinite pronoun: several, couple, few, one, two,
any, some, one, everyone, everybody, anybody,
someone, somebody else, anyone else, others, who,
and so forth
o Indefinite pronouns frequently function as
subjects and also in other noun-like ways (such
as direct objects or objects of the preposition),
but the same words often function as adjectives.
When they function as nouns, they often work in
conjunction with a prepositional phrase; when
they function as adjectives, they are usually
directly in front of the noun they modify. To
illustrate these tendencies, I’ve highlighted
prepositional phrases in aqua and the modified
nouns in red.
o
 Some (indefinite pronoun as subject) of the
children were playing in the sandbox.
 Some (indefinite pronoun as adjective)
children are playing in the sandbox.
 One (indefinite pronoun as subject) of the
children was playing in the sandbox.
 One (indefinite pronoun as adjective) child is
playing in the sandbox.
 I gave a piece of candy to each (indefinite
pronoun as an object of the preposition) of
the trick-or-treaters.
 I gave each trick-or-treater a piece of candy.
 Each of the students should turn in his or her
vaccination record to the school nurse.
 Each student should turn in his or her
vaccination record to the school nurse.
 A few shoes were missing from my closet.
 A few of my shoes were missing from my
closet.
 A few (indefinite pronoun as an adjective)
pairs of my shoes were missing from my
closet.
 A few of the pairs of my shoes from my
closet were missing.
 I found a few (indefinite pronoun functioning
as a direct object) of the pairs of my missing
shoes.
 One of the students is being recognized.
 One is being recognized at a school
assembly today for good citizenship.
 The top of the shelves is dusty.
 Neither of my parents wants me to go
camping this weekend.
 Hopefully, none of you makes this
mistake in the future.
 Some of the children are wearing jackets.
One of the children is wearing a tank top.
 Everybody in the class, especially the
teachers, is ready to go to the museum for
the school trip.
 In the beginning of the semester, many of students
were asked to call out their names and say
something about themselves.
 Some (indefinite pronoun as adjective)
children (noun as subject) were playing in
the sandbox.
 Some (functioning as an adjective) students
are taking notes.
 Some (subject of the sentence) of the
students are taking notes.
 The teacher gave a treat to each (indefinite
pronoun as object of the preposition) of the
children at recess.
 The teacher gave a treat to each (indefinite
pronoun as adjective) child at recess.
 Anybody (indefinite pronoun as subject) can
come to the party who wants to.
 One (indefinite pronoun as subject) of the
students received an award.
 One (indefinite pronoun as subject) received
an award.
 Several (indefinite pronoun as an adjective)
people like to go to the park to exercise.
 Some (indefinite pronoun as subject) of the
children on my street were playing soccer.
 Everyone (indefinite pronoun as a subject)
that played football enjoyed themselves
(reflexive), but several (indefinite pronoun as
an adjective) people got hurt.

 Always singular: another, anybody, anyone,
anything, each, either, everybody,
everyone, everything, little, much, neither,
nobody, no one, nothing, one, other,
somebody, someone, something
 Always plural: both, few, many, others,
several
 Either singular or plural: all, any, more,
most, none, some
 Voice is a concept in our language that identifies
whether the speaker/writer is talking about himself,
whether he is talking about others, or whether he is
talking to the listener/reader.
o Sometimes, “voice” is discussed as “point of
view.” And point of view is usually
categorized in three ways, all of which use the
terminology of “person.”
o First person
 Someone is discussing him- or herself and
makes references to self with the
following words: “I,” “me,” “my,”
“mine,” and “myself.” If the
speaker/writer includes others along with
himself, he would change these references
to “we,” “us,” “our,” “ours,” and
“ourselves.” In this sense, first person
pronouns are said to be either singular or
plural.
o Second person
 Second person involves a person talking
directly to another person or to a group of
people. The second person pronouns
include “you,” “your,” “yours,” “yourself,
and “yourselves.” Like with first person
pronouns, second person pronouns are
either singular or plural, depending on the
number of people being addressed.
o Third person
 Third person allows individuals to write
about things and people with whom or
with which the speaker/writer may not
have direct involvement. With third
person, the writer is not mentioning
himself, and he is not talking to or making
comments about the reader(s). Instead, he
is “reporting” on things and/or other
people who are sometimes referred to as
“third parties.” Third person relies
heavily on the use of nouns, both common
and proper, and these third-person
personal pronouns: “he,” “she,” “they,”
“it,” and all the various “case” versions of
those words.
o People speak and write using all three
viewpoints and often combine them numerous
times, even in the same conversation or some
passage they might write. However, certain
points of view tend to dominate certain styles
of writing and are more comfortably used with
some writing topics.
 For example, somebody relating a
narrative, or telling a story about himself
would probably use first person.
 Someone giving another person
instructions tends to use second person.
 Third person is often used to present
information, provide examples, and make
descriptions of historical events.
o Third person is the most widely used (and
commonly accepted) point of view in formal
writing and is what is expected scientific
writing, legal writing, academic style prose,
and even most business communication. Now,
there are some exceptions in each of these
realms, and you should not imagine that there
are super strict rules that have no wiggle room,
but the overuse and inappropriate use of “I”
and “you” can weaken writing and lead to
criticisms of your style.
o Please note: like so many concepts, we
discuss, people rarely comment upon—or
scarcely notice--which “person” a person is
using when he or she talks, but when our
thoughts are recorded in writing, the choices
we make about “person” are often more
noticeable and subject to a lot more scrutiny
than you might imagine.
 In school, your essay grade might be
lowered.
 At work, your proposal might have to be
re-written.
 A research journal might not publish your
findings if you do not put them down
using accepted standards for writing.
o The theory behind why first person is not so
appropriate for academic style writing is that
your ideas are not exclusive to you (they have
a broader application) and it is unnecessary for
you to use first person to express an opinion
any way. Actually, it’s kind of wordy.
o The theory behind why second person is so
awkward in prose is that the approach seems to
presume things about the reader/listener that
simply may not be true.
 When you end your relationship, you are
likely to be sad for weeks.
 What is the reader doesn’t have a
relationship, has a strong one, or is glad to
be rid of a partner and has no sadness?
o Often, inexperienced writers inappropriately
use second person because they are trying to
avoid using first person. Perhaps, for example,
they want to give an example based on what
has happened to them. However, they think
they should generalize and include other
people in their examples because they realize
that their experience is probably not unique.
And they frequently imagine that their
reader(s) have had similar experiences. But
the problems aren’t solved by this strategy and
can even be exacerbated by it.
 When you end your relationship with your
boyfriend, you are likely to be sad for
weeks.
 But what if the reader is…..
 It is better to use first person giving an
example you acknowledge as unique to
you (When I ended my relationship, I was
sad for weeks) or to re-write it in third
person.
o Transforming second-person prose isn’t hard. It
usually involves switching from second-person
pronouns to third-person ones, eliminating
pronouns altogether, substituting nouns for
pronouns, or engaging in some re-phrasing.
 (weak) When you end your relationship,
you are likely to be sad for weeks.
 (better) When a person ends a relationship,
he or she is likely to be sad for weeks.
 (better) Ending relationships can leave
individuals sad for weeks.