Pronouns

1. Pronouns

2. Personal Pronoun Case • Case tells whether a pronoun shows possession or acts as subject or object in the sentence • Writers use the following three terms: • Nominative Case (S, SC, DA, APP) • Objective Case (DO, IO, OP, APP) • Possessive Case (ADJ)

3. Nominative Case • Use the Nominative case when the pronoun is either the subject or the subject complement of the sentence. (You can also use it to replace direct addresses and appositives.) She gave her goldfish to the boy next door. It was hewho called me a bad name. • I, We, You, He, She, It , They

4. Use the Nominative Case • At the beginning of sentences. These are probably subjects. • I/me hate grammar • After any form of the verb “to be” (is, was, will be) These are subject compliments. • The one who ate the most pizza is he/him.

5. Objective Case • Use the objective case when the pronoun is an object of the sentence. (DO, IO, OP, APP) Arnold sent flowers to her. (Object of Preposition) Betty phoned him tonight. (Direct Object) • Me, Us, You, Him, Her, It, Them

6. Use the Objective Case • After action verbs • Arnold bought (her, she) a new toaster. (IO) • After prepositions Several of (us, we) girls are going to Cancun for our holidays in March. (OP)

7. Possessive Case • Use possessive case pronouns to show ownership • Possessive case pronouns do not use an apostrophe • Example: The goldfish was ours, but Sam gave it to his cat. • My, Mine, Your, Yours, His, Her, Hers, Its, Our, Ours, Their, Theirs

8. Personal Pronoun Number • Number tells whether a pronoun is singular or plural. • Singular: I, you, he, she, it me, you, him, her, it my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its • Plural: we, you, they us, you, them our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs **Second person “you” can be both singular and plural – you must use context to figure it out. You were the winners of the game. (winners = plural you) You were the first one to hand it in. (one = singular you)

9. Personal Pronoun Gender • Gender tells whether the pronoun is male, female, neuter, or male/female. • Many times you must look at the pronoun’s antecedent to help you. • He is good at his job (he = male) • I asked her to help me. (her = female, me = male/female) • It is a difficult question. (It = neuter)

10. Personal Pronoun Person • First person = speaker (I, we, me, us, my, mine, our, ours). • Second Person = spoken to (you, your, yours). • Third Person = spoken about(he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, her, hers, its, their, theirs)

11. Demonstrative Pronouns • Use demonstrative pronouns to point out something. • This is my hammer. (singular, near) • That is her new car. (singular, far) • These are my new shoes. (plural, near) • Those are in a cage. (plural, far)

12. Using Compound Pronouns • There are two types of compound pronouns: Reflexive & Intensive. • These pronouns end in “self” or “selves.” • Intensive pronouns will follow right behind their antecedents. Maryherself answered the question. • Reflexive pronouns generally have a verb between them and their antecedents. He kept looking at himself in the mirror.

13. Distributive Pronouns • Either, Neither, Each, and Every • These pronouns are almost always singular • You can replace them with the pronoun “he” or “she.” Either of the girls (give/gives) the best gifts. • Since Either is the subject (which is singular), you can replace it with: “She” gives the best gifts. Remember to ignore prep. phrases. Each of the members (want/wants) to win the game. • Since Each is the subject (which is singular), you can replace it with: “He” wants to win the game. Remember to ignore prep. phrases.

14. Indefinite Pronouns • Singular ones end in “thing”, “body”, or “one.” • Ex: Someone, Everybody, Nothing, Anyone = Since these are singular, you can replace them with the pronouns “he” or “she.” • Plural ones vary. • Ex: Many, Few, Several, All, More, etc. Since these are plural, you can replace them with the pronoun “they.” Everybody wants (his/their) team to win. • Since Everbody is the subject (which is singular), you can replace it with: “He” wants his team to win. • Many of the players want (their/his) team to win. • Since Many is the subject (which is plural), you can replace it with: “They” want their team to win.

15. Interrogative Pronouns • Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What • These pronouns ask a question. • Who is in the Nominative Case (Subj.) • Whom is in the Objective Case (DO, IO, OP). **(Who/Whom) asked the question? Who asked the question? Who is the subject. (She asked the question) (Who/Whom) did you want to win? Whom did you want to win? Whom is the DO.Notice that the verb did win is split by the subject “you”. That means the pronoun in parenthesis must be an object.

16. Relative Pronouns • Who, Whom, Whose, Which, That • These pronouns are the first word in an adjective clause. • They do not ask a question. • Who is in the Nominative Case (Subj.) • Whom is in the Objective Case (DO, IO, OP). The girl (who/whom) sits in front of me is very tall. • Who sits in front of me is the correct adjective clause. Notice that the verb “sits” follows right behind the relative pronoun. That means it is the subject of the clause. The man (who/whom) I respect recently won an award. • Whom I respect is the correct adjective clause. Notice the verb “respect” has the pronoun “I” between it and your relative pronoun. That means that “I” is the subject, so you must chose the objective form “whom” for the clause.

17. Contractions vs. Pronouns • Possessive Pronouns do NOT have an apostrophe. (its) • Contractions do have apostrophes (it’s) • To understand which ones to use in the sentence, change your contraction to two words. (Your/You’re) team was the winner of the game. “You are” team doesn’t make sense, so the correct answer is your (possessive). (Its/It’s) time to leave now. “It is” makes sense in the sentence, so that is the correct answer (contraction).

18. Avoiding Double Negatives • Forms of negatives are: no, not, never, n’t. • If your sentence already has a negative form, then you should chose a positive answer. • Don’t give me (nothing, anything) for a gift. • Don’t already is a negative, so you should chose the positive form (anything). • The pilot could not find (nowhere, anywhere) to land. • Not already is a negative, so you should chose the positive form (anywhere).

19. Pronouns Following THAN or AS • Pronouns following the words “than” or “as” usually take the same case as the noun they are being compared to. • Susan is as tall as (me, I). You are comparing yourself to Susan, which is the subject ; therefore, you should use the nominative form “I”. • Sometimes the meaning of the sentence tells you which is correct. • My husband likes football more than I.(You are comparing yourself to your husband which is the subject; therefore, you use the nominative case “I.” • My husband likes football more than me. (You are comparing yourself to the game of football, which is the direct object; therefore, you use the objective case “me.” • Forms of negatives are: no, not, never, n’t. • If your sentence already has a negative form, then you should chose a positive answer. • Don’t give me (nothing, anything) for a gift. • Don’t already is a negative, so you should chose the positive form (anything). • The pilot could not find (nowhere, anywhere) to land. • Not already is a negative, so you should chose the positive form (anywhere).