Download V. Pitfalls in Grammar and Rhetoric – Part III Pronouns: Pronouns

V. Pitfalls in Grammar and Rhetoric – Part III
Pronouns:
Pronouns are words used in place of nouns. Many grammatical mistakes come in
the form of the incorrect usage of pronouns. For example, we should not say
“between you and I”. We should instead say “between you and me”, because the
pronoun “I” cannot be the object of a preposition like “between”.
It is always important to distinguish between the objective case and the subjective
case when using pronouns. Many Americans fail to distinguish these properly – so
much so that writers of television programs often purposively make such errors
during TV programs so the actors will not sound pretentious. How patronizing!
Here are some glaring examples:
You gave it to who? (incorrect)
Who did you give it to? (incorrect)
Give it to whoever you want. (incorrect)
Now choose the correct form
(a) Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a respected Democratic voice on defense
matters, agreed that the memorandum revealed just how much information the
Pentagon is not sharing with members of Congress, (who/whom) he said are
growing increasingly restive about being kept in the dark.
(b) But some said they had been heartened by Mr. Bush's decision to consolidate
decision-making about Iraq under Ms. Rice, the national security adviser,
(who/whom) they described as having more sensitive political antennas than Mr.
Rumsfeld.
(c) This is the man (who/whom) I wanted to speak to and whose name I have
forgotten.
There are five groups of personal pronouns
(1) personal
(2) interrogative
(3) demonstrative
(4) indefinite
(5) relative
(1) Personal pronouns -- These are well known to most students.
I, my, mine, me
We, our, ours, us
You, your, yours,
He, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its
They, their, theirs, them
Who, whose, whom
Personal pronouns can also be reflexive or add emphasis. A list of such personal
pronouns (called compound pronouns) is as follows --
Myself, yourself, himself, itself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
The man burned himself. (reflexive pronouns)
I wrote the book myself. (emphasis)
These compound personal pronouns can often be used incorrectly. For example,
He and myself would like to thank you.
He sent the book to both John and myself.
Bill gave Jim and myself a gift.
(2) Interrogative pronouns – These are easy and will not be discussed.
Who, what, which, whose
(3) Indefinite Pronouns –
There are a large number of these, but their usage is relatively easy to understand.
All, any, anybody, both, each, either, few, many, nobody, none, no one, nothing,
one, some, somebody, something
(4) Demonstrative Pronouns –
These pronouns are very easy to use and will not be discussed.
This, that, these, those
This is the book
That is my girlfriend.
These are my friends.
(5) Relative Pronouns –
Relative pronouns begin dependent clauses that describe an antecedent. These
clauses immediate follow the antecedent which they describe
Note: Use which with things and that with persons and things.
This is the passage that led me to the discovery.
Here is the book which was ordered yesterday.
He is the student that won the scholarship.
She is the girl who won the award.
In addition to the simple relative pronouns there are the compound relative
pronouns, The most commonly used ones are as follows –
Whoever, whomever, whatever
Finally, pronouns can be used as adjectives. The possessive pronouns,
demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns are often
used as adjectives.
Examples:
Possessive pronouns
These are her gloves.
I bought their home.
He likes his new job
Demonstrative pronouns
This thesis was written by Jim.
These books belong to the school.
That man is my thesis advisor.
Indefinite pronouns
Each person was given the vaccine.
Neither answer is correct.
Several students were arrested.
Interrogative pronouns
What class is he taking this semester?
Whose name did he call?
Which class is more interesting?
Quiz: The Use of Pronouns
I. Correct the incorrect pronouns (if they exist) used in the following sentences:
#1. Bob wanted her ______ and me _______to be him _______friend.
#2. Me _______ like him _________very much.
#3. You _______and me____________ are going to go to the movies together.
#4. She______ is him _______ only daughter.
#5. Whom _____ are you talking about?
#6. You _______gave the package to who _____?
#7. He ______ went with him _______and I________.
#8. You _____and me_______ are best friends.
#9. Who _______gave you ________ the book?
#10. Bill and me______ are expected to show his _______ the way.
#11. Joe said him ______ would show the Johnson's and we ______ the new
house.
#12. Mary likes me and Bill ______________ .
#13. Us ______Taiwanese want to have a say in their _______our own future.
#14. Strong are us _______ who ______ gave your _________ very best.
#15. Most of they ______ sided with the rebel faction.
#16. Tom and me _______ are going with Joe and she ________to the movies.
#17. Whomever _________ gets the most answers correct wins the game.
#18. I noticed that you gave money to whomever _______ asked for it.
#19. You may ask about whoever_________ you wish.
#20. The subject of the investigation was her_________.
#21. I was the best friend of she _______.
#22. I am her ______.
#23. This is him ________ speaking.
#25. The problem is him _______.
#26. Mary like he _____ and not I _______.
#27. Me _____ and you _______should go out on a date.
#28. To who ______ are you _____ referring?
#29. Ask not for whom _______ the bell tolls.
#30. He ________was impressed with mine ________ house.
#31 Did you give he _____ mine ______ phone number?
#32. The phone number is mine_____ and does not belong to he_______.
#33. Many of they ______ went to the funeral.
#34. I ______and you ______ had a quarrel and us _______broke up.
#35. It is a matter for we ________ to consider.
#36. Let he ___ have it.
#37. The issue before we _______ today is a matter of great concern.
#38. I gave it to he _____ and he gave it to she _______.
#39. Please tell I _____ of whom ______ you were speaking yesterday.
#40. Neither him _____ nor me _____ have any idea what you are talking about.
II.
Indicate which pronouns should be used as objects and which as
subjects, and which as both?
#1. I ________________
#6. them _________________
#2. you _______________
#7. her __________________
#3. him _______________
#8. we __________________
#4. they ______________
#9. us __________________
#5. me _______________
#10. she __________________
Translate these correctly into Chinese:
#1. He searched for you longer than me.
#2. He searched for you longer than I.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#3. He cares more for you than I.
#4. He cares more for you than me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#5. He attends your class more than me.
#6. He attends your class more than I.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Use the correct pronoun in the following sentences.
#7. He is smarter than her ____________.
#8. She is shorter than him ___________.
#9. God wants we __________ to worship him __________.
#10. He is as well known as them ___________.
#11. He wants to succeed more than her _______.
#12. He goes to the office more than me_______________.
#13. He talks to you more than me ________________. (correct—why?)
#14. He talks to you more than I __________________. (correct—why?)
Possessive Pronouns:
Correct the following, if needed:
#15. You _______ singing in the choir makes everyone proud of you.
#16. Me _______making the basketball team meant the world to my parents.
#17. We could not accept him __________crying all the time in class.
#18. That is hers ________, and not his_______, television.
#19. I closely examine it's ______teeth.
#20. I want to understand it's ___________need to be recognized.
#21. My __________shouting awakened the whole neighborhood.
#22. You __________ driving makes everyone nervous.
#23. Is it ours _________ or is it their__________.
#24. Is it my _________ or is it yours.
#25. Mine _________ eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
Indefinite Pronouns:
Correct the following, if needed:
#26. One of the people in the crowd threw their _________hat in the air.
#27. Each of the boys have their ________ own computer to use.
#28. One of the boys turned his ______computer on and began using it.
#29. Some of the people standing in the square raised his ______hands.
#30. None of the people wanted to write his__________ name on the petition.
#31. I said I would not speak to anyone who signed their _____name to the
petition.
#32. It was the other man whom______ gave all their _______money to the poor.
#33. Each ______ person was given a sheet of paper.
#34. Not one of the candidates made their________ views clear on the subject.
#35. Are all of the students prepared for his or her ______class.
#36. The captain of the team spoke to myself ________in bold terms.
Make the following sentences clear.
#37. He should speak Chinese well. He lived there for ten years.
(Note this is an example of an unclear antecedent for "there")
#38. Jim saw Bill running towards Harry, but he was too late.
(Note this is an example of an unclear antecedent for "he")
#39. The package was on the truck when I looked, but now it is gone.
(Note this is an example of an unclear antecedent for "it")
#40. Economics is an interesting subject. They seem to be so logical.
(Note this is an example of an unclear antecedent for "they")
Phrases and Clauses:
In English, we often use phrases and clauses to make our language richer. A
phrase is a group of words which does not include both a subject and its predicate
verb.
Examples:
Running through the woods,
Before breakfast
After the election
Because of his well written thesis
All of these lack a (subject + predicate verb) construction and are therefore phrases.
Note how that the first uses a verbal, the next two use prepositions, and the last
uses a subordinate conjunction.
By contrast, a clause is a group of words that has a subject with a predicate verb.
Examples:
Since she is the best in the class (dependent clause)
I almost didn’t go to class today (independent clause)
Because she gave me her word (dependent clause)
When the dean of the college came to class (dependent clause)
There are noun and verb phrases, adverbial and adjectival phrases, (gerund,
participial, and infinitive phrases), and, of course, prepositional phrases. This
means that phrases are extremely versatile and useful!
Let’s look at some examples of these phrases –
The oldest professor in the department teaches the best class. (noun phrase)
I was reading my notes to the class when she called me. (verb phrase)
He spoke very quickly and decisively about the matter. (adverbial phrase)
The book he recommended to us was old and out of print. (adjectival phrase)
Researching a topic entails many hours of work in the library. (gerund phrase)
Looking lost and forlorn, the student trudged slowly home. (participial phrase)
It is difficult to imagine a more terrifying experience. (infinitive phrase)
He laid the book on the table. (prepositional phrase)
Clearly we could create endless numbers of phrases. We are only limited by our
imagination.
When we turn to subordinate clauses, we have three basic types: noun clauses,
adverbial clauses, and adjectival clauses. Let’s finish this lecture by looking at
each.
Noun Clauses:
The student wondered if he would be able to finish class on time.
Here the clause is used as a direct object to the transitive verb wondered.
Adverbial Clauses:
I will visit my thesis advisor when I have a good question to ask him.
Here the adverbial phrase modifies visit and describes the condition when the
student will visit his or her advisor.
Adjectival Clause:
(Restrictive) The journal article that was assigned was published in 1954.
(Unrestrictive) The lead article in the journal, which was assigned by our
professor, was a paper of fundamental importance to the subject.
Note the use of the relative pronoun. Use “which” in nonrestrictive cases where
additional information (nonessential information) is being added to the sentence.
Use “that” when essential information is being given and deleting it would
fundamentally change the meaning of the sentence.