Transcript Pronoun Case and Reflexive Pronouns

General Overview
Pasco-Hernando Community College
Tutorial Series
Pronouns – Review
 Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.
 He, she, it, they, them, us, and our are all forms of
pronouns.
 In most cases, there isn’t a question of which pronoun
to use.
 John gave the book to Marcia. He gave the book to her.
Pronouns – Review
 However, in some cases, it is not that easy to determine
which pronoun to use.
 Who or whom? We girls are going… or Us girls are
going… He is taller than I or He is taller than me?
Pronoun Case
 Pronoun case is the form of the pronoun needed.
 There are three cases:
 subject
 object
 possessive
Subject Case
 The subject form of a pronoun is the form when it is
the subject of a sentence. The subject is the doer of
the action in a sentence.
 They are going to deliver the box, not Them are going to
deliver the box.
 She is traveling to Idaho to participate in a dance
competition, not Her is traveling…
 Who is going? Not Whom is going?
Who or Whom?
 The bicyclist ran into the lady who was walking, not
whom was walking. Who is the subject of the clause
who was walking.
 Here are the subjective forms of pronouns: I, you, he,
she, it, we, you, they, and who.
 Most people know the subject form of pronouns.
Object Case
 The object form of a pronoun is used when a pronoun is an
object. An object is a receiver of some form of action.
 Adrian gave the book to Inez.
 Adrian gave it to her.
 The pronouns it and her are in the objective case.
 To whom should we address the letter? Whom is in the
object case since it is the object of the preposition to.
 The teacher gave the students the assignment. The nouns
students and assignment are objects.
 The teacher gave it to them. Here is the sentence with
pronouns instead of nouns.
Object Forms of Pronouns
 Here are the objective forms of pronouns:
 me, us
 you
 him, her, them
 whom
Who or Whom?
 Most people don’t have problems with the object form
except for who and whom.
 One way to see whether the he or him fits. If he fits,
then it is a subject situation, and who is proper.
 If him can be substituted, then it is an object situation,
and whom is the right pronoun.
 Unfortunately, not all sentences lend themselves to
this trial replacement test.
Who or Whom?
 You need to determine whether it is a subject
situation or an object situation. If there is a verb
following it, then it is a subject situation.
 Who knows the answer? (Subject) knows the answer.
 Whom do you love? Do you love (object)?
 The doctor helps whoever needs treatment. The doctor
helps (subject) needs treatment.
 The doctor helps whomever he treats. The doctor treats
(object).
Possessive Pronouns
 Possessive pronouns are pronouns that show
possession.
 my, mine, our, ours
 you, yours
 his, hers, its
 their, theirs
Possessive Pronouns
 Note that there are not apostrophes for possession
since these words are themselves possessive. They
don’t need an apostrophe to show possession.
 Note that its is a possessive pronoun. The contraction
it’s (it is) is not possessive. It is the contraction for it is
or it has.
Possessive Pronouns
 There are different ways possessive pronouns are used:
 The book is mine. This is my book.
 The idea for a new air conditioner was his. It was his
idea.
 Their opinion is to hire a new facilitator. (They share the
same opinion.)
 The people voiced their opinions at the meeting. (They
had individual opinions.)
Demonstrative Pronouns
 Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that refer to a
particular person, place, or thing.
 Demonstrative pronouns include: this, that, these, and
those.
• This and that are singular: This is the table.
• These and those are plural: These are the notes.
Reflexive Pronouns
 Reflexive pronouns are the form of the noun with –self
at the end:
 myself, ourselves
 yourself, yourselves
 himself, herself, themselves
 Note the following non-standard usages: hisself,
theirself, themself. These are slang expressions and
should not be used in formal writing.
Reflexive Pronouns
 Reflexive pronouns should be used only in limited
situations:
 I, myself, did the analysis.
 Mr. Langley, himself, walked from the pier to the
shopping center to check the distance.
 In order to determine the difficulty, Mrs. Amesly,
herself, performed the calculations.
Reflexive Pronouns
 Examples of incorrect usage:
 Luis and myself undertook the responsibility. There
must be a subject form in this sentence.
 Luis and I undertook the responsibility.
 The administrator gave the application to myself. There
must be an object form in this sentence.
 The administrator gave the application to me.
Interrogatives
 While the pronouns who and whom were discussed





under subject form and object form, they are usually
categorized with a group of pronouns called
interrogatives, so-called since they are used in
questions:
who
whom
whose
what
which
Interrogatives
Examples of sentences with interrogatives:
• Who is the current treasurer?
• To whom should these letters be addressed?
• Whose car is parked in the spot reserved for the
chairman of the board?
• What is the result of discontinuing the outsourcing
efforts?
• Which technical report is the most thoroughly
completed?
Interrogative Pronouns
Aside from whether to use who or whom in a particular
sentence as discussed above, problems associated with these
pronouns are usual with subject-verb agreement.
Interrogative pronouns must agree with the noun to which
they are referring.
• Who are the current members of the board of
directors?
• Whose cars are parked in the long-term parking lot?
• What are the consequences of discontinuing the
outsourcing efforts?
• Which technical reports are the most thoroughly
completed?
Relative Pronouns
The pronouns who, whom, which, and that can serve as
relative pronouns when they have a predicate although
they are not a sentence since relative clauses do not
complete a thought.
(Exception: The pronoun that which can be used to begin a
sentence: That is the one I want.)
 The technical assistants, whose notes are used to train
new executives, felt they should be compensated.
 The geologists fought for new funding which helps to
continue the study.