The Grammar Business Part Two

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

The Grammar BusinessThe Grammar BusinessPart TwoPart Two

3. Some pronouns

2 The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

Pronouns usually stand in Pronouns usually stand in for nouns - sofor nouns - so

• the woman ( a noun) could be referred to as ‘she’ (a pronoun)

• that man ( a noun) could be referred to as ‘him’ (pronoun)


Personal pronounsPersonal pronouns refer to people and refer to people and things, for examplethings, for example

• I• you• he• she• it• we• they


And a pronoun, like a noun, can be the And a pronoun, like a noun, can be the subject of the sentencesubject of the sentence

• She is going to Paris.• She has a mean and nasty nature.• I give you the instructions and you obey

them. Right?


If you want to give more information If you want to give more information about the subject - or object - of a about the subject - or object - of a

sentencesentence• You can use a relative pronoun to

introduce the extra information• Like

– who– which– where– what– that


For example:For example:

• She was the woman who had stolen my purse.

• The cream, which was already six days old, had gone completely sour.

• We searched even in places where we’d already looked.


The relative pronoun allows you neatly to The relative pronoun allows you neatly to insert information inside the same sentence.insert information inside the same sentence.

• So• you can use relative pronouns, in some

cases, to join two sentence strings• Like this:

– She was the woman. She had stolen my purse.

– She was the woman who had stolen my purse.


Common errors 1Common errors 1

• Making the relative pronoun start a new sentence, instead of including its word group inside the first one

• e.g. She was the woman. Who had attacked me. (wrong)

• It should have been: She was the woman who had attacked me. (right)



• Using the wrong relative pronoun• Who refers to a person• Which or that refers to a thing• So what’s wrong with the following

sentences?


Correct the errorsCorrect the errors

• She is the woman which served me yesterday.

• James is the man that told me where to go.


Those sentences should have readThose sentences should have read

• She is the woman who served me yesterday.

• James is the man who me where to go.



• Using a relative pronoun and then using a noun or pronoun AS WELL!

• Like this– This is the bag which it is already full.– This is the bag which I have already filled

it.


Those sentences should have readThose sentences should have read

– This is the bag which is already full.

– This is the bag which I have already filled.



• Using ‘who’ instead of ‘whom’• Using ‘whom’ instead of ‘who’.• How can you tell which is correct?


The who/whom confusionThe who/whom confusion

Remember the personal pronouns?

• I, you, he, she, it, we, they


Some pronouns can change Some pronouns can change their formtheir form

• It depends whether they are subject or object of the sentence

• sounds complicated, but it isn’t really• look at some examples


Subject and object formsSubject and object forms• I have killed him (I is the subject, him is

the object).

• He has killed me (He is the subject, me is the object)


How they changeHow they changeSubject IYouHeSheItWeThey

ObjectMeYou (no change)HimHerIt (no change)UsThem


So you can see thatSo you can see that

• Who is the subject form• and• Whom is the object form


Who/whom is the Who/whom is the onlyonly relative pronoun relative pronoun that changes in this way that changes in this way

• people often think ‘whom’ sounds posher and therefore use it in the wrong place

• hardly anybody uses ‘whom’ in speech - but it is correct to use it in writing - provided you use it in the right place.


To check which you want, To check which you want, who who or or whomwhom, test out the phrase by , test out the phrase by

substituting substituting he he / / himhim

• If the substitute comes up ‘him’, what you need is ‘whom’

• If the substitute makes sense with ‘he’, then the relative pronoun will be ‘who’


Who? Whom? Try it.Who? Whom? Try it.• He is the man who/whom tore my report

to shreds.• Tom Cruise was the man who/whom

Nicole Kidman married.• Catch the man who/whom ran over my

dog.• She is a woman who/whom I would never

trust in a million years.


Who? Whom? AnswersWho? Whom? Answers• He is the man who tore my report to

shreds.• Tom Cruise was the man whom Nicole

Kidman married.• Catch the man who ran over my dog.• She is a woman whom I would never

trust in a million years.


Common Errors 5Common Errors 5

• I haven’t yet mentioned ‘whose’• ‘Whose’ is a relative pronoun that

shows possession• For example

– This is the man whose wife I stole.– She had a mother, whose name was Sarah.


Using whoseUsing whose

• You can only use ‘whose’ of a person.• If talking about a thing, it is more correct

to say ‘of which’• For example

– She gave me an emerald, the colour of which was a perfect green.


Spelling problem?Spelling problem?

• Quite often people spell the possessive whose wrongly

• They write who’s• Who’s always means who is


Common errors 6Common errors 6• Using ‘what’ when you need ‘which’• When choice is involved, you have to use

‘which’ and not ‘what’• For example: She wasn’t sure which way to go

(not what way to go)• Or: She couldn’t decide which chocolate to take

(not what chocolate)• He wasn’t sure which woman to believe (not

what woman)


To check your understanding of all To check your understanding of all these thingsthese things

• Look at Handout Three

The Grammar Business Part Two

Documents

Transcript of The Grammar Business Part Two