Grammar for Grade 9
Episode VII
Using Pronouns Correctly
Pronouns Have Case
• Pronouns can be classified in at least three
cases:
– Nominative case
– Objective case
– Possessive case
(There are others, but you don’t need to worry
about them.)
Nominative Case
• Nominative case pronouns (I, thou, he, she, it,
we, you, they, who) function as subjects or as
predicate nominatives.
– They have finally won!
– It is he whose dog is on the loose.
– Who is coming to dinner?
Objective Case
• Objective case pronouns (me, thee, him, her,
it, us, you, them, whom) function as direct
objects, indirect objects, or the objects of
prepositions.
– The manager gave them the donation.
– Shannon sent it to him on Valentine’s Day.
– You gave the photographs to whom?
Hint: Who/Whom
Who/whom confusion is a problem for a lot of
students. Rather than asking yourself, “nominative or
objective case?” there is a simpler trick to figuring
out which to use.
– If the sentence is a question, turn it into a statement. If it
isn’t, skip this step.
– Replace the who/whom with he or him.
– If “he” is correct in the sentence, use who.
• They both end in vowels.
– If “him” is correct in the sentence, use whom.
• Who/whom should I call? [make it a statement]
• I should call who/whom? [use he or him]
• I should call him. [use whom: Whom should I call?]
Hint: I and Me
One common error is the “Bobby and me”/
“Bobby and I” error, where students aren’t
sure whether to use “I” or “me”.
The trick: take the other person out of the
sentence, then use the one that is correct.
• Bobby and I/me went to the fair.
– I went to the fair...so “Bobby and I went to the fair.”
• Joe bought tickets for Bobby and I/me.
– Joe bought tickets for me...so he bought them for Bobby and
me.
Be polite...always let the other person go first
(it’s Bobby and me, never me and Bobby).
Possessive Case
• Possessive case pronouns (my, mine, thy,
thine, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, your, yours,
their, theirs, whose) replace possessive nouns.
• Possessive pronouns NEVER use apostrophes.
– That is my guitar.
– No, it isn’t! It’s hers.
– I know it’s mine because its pegs are worn.
Hint: Its or It’s?
Possessives never have apostrophes in them.
If you can replace the its/it’s by “it is”, use the
apostrophe: it’s means it is, and the
apostrophe is showing that you removed an i.
Its/it’s my birthday.
[It is my birthday works; use it’s.]
If you could replace the its/it’s by “my,” use its.
There are scratches along its/it’s side.
[There are scratches along my side works; use its.]
Pronouns After Than and As
In an elliptical adverb clause, unnecessary words
are left out. When you use a pronoun in these
clauses, choose the case that you would use if
the missing words had been left in.
Kenny water-skis much better than I [do].
That loud music bothers your father as much
as [it bothers] me.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronouns agree with their antecedents in
number, gender and person.
Pele’s extraordinary skill as a soccer player made him world
famous. [Both Pele and him are singular, male, and third
person.]
My favourite teachers try to use some fun activities in their
classes. [Teachers and there are both plural and third person.
Plural pronouns are gender-neutral.]
Pronoun-Antecedent II
If the gender of a singular antecedent could be either
masculine or feminine, it is traditional to use a
masculine pronoun. Other options are to use a
gender neutral phrase, or try to rewrite the
sentence to use a plural pronoun or no pronoun.
• A person should choose his friends carefully. [traditional]
• A person should choose his or her friends carefully. [genderneutral phrase]
• People should choose their friends carefully. [plural pronoun]
• People should choose friends carefully. [no pronoun]
Pronoun Agreement Errors
By FAR the most common pronoun-antecedent
agreement error is when students use a plural
pronoun with a singular antecedent:
• A person should choose their friends carefully.
• This is incorrect. There are at least four ways to
fix it (see previous slide). PLEASE don’t do this.
• Also, avoid shifting person in the middle of a
sentence:
• When people drive, you should be alert. [um?]
• When people drive, they should be alert. [ah!]
Clear Pronoun Reference
Avoid using the pronouns this, that, which, or it
unless the antecedent is clearly stated.
• He’s a great pitcher and this was obvious in the game
last night. [vague]
• He’s a great pitcher, and his athletic talent was obvious
in the game last night. [better!]
While using this, that, which or it is common in
speech, be very careful when using it in
writing. Your reader may not understand you.
Clear Pronoun Reference II
If a pronoun could refer to more than one
antecedent, reword the sentence to make it
clear.
• After the dogs barked at the neighbours all night, they
slept late. [Who did? The dogs, or the neighbours?]
• The dogs slept late after they barked at the neighbours
all night.
Clear Pronoun Reference III
Do not use the pronouns “you” and “they” in an
indefinite sense.
• In many places, you rest at midday. [indefinite]
• In many places, people rest at midday. [clear]
This is the number-one pronoun error. If I read
“you” in your writing (and it isn’t in quotation
marks) I assume that I can replace it with “Mrs.
Cousar,” because you are talking directly to me.
This results in some odd “advice” from my
students:
Error Examples
“The theme of this story is that [Mrs. Cousar] should
never take [her] life for granted, because [she] never
knows what comes next.”
Started out as, “The theme of this story is that you should never
take your life for granted because you never know what
comes next.” For your information, the author of that
particular story died before I was born.
“Everyone should take the time to vote, because if [Mrs.
Cousar] doesn’t, then [she] isn’t using [her] right to
influence the government.”
“Nobody in love should be held responsible for their
actions because [Mrs. Cousar] can’t think straight when
[she’s] in love.
NEVER USE ‘YOU’ IN AN INDEFINITE SENSE!