Perplexing Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Relative Pronouns
Personal Pronoun Case Forms Subjective Objective Possessive I me my, mine you you your, yours he him his she her her, hers it it its we us our, ours they them their, theirs
Relative Pronoun Case Forms Subjective Objective Possessive who whom whose whoever whomever whosever
How do you determine the correct case for a given pronoun? There are a bunch of little rules that cover less common situations, but the basic guidelines are: Use the subjective case when… ❑ The pronoun is the subject of the verb. In other words, when the pronoun is the person or thing that commits the action. I, we, you, he, she, it, they ran away. ❑
The pronoun follows a finite form of the verb “to be” (any form of “to be” except the infinitive form with the “to” in front of it). In other words, use the subjective case if the pronoun is the complement of the linking verb “to be” (see the Grammar Review for more on this concept): They believed that the thief was I, you, he, she. They believed that the thieves were we, you, they.
57
j Bad Grammar Ch 01.pmd
57
3/17/2004, 9:45 AM