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Common Errors:
PRONOUNS
SUBJECTIVE
&
OBJECTIVE
Vs.
POSSESSIVE
PRONOUNS
WHICH ONE DO I USE WHEN?
Pronoun Case
There are three cases:
• 1. Subjective case:
• pronouns used as subject.
2. Objective case:
• pronouns used as objects of verbs or
prepositions.
3. Possessive case:
• pronouns which express ownership.
SUBJECTS,
OBJECTS,
POSSESSIVE
• Pronouns as SUBJECTS
• I, you, she, he, it, we you, they, who
• Pronouns as OBJECTS
• Me, you, him, her. it, us, you, them, whom
• Pronouns that show POSSESSION
•
My, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, it, its, our, ours, their, theirs, whose
RULE:
Correct pronoun case requires
different forms of personal pronouns for
different jobs in sentences.
Some problems of case:
• 1. In compound structures, where there are two
pronouns or a noun and a pronoun, drop the other
noun for a moment.
• Then you can see which case you want.
• INCORRECT: Bob and me travel a good deal.
(Would you say, "me travel"?)
• CORRECT:
• Bob and I travel a good deal.
(Also, note the use third person plural pronoun and verb (travel):
• In other words:
• They travel a good deal.
Comparisons
• Comparisons usually follow than or
as:
• He is taller than I (not me) (He is taller than I am
tall).
• This helps you as much as me.
• (This helps you as much as it helps me.)
• She is as noisy as I (She is as noisy as I
am).
• Comparisons are really “shorthand:”
• they omit implied words, usually verbs.
In formal and semiformal writing:
• Use the subjective form after a form of the verb to be.
FORMAL: It is I.
• INFORMAL: It is me.
• Use whom in the objective case.
FORMAL: To whom am I talking?
•
INFORMAL: Who am I talking to?
Use FORMAL language in ACADEMIC writing!
Faulty Pronoun Reference
• Do not fall into the trap of using
• objective case pronouns
• when
• subject pronouns are needed.
• Examples:
•
PERSONAL PRONOUNS WITH NOUN SUBJECTS
• You must also remember to use
• subjective case pronouns
• when a pronoun is used along with a noun subject.
• Example (CORRECT):
Personal Pronouns as Subjective Complements
• Finally, you must use a subjective case pronoun when
the pronoun functions as a subjective complement.
• What is a subjective complement?
• A subjective complement answers the question who or
what after a form of the verb to be.
• A subjective complement completes the subject.
• Or, in other words, a subjective complement
• means the same as the subject but follows the verb.
• Example:
In a subject (noun) complement
• Use a subjective case pronoun.
• EXAMPLE:
(CORRECT)
Do NOT say:
Pronouns with verbals
• A verbal is a verb form doing the job of a noun or adjective.
• Two kinds of verbals used with pronouns:
• gerunds and participles.
• #1 GERUND – Gerunds end in –ing and act like nouns.
•
NOTE: OBJECTS are nouns or subjective case pronouns.
Gerunds
and
POSSESSIVE CASE PRONOUNS
• When nouns or pronouns precede gerunds in sentences,
• USE THE POSSESSIVE CASE!
Sometimes
Sentences
can
be
more
complicated:
For more study with self-check exercises
http://www.towson.edu/ows/ModuleCASE.htm
TWENTY MOST COMMON
WRITING ERRORS
At the link below, you'll see a list.
To the left of each item is a number.
Click on the number to see explanations.
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/nsmhandbook/errors.html
DEADLY SINS IN WRITING
PowerPoints & Self-check exercises:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/sins.htm
REMINDER
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in your
STUDY JOURNAL!
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for your scholarship!