Transcript pronoun - andersonenglish

Pronouns
Pronouns and Antecedents defined
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A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a
noun
An antecedent is the word which the
pronoun replaces
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents
in:
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Case (nominative or objective?)
Number (singular or plural?)
Subjects and Predicate Pronouns
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Remember that subjects of verbs—no matter
where they’re located in the sentence—need
to be in nominative case.
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Have Roger and he joined the band?
Also remember that predicate nominatives
will always be in nominative case, even if its
sounds awkward.
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Have you seen the new music supervisor? That is
she coming into the auditorium.
Subject of the Infinitive
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The subject of the infinitive is always in the
objective case.
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The Curtises have invited Pat and me to spend a
week at their camp in Maine.
Objects
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Direct and indirect objects of verbs and
objects of the preposition are always in
objective case.
Appositives
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An appositive is in the same case as the
noun or pronoun to which it refers
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Both cartoonists, Steve Adams and she, are
working on the yearbook.
Who was the director of the one-act play, Aaron or
she?
We, Us
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In some sentences, nouns (or pronouns) are
in apposition with pronouns
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We skiers enjoyed our trip to the White
Mountains.
Let’s you and me wax our skis this afternoon.
(Let’s is a contraction for let us. Us is in the
objective case. Since you and me equal us, they
need to be in the objective case as well.)
Pronouns with AND, OR or NOR
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When you use a pair of pronouns or a noun
and a pronoun joined by and, or, or nor, say
what you would say with each alone.
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Gail and I swam out to Loon Island yesterday.
The Martins invited Ted and me.
Jim didn’t send a card to her or me.
Just between you and me, it stinks in here.
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever
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The choice of who or whom and whoever or
whomever depends upon the use of the
pronoun in its own clause. The choice is
governed by the words which follow the
pronoun, not by those which precede it.
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I gave the money to whoever asked for it.
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever
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Sentences with such expressions as I think, we
know, do you suppose, he hopes are especially
troublesome.
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The man who I believed was the thief proved to be a
detective. [The clauses are 1) the man proved to be the
detective, 2) who was the thief, and 3) I believed. Who is
the subject of was.]
Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever
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Rearranging an inverted sentence in the natural
order will help you decide whether to use the
nominative or objective form.
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(Who, whom) do you think stole the jewels?
You do think who stole the jewels?
When who or whoever is a predicate pronoun or the
subject of a verb, do not let a preceding verb or
preposition trick you into using the objective form
whom or whomever.
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Somebody knew who the thief was.
Stop whoever comes along.
Chris and Ron were arguing about who could throw the
fastest ball.
Compound Personal Pronouns
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Pronouns ending in self (selves) are used for
emphasis and for reference to the subject.
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Pronouns ending in self or selves will never
be subjects.
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Did Mary make the bookcase herself?
Hence, Pat and myself want to be airplane pilots
is WRONG!
There is no such word as hisself or
theirselves.
Pronouns and Their Antecedents
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A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in
number, person, and gender.
Always use singular pronouns to refer to
each, every, neither, many a, a person, one,
and compounds of body and one.
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Every woman on the Olympic team hoped to
better her distance.
In winter every stem and branch of a tree is kept
warm by (its, their) bark.
Does everybody have (their, his) book?
OR, NOR
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Use singular pronouns to refer to two or more
singular antecedents joined by or or nor.
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Either Joan or Kathie will lend you her
sunglasses.
Neither Bart nor Charlie can make up (their, his)
mind about the best picnic spot.
Collective Nouns
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A collective noun takes a singular pronoun
when the group is thought of and a plural
pronoun when the individuals are thought of.
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The football team lost its mascot.
The football team did their best to find Whiskers
before the game.
More on Collective Nouns
Use a singular pronoun when:
 the group is acting in
unison
 the members of the group
act as a single unit
 Consider, for example, a
family suing a local factory
for having polluted the
drinking water and caused
the premature death of a
child by cancer.
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The family is suing for
damages. [They’re acting
as a single unit]
Use a plural pronoun when:
 everyone in the group is
doing his own thing
 the members of the group
are each acting as
individuals.
 What if we imagine our
litigious family arguing with
each other about how much
compensation to ask for?
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The family are arguing
about damages. [The
members are acting
individually.]
More on Collective Nouns
SINGULAR
PLURAL
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Ex 1: Every afternoon the
baseball team follows its
coach out to the hot field to
practice.
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Ex 2: Today, Dr. Ribley's
class takes its first test.
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Ex 3: The jury agrees that
the state prosecutors did
not provide enough
evidence, so its verdict is
not guilty.
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Ex 1: After practice, the
team shower, change into
their street clothes, and
head to their air-conditioned
homes.
Ex 2: After the exam, the
class finish their research
papers on famous
mathematicians at home.
Ex 3: The jury disagree
about the guilt of the
accused and have told the
judge that they are
hopelessly deadlocked.
The Right Relative Pronoun
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Who and whom refer to persons or to animals
thought of as intelligent beings; which to
animals or things and occasionally to
collective nouns referring to persons; that to
persons, animals, or things.