How to Fix Improper Use of Pronouns

Pronouns are useful little words that replace nouns in sentences. Unfortunately, they are misused almost as frequently as they are used. Here's how to employ pronouns correctly.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Remember that you should use subjective personal pronouns (I, you, we, he, she, they) when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence: "I am hungry."

2. Use objective personal pronouns (me, you, us, him, her, them) when the pronoun is the object of the sentence: "Give it to him."

3. Turn a sentence around if you are confused about whether a pronoun is the subject or object: "The best swimmer is him." "Him is the best swimmer." (Wrong) "The best swimmer is he." (Correct)

4. Or fill in the implied words in a sentence if you are in doubt about correct usage: "She is stronger than me." "She is stronger than me am." (Wrong) "She is stronger than I." (Correct)

5. Exercise extra caution when using conjunctions with pronouns. Remove and to verify that you have used a pronoun correctly: "Joe is going skating with Sue and I." "Joe is going skating with I." (Wrong) "Joe is going skating with Sue and me." (Correct) "Dan and me are going to the store." "Me is going to the store." (Wrong) "Dan and I are going to the store." (Correct)

6. Answer "This is he (or she)" when you identify yourself on the telephone: Caller 1: "Is Lucy Peters there?" Caller 2: "This is she." ("She is this," not "Her is this.")

7. Remember to use the relative pronoun whom when the pronoun is the object of the verb in a sentence rather than the active subject. This is a very common error: "Who do you like?" "You like who?" (Wrong) "Whom do you like?" (Correct) "Sara is the one whom likes cats." "whom likes cats" (Wrong) "Sara is the one who likes cats." (Correct)

8. Try not to overcorrect yourself in the effort to improve your usage of pronouns: "We invited Bill, whom likes baseball more than us." (Wrong) "We invited Bill, whom likes baseball more than us like baseball." (Doubly wrong) "We invited Bill, who likes baseball more than we do." (Correct)

Tips & Warnings

• When writing, make sure the pronoun is not so far from the referent that the reader loses the connection. This is particularly important when a sentence begins with a pronoun.
• Using proper grammar is more important in a formal or professional environment. Many people slip into a vernacular or slang when they are hanging out with their friends--a linguistic form of relaxation.

[elisa36]

on 12/3/2008 So..."said":

She is faster than 'me' am????????

"werdy nerdy": Many of the "social" reasons arise from the improper use of the language generated by the media. As a result, those complying often can interact with others from those who speak with 'barnyard' grammar to those who speak properly. The problem arise in the written word.

"mofei",

In your response: "That's he over there", the instruction to "Turn a sentence around" could apply. Hence: That's he over there" to He is over there. The proper usage thus is: He is that one, over there. One does truthfully not think of someone hovering "over" there.

Hint: Think clearly!

[elisa36]

on 12/3/2008 So: She is faster than 'me' am????

[porsche944]

on 5/20/2007 Actually, the verb "to be" is referred to as a copulative verb. It is not a transitive verb. As such, it does not take a subject and an object per se, but intead, connects two noun phrases of the same case. Interestingly, this doesn't mean that you always use the nominative form. The notion that "to be" must always be followed by the nominative case is completely incorrect. There is no and has never been any such rule. This apparent snobbery is a misunderstanding and misapplication of the correct rule which states that the verb "to be" links nominative to nominative OR ACCUSATIVE TO ACCUSATIVE, As long as the nouns on both sides use the same case.

Example:

It is I who knocked on the door

but

It is me you are looking for.

For more on this see:

http://www.alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxitsmev.html

[werdy_nerdy]

on 3/25/2007 I would amend mofei's comments by saying that it's not "everyday snobbery" it's "everyday snobbery by people who erroneously think they're sophisticated," in part for the reasons mofei listed.

There are social reasons to follow these rules - for instance if you're interviewing for a job with someone who secretly wants to be a school-marm and thinks it's a sign of poor character when someone says "it's me." But people who are *actually* sophisticated about the use of language, they try and talk naturally and acknowledge that the use of pronouns changes over time.

(If you don't believe me, consider the fact that Shakespeare himself used phrases like "between you and I," which is "incorrect.")

[mofei]

on 10/5/2006 Sorry to be rude, but this section should be called "everyday snobbery", and more importantly is full of errors.

The verb "be" does not take the nominative case in its object. It did in the middle ages, but it hasn't for many centuries. If it did people would say things like "Q: Where is this guy John? A: That's he over there". Or "the person who murdered Poirot is she!"

Secondly, "whom" is (historically, at least) the dative case, not the accusative case. So you should say things like "whom did you give it to", but not "whom did you meet". In reality, the who/whom distinction is disappearing, and most people who use it nowadays don't do so consistently.