Pronoun Case

Yippee!

So why is it “We the people…” instead of “Us the people…” in the

preamble to the Constitution?

Pronoun Case Diagnostic1. I wanted to see that movie with Judy and

(she / her).

2. The Smiths and (they / them) went on vacation to Hawaii last winter.

3. I did not do as well on my exams as (he / him).

4. Why don’t you let Joanne and (I / me) drive you to the hospital?

5. I was very surprised to hear about (he / him / his) refusing the promotion.

6. (She / Her) will show (we / us) the way to Tim Horton’s house.

7. (We / Us) students really look forward to going home for Christmas.

8. (You / Your) singing off-key is distracting me.

9. I was thrilled to see the sale advertised at Wal-Mart, but I was not as thrilled as (she / her).

10. Don’t forget to tell (he / him) and (I / me) about your plans.

11. Did (she / her) really say that about (he / him)?

12. Since the weather is nice, let’s take the baby and (he / him) to the park.

13. I wondered if (she / her) would accept my offer.

14. Were Sandra and (he / him) surprised to see you?

15. No one loves chocolate more than (I / me).

Pronoun Case Diagnostic1. I wanted to see that movie with Judy and

(she / her).

2. The Smiths and (they / them) went on vacation to Hawaii last winter.

3. I did not do as well on my exams as (he / him).

4. Why don’t you let Joanne and (I / me) drive you to the hospital?

5. I was very surprised to hear about (he / him / his) refusing the promotion.

6. (She / Her) will show (we / us) the way to Tim Horton’s house.

7. (We / Us) students really look forward to going home for Christmas.

8. (You / Your) singing off-key is distracting me.

9. I was thrilled to see the sale advertised at Wal-Mart, but I was not as thrilled as (she / her).

10. Don’t forget to tell (he / him) and (I / me) about your plans.

11. Did (she / her) really say that about (he / him)?

12. Since the weather is nice, let’s take the baby and (he / him) to the park.

13. I wondered if (she / her) would accept my offer.

14. Were Sandra and (he / him) surprised to see you?

15. No one loves chocolate more than (I / me).

Case of Pronouns

Person Nominative Objective Possessive

S 1st I me my, mine

I

N 2nd you you your, yours

G

3rd he, she, it him, her, it his, her, hers, its

P 1st we us our, ours

L

U 2nd you you your, yours

R

A 3rd they them their, theirs

L

Case of Pronouns

Person Nominative Objective Possessive

S 1st I me my, mine

I

N 2nd you you your, yours

G

3rd he, she, it him, her, it his, her, hers, its

P 1st we us our, ours

L

U 2nd you you your, yours

R

A 3rd they them their, theirs

L

Case of Pronouns

Person Nominative Objective Possessive

S 1st I me my, mine

I

N 2nd you you your, yours

G

3rd he, she, it him, her, it his, her, hers, its

P 1st we us our, ours

LU

R 2nd you you your, yours

A 3rd they them their, theirs

Nominative Case1. Subject:

We are the best class in the world!

She is my bratty little sister.

They will certainly be the winners.

2. Predicate Nominative: *****

The best class is undoubtedly we.

My bratty little sister is she.

The winners will certainly be they.

Uses of Nominative Casecontinued

3. Appositive to subject or predicate nominative:

We the people do ordain and establish this Constitution.

The winners will certainly be we eighth graders.

Objective Case1. direct object

Ex. She called us to help.

He tripped me by accident.

2. Indirect object

Ex. I threw him the pen.

The teacher gave us a weird look!

Objective Case3. Object of the preposition.

Ex. I threw the pen (to him).

Ex. He will speak (to them) about the situation.

Ex. We all have heard (of her).

4. Appositive to d.o., i.o., o.p.

You need to help us girls.

Pronoun Case: Who vs. Whom

Fact:People often misuse who and whom.

*Remember: Who is in nominative case, like he is, whereas whom is in objective case, like him is. 

Examples: (Who, Whom) is going to the beach? He is going to the beach = Who is going to the beach?

To (who, whom) shall I write the check?  This is a little trickier—please follow.

• Change the question to a statement and substitute he or him, whichever fits:

I shall write the check to him = I shall write the check to whom =

To whom shall I write the check?

** Sometimes in English we separate prepositions from their objects, which makes it a bit trickier.

Example: (Who, Whom) are you going to the awards ceremony with?

• Rearrange the sentence so that it is in standard Subject-Verb-Complement order, and substitute he or him.

You are going to the party with him = You are going to the awards ceremony with whom = Whom are you going to the awards ceremony with?

*** In English, sentence structure can complicate matters. In complex or compound-complex sentences, you need to make sure that the clause with the who/whom choice is in standard Subject-Verb-Complement order.

 

Example: I must meet the person (who, whom) she recommended.• Isolate each clause: I must meet the person

(independent clause); (who, whom) she recommended – dependent clause

• Rearrange who/whom clause so it’s in S-V-Complement order: she recommended (who, whom)

• Substitute as before: she recommended him = she recommended whom

• Change the order back: I must meet the person whom she recommended.

Try it on your own:

 

1. (Who, Whom) will you invite to the party? 

2. (Whoever, Whomever) parked this car needs to move it. 

3. There is a fifty-dollar reward for (whoever, whomever) finds and returns my dog. 

4. (Who, Whom) is Elaine staying with? 

5. (Who, Whom) is that man at the end of the alley? 

Try it on your own:

 

6. He is the kind of person (who, whom), my father says, will always be able to multiply his money. 

7. There will be a five-minute break for (whoever, whomever) among you needs it. 

8. To (who, whom) should I give this letter? 

9. The parents of that baby, (whoever, whomever) they are, shouldn’t leave it alone. 

10.Can you tell (who, whom) she looks like?

Elliptical Clauses• Reminder: • An elliptical clause is just a clause (subject & predicate) where

some part of the clause is implied rather than stated. In other words, part of the clause is invisible.

• Look for the words than and as when used in a comparison. These words often introduce elliptical clauses.

• When you find than or as introducing an elliptical clause, one way to determine the correct pronoun is to finish the comparison that has been started.– Example: Pat is much older than (he, him). Finish the

entire comparison:

Pat is much older than (he, him) is old.

• Another way to determine which pronoun to choose is to find after than or as is to find what that pronoun is referring to (its antecedent) in the preceding clause. Whichever pronoun fits in its place is the correct pronoun choice.

 • For example: Herman has given his accordion to you

rather than (she, her).

The word that (she, her) is being compared to is “you.” Which pronoun fits in place of “you?” Herman has given his accordion to her.

 

What is the function of the antecedent in the preceding clause? It is an object of the preposition. When you put it into to elliptical clause, it will be used as the exact same thing.

• Always check to make sure the case of the pronoun you choose matches the pronoun’s function. Subjects and predicate nominatives need NOMINATIVE case; direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions need OBJECTIVE case.

• Here are a few sentences to practice. Be careful and FOLLOW THE STEPS. Don’t forget that other “tricks” can crop up within the same clause. Always BEWARE linking verbs…

 

1. I can understand why the voters elected Mark rather than (she, her).

2. A reminder should be given to ninth graders as well as (we, us) concerning our testing policy.

3. Sue has a much higher grade than Sharon and (he, him).

4. I received a card from Max as well as (she, her) on my birthday.

5. The teacher assigned you to the committee as well as (she, her).

6. Tell Henry as well as (he, him) the news about the election.

7. Even though both of us are the youngest, the term “baby of the family” fits Andy better than (I, me).

8. No one could love pronoun case as much as (I, me).

9. The winner of the diagramming contest will certainly be Lulu rather than (he, him).

10. It would be easier to keep a secret between you and Bob rather than you and (she, her).