Pronouns

1. Pronouns General Overview Pasco-Hernando Community College Tutorial Series

2. Pronouns – Review • Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. • He, she, it, they, them, us, and our are all forms of pronouns. • In most cases, there isn’t a question of which pronoun to use. • John gave the book to Marcia. He gave the book to her.

3. Pronouns – Review • However, in some cases, it is not that easy to determine which pronoun to use. • Who or whom? We girls are going… or Us girls are going… He is taller than I or He is taller than me?

4. Pronoun Case • Pronoun case is the form of the pronoun needed. • There are three cases: • subject • object • possessive

5. Subject Case • The subject form of a pronoun is the form when it is the subject of a sentence. The subject is the doer of the action in a sentence. • They are going to deliver the box, not Them are going to deliver the box. • She is traveling to Idaho to participate in a dance competition, not Her is traveling… • Who is going? Not Whom is going?

6. Who or Whom? • The bicyclist ran into the lady who was walking, not whom was walking. Who is the subject of the clause who was walking. • Here are the subjective forms of pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they, and who. • Most people know the subject form of pronouns.

7. Object Case • The object form of a pronoun is used when a pronoun is an object. An object is a receiver of some form of action. • Adrian gave the book to Inez. • Adrian gave it to her. • The pronouns it and her are in the objective case. • To whom should we address the letter? Whom is in the object case since it is the object of the preposition to. • The teacher gave the students the assignment. The nouns students and assignment are objects. • The teacher gave it to them. Here is the sentence with pronouns instead of nouns.

8. Object Forms of Pronouns • Here are the objective forms of pronouns: • me, us • you • him, her, them • whom

9. Who or Whom? • Most people don’t have problems with the object form except for who and whom. • One way to see whether thehe or him fits. If he fits, then it is a subject situation, and who is proper. • If him can be substituted, then it is an object situation, and whom is the right pronoun. • Unfortunately, not all sentences lend themselves to this trial replacement test.

10. Who or Whom? • You need to determine whether it is a subject situation or an object situation. If there is a verb following it, then it is a subject situation. • Who knows the answer? (Subject) knows the answer. • Whom do you love? Do you love (object)? • The doctor helps whoever needs treatment. The doctor helps (subject) needs treatment. • The doctor helps whomever he treats. The doctor treats (object).

11. Possessive Pronouns • Possessive pronouns are pronouns that show possession. • my, mine, our, ours • you, yours • his, hers, its • their, theirs

12. Possessive Pronouns • Note that there are not apostrophes for possession since these words are themselves possessive. They don’t need an apostrophe to show possession. • Note that its is a possessive pronoun. The contraction it’s (it is) is not possessive. It is the contraction for it is or it has.

13. Possessive Pronouns • There are different ways possessive pronouns are used: • The book is mine. This is my book. • The idea for a new air conditioner was his. It was his idea. • Their opinion is to hire a new facilitator. (They share the same opinion.) • The people voiced their opinions at the meeting. (They had individual opinions.)

14. Demonstrative Pronouns • Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that refer to a particular person, place, or thing. • Demonstrative pronouns include: this, that, these, and those. • This and that are singular: This is the table. • These and those are plural: These are the notes.

15. Reflexive Pronouns • Reflexive pronouns are the form of the noun with –self at the end: • myself, ourselves • yourself, yourselves • himself, herself, themselves • Note the following non-standard usages: hisself, theirself, themself. These are slang expressions and should not be used in formal writing.

16. Reflexive Pronouns • Reflexive pronouns should be used only in limited situations: • I, myself, did the analysis. • Mr. Langley, himself, walked from the pier to the shopping center to check the distance. • In order to determine the difficulty, Mrs. Amesly, herself, performed the calculations.

17. Reflexive Pronouns • Examples of incorrect usage: • Luis and myself undertook the responsibility. There must be a subject form in this sentence. • Luis and I undertook the responsibility. • The administrator gave the application to myself. There must be an object form in this sentence. • The administrator gave the application to me.

18. Interrogatives • While the pronouns who and whom were discussed under subject form and object form, they are usually categorized with a group of pronouns called interrogatives, so-called since they are used in questions: • who • whom • whose • what • which

19. Interrogatives Examples of sentences with interrogatives: • Who is the current treasurer? • To whom should these letters be addressed? • Whose car is parked in the spot reserved for the chairman of the board? • What is the result of discontinuing the outsourcing efforts? • Which technical report is the most thoroughly completed?

20. Interrogative Pronouns Aside from whether to use who or whom in a particular sentence as discussed above, problems associated with these pronouns are usual with subject-verb agreement. Interrogative pronouns must agree with the noun to which they are referring. • Who are the current members of the board of directors? • Whose cars are parked in the long-term parking lot? • What are the consequences of discontinuing the outsourcing efforts? • Which technical reports are the most thoroughly completed?

21. Relative Pronouns The pronouns who, whom, which, and that can serve as relative pronouns when they have a predicate although they are not a sentence since relative clauses do not complete a thought. (Exception: The pronoun that which can be used to begin a sentence: That is the one I want.) • The technical assistants, whose notes are used to train new executives, felt they should be compensated. • The geologists fought for new funding which helpsto continue the study.