Using Pronouns Correctly

Solving the riddle of who/whom,

Him/he

Pronoun Case, p. 637• Use the nominative (subject) case for a

personal pronoun in a compound subject.

Ann and I play tennis.

She and I are equally matched.

• To check, delete the other subject.

I play tennis. I am equally matched.

Pronoun Case, p. 638

• After a form of the linking verb be, use the nominative case of a personal pronoun.

The winner was he.

Ann hoped that it would be she.

(Is, are, was, were, am, be, being)

Rearrange the sentence

The winner was he.

He was the winner

Ann hoped that it would be she.

Ann hoped that she would be it.

Pronoun Case, p. 638• Do not spell possessive pronouns with

apostrophes.

This paddle is yours. The table is ours.

Use possessive pronouns before gerunds.

Your singing relaxes the baby.He is amused by my talking.

Pronouns with & as Appositives, p. 639• Use the nominative case for a pronoun that is in

apposition to a subject or a predicate nominative (a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and points back to the subject to identify it further).

• The candidates, she/her and Mr. Gomez, will run for office. (Candidates is the subject)

• The candidates are two people from our district, Ms. Pierce and he/him. (People is the predicate nominative)

Rearrange the sentence

• The candidates, she and Mr. Gomez, will run for office. (Candidates is the subject)

• She will run for office.

• The candidates are two people from our district, Ms. Pierce and he. (People is the predicate nominative)

• He is from our district.

• When a pronoun is followed by an appositive, choose the case of the pronoun that would be correct if the appositive were omitted.

• We/us athletes want to win the trophy.

• We want to win the trophy.

• The school awarded we/us athletes the trophy.

• The school awarded us the trophy.

Pronouns After Than and As• In adverb clauses using than and as, choose the

case of the pronoun that you would use if the missing words were fully expressed.

• You finished the puzzle faster than he/him.

(finished it)

The movie frightened John as much as them/they.

(as much as it frightened______)

Who and Whom, p. 642

• Who is the nominative case of the pronoun; it is used as the subject of a verb or as predicate pronoun.

• Whom is the objective case; it is used as the direct object or as the object of a preposition.

Who and WhomWho will be driving to the game?

(Who is the subject of the sentence.)

Stanley will be riding with whom?

(Whom is the object of the preposition with.

Stanley wondered whom he would be riding with.

(Whom is the direct object of the verb would be riding.)

Who/whom, a shortcut

Take the sentence, turn it into a question.

Problem: The gentleman (who/whom) Elizabeth Bennet married was Mr. Darcy.

Question: Who did Elizabeth marry?

Who/whom, a shortcut

• If you can answer the question with “he” the correct pronoun is “who.”

• If you can answer the question with “him” the correct pronoun is “whom.”

Who/whom, a shortcut

• The gentleman (who/whom) Elizabeth married was Mr. Darcy.

• Who did Elizabeth marry?

• She married him.

• He=who Him=whom

• The gentleman whom Elizabeth married was Mr. Darcy.

Who or whom, After Prepositions

• Always use Whom after a preposition.

With whom….

For whom….

To whom….

Against whom….

About whom….

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement, p. 644

• An antecedent is the word or group of words to which a pronoun refers or that a pronoun replaces. All pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number, gender, and person.

• Langston Hughes published his first volume of poetry in 1926.

Agreement in Number and Gender

• A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter).

Emily Bronte published her novel in 1847.

(singular, feminine pronoun)

Emily, Charlotte, and Anne Bronte published their poems in 1846. (plural pronoun)

Agreement in number and gender

• The spruce, because of its strong wood, is used to make paper. (singular neuter)

• Spruce and aspen are economical to raise because of their rapid growth. (plural pronoun)

• When the gender of the antecedent is not known or when it may be either masculine or feminine, a masculine pronoun has traditionally been used.

• A skier must keep his legs strong and limber.

• A skier must keep his or her legs strong and limber.

• Skiers must keep their legs strong and limber.

• Skiers must have strong and limber legs.

Agreement in Person, p. 645• A pronoun must agree in person with its

antecedent.

• Do not use the second person pronoun you to refer to an antecedent in the third person.

Richard and Clara are going shopping where you can buy cheap clothes.

Richard and Clara are going shopping where they can buy cheap clothes.

Richard and Clara are going shopping where shoppers can buy cheap clothes.

Agreement with Indefinite Pronoun Antecedents, p. 647

• Use a singular pronoun when the antecedent is a singular indefinite pronoun, plural pronouns for plural indefinite pronouns.

Neither of the men wants to drive his car.Each of the girls rides her bike to school.Several of the neighbors make their commute

by train.

Agreement with Indefinite Pronoun Antecedents, p. 647

• Use gender-neutral wording when no gender is specified.

Everyone should ride his or her bike to school.

Everyone should ride a bike to school.

All students should ride their bikes to school.

Clear Pronoun Reference, p. 649

• Make sure that the antecedent of a pronoun is clearly stated and that a pronoun cannot possibly refer to more than one antecedent.

Luisa is a fine athlete, and this was obvious from her performance.

Luisa is a fine athlete, and her athletic ability was obvious from her gymnastic feats.

Katrina and Yuki were arguing, which started from a misunderstanding.

Katrina and Yuki were having an argument, which started from a misunderstanding.

Earl wants to be a doctor because it interests him.

Earl wants to be a doctor because medicine interests him.

Clear Pronoun Reference, p. 649• If a pronoun seems to refer to more than one

antecedent, either reword the sentence to make the antecedent clear or eliminate the pronoun.

When the apples fell among the leaves, they were hidden.

The apples were hidden when they fell among the leaves.

When the apples fell among the leaves, the apples were hidden.

The fallen apples were hidden among the leaves.

Clear Pronoun Reference, p. 650• Avoid the indefinite use of the pronouns you and

they.

In areas that get little rain, you must irrigate the crops.

In areas that get little rain, farmers must irrigate the crops.

In some companies, they do not work on Fridays.In some companies, employees do not work on

Fridays.