Chapter 10: Using Pronouns Correctly

• Case• The nominative case• The objective case• The possessive case• Special Pronoun Problems• Who and whom• Appositives• Reflexive pronouns• Clear references

Case• Case is the form a noun or pronoun takes to

show how it relates to other words in a sentence

• 3 cases in English:– Nominative: subjects– Objective: objects– Possessive: belonging to someone

Nominative and objective nouns

• Nouns used in the nominative case are formed in the same way as those used in the objective case:

Ex: The football spiraled through the air.football is in the nominative case (it’s the subject)

Ex: The quarterback threw the football.football is in the objective case (it’s the object)

Notice: No change – a football’s a football whether it’s a subject or an object.

Possessive case nouns

• Usually formed by adding an apostrophe and an s

Pronoun case• Personal pronouns have different forms for all three

casesLook at this sentence: I remembered to bring my homework with me.All three pronouns represent the same person, and all three are in a different case.

/our

/your

/their

Nominative or objective?

• Subjects perform actions • Objects have actions performed upon them or receive

the action of the subjects

He is nominative and not objective because he would throw the ball, but you wouldn’t throw the ball to he.

Him is objective and not nominative because him wouldn’t throw the ball, but you would throw the ball to him.

Exercise 1, p. 217

• Use your boards• Identify each personal pronoun in the sentences

and classify it by case

Ex: Uncle Theo gave us this book about rock stars of the 1950s and 1960s.A: us: objective#1: Why don’t we sit down and look through the book with Claire and him?A: we: nominative; him: objective

The Nominative Case• The subject of a verb should always be in the

nominative case

Examples: • I like Led Zeppelin.• Did he or she buy their live album?• They wrote Stairway to Heaven.

• A predicate nominative should be in the nominative case• Predicate nominatives answer the question posed

by linking verbs• They follow linking verbs, which are often forms of

be (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been)

These are the problematic-sounding telephone answers:“Yes, this is she.” (not her!)

The last one to leave was ________. (him/he)Do you think the culprits may have been _______? (they/them)

hethey

Review A, p. 220

• Use your boards• Choose the correct pronoun in each sentence.

Ex: (We/Us) think of Leonardo da Vinci.A: we#1: (Me/I) think you have seen some of his paintings.A: I

The objective case

• A direct object should be in the objective case• Direct objects are nouns, pronouns, or word

groups that tell who or what receives the action of the verb

Examples:1. Mom surprised them.2. My mom took me to the arcade. 3. She drove us to the mall in her new car.4. She chose you and me to be in charge.

• Indirect objects should be in the objective case• Indirect objects often appear with direct objects• They tell to whom or for whom the action of the

verb is done.• They usually come between the verb and the direct

object

Examples:1. Dad gave us a lecture about saving our money.2. We saw the arcade operator giving him change. 3. He taught them a lesson about patterns in Pacman.

• Objects of prepositions should be in the objective case

• Nouns that follow prepositions are called objects of the preposition

• Preposition + object + modifiers = prepositional phrase

Examples:1. When did you give the tokens to them?2. Are you still planning to go with us?3. The race to get to the skeeball machines

was between him and her.

Examples to try: Complete the following sentences with pronouns in the objective case.

1. I made an appointment for ________ and you.2. Sabrina asked _______ questions about your

pinball machine.3. Do you remember _______ and _______?4. Just between you and _____, I think we’re going to

win the high score competition.

On to today’s worksheet: LH 49

The possessive case

• Personal pronouns in the possessive case are used to show possession

• Personal possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs

• Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs are used just like nominative and objective pronouns are used.

Examples:SUBJECT: Your car and mine need tuneups.PREDICATE NOMINATIVE: This game is hers.DIRECT OBJECT: We painted ours yesterday.INDIRECT OBJECT: I gave theirs my complete attention.OBJECT of a PREPOSITION: Next to yours, my drawing looks amazing!

• The possessive pronouns* my, your, his, her, its, our, and their are used before nouns to show ownership or possession

Examples:1. My CD player is old and dusty.2. Do you know their phone number?

*Some call these possessive adjectives.

Special pronoun problems

1. Who or WhomChoose based upon usage:

Nominative: Who or WhoeverObjective: Whom or Whomever

Some to try:Do you know (who/whom) they are?• (who/whom) they are is a subordinate clause• Subject: they; verb: are• Pronoun is the predicate nominative• Answer: who (nominative)

The mayor, (who/whom) I have met, is nice.• (who/whom) I have met is subordinate• Subject: I; verb: have met• Pronoun is the direct object this time• Answer: whom (objective)

2. A pronoun used as an appositive is in the same case as the word to which it refers.Appositive: a noun or pronoun placed next to another noun or pronoun to identify/describe it

Examples:The runners–he, she, and I–warmed up on the track. (refer back to the subject: runners)Every student except two, him and her, joined the club. (refer back to the object of the preposition: two)The drama coach introduced the actors, Laura and me (refers back to the direct object: actors)

Special pronoun problems

3. Reflexive pronounsReflexives, such as himself and themselves, can be used as objects.Avoid using nonstandard words such as hisself and theirselfs/theirselves

Special pronoun problems

Review B, p. 228

• Use your boards• Choose the correct pronoun in each sentence.• Classify it by usage: Subject, predicate nominative,

direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition

Ex: Say hello to (she/her) and Anna.A: her; OP#1: Tulips surrounded (we/us) during May.A: us;DO

Clear references• Avoid ambiguous (unclear) references. Make sure

your reader can tell which antecedent your pronouns refer to

Ambiguous: Hannah proofread Melissa’s essay while she was at lunch.Better: While Hannah was at lunch, she proofread Melissa’s essay.Better: Hannah proofread Melissa’s essay while Melissa was at lunch.

Clear references• Avoid weak references. Make sure your

antecedent is clear… suggesting an antecedent isn’t good enough!

Weak: We sat quietly bird-watching all afternoon, but we never saw any.Better: We sat quietly bird-watching all afternoon, but we never saw any birds.Better: We sat quietly all afternoon watching for birds, but we never saw any.

Review E, p. 232• Use paper; both partners’ names in the corner• Read each sentence.• Rewrite each sentence, correcting each ambiguous or weak

pronoun reference.

Ex: Diana e-mailed Melissa while she was traveling in the Czech Republic.A: While Diana was traveling in the Czech Republic, she e-mailed Melissa.#1: After reviewing the vegetarian cookbook, I selected some to make.A: After reviewing the vegetarian cookbook, I selected some dishes to make.

Chapter review A, p. 233

• Use your boards• Choose the correct pronoun in parenthesis

#1: Just between you and (I, me), I think he’s wrong.A: me (between is a preposition, me is the object of the preposition, me is in the objective case)#2: I don’t know (who/whom) I’ll invite to the dance.A: whom (the clause whom I’ll invite to the dance is acting as the direct object of know; whom is in the objective case)#3: The winners in the contest were Amelia and (I, me).A: I (I is the predicate nominative (notice the linking verb were), I is in the nominative case)

Chapter review C, p. 234

• Use your boards• Identify each personal pronoun• Classify it by usage: Subject, predicate

nominative, direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition

#26: Of the three applicants, the most promising is she.A: she; Predicate Nominative