Pronouns

Cases:

Know what we use the nominative case of pronouns.
- It is for the subject of a sentence.
Use the objective case for direct objects.
Use the possessive case to show possession.
ALL PRONOUNS HAVE AN ANTECEDENT (a noun that previously defined the pronoun). USING A PRONOUN WITHOUT AN ANTECEDENT IS INCORRECT.
You cannot use “they” for a singular antecedent.
- “Every freshman must take English before they are able to graduate.”
- THIS IS WRONG because “freshman” is singular and “they” is not in agreement with a singular antecedent.
- This is the correct sentence: “Every freshman must take English before he is able to graduate.”
- This is also wrong: “Every freshman must take English before he or she is able to graduate.”
  - To avoid this problem regarding gender, you could use gender-neutral pronouns for gender-neutral nouns.
- You say “All students who wish to return their textbooks should report to the gym.”
  - This is tricky but in this similar but different sentence you say “Each student who wishes to return textbooks should report to the gym.”
  - Keep the singular-plural agreement between noun and pronouns.
“It is (I/me).”
- The correct answer is I. “It” is the subject. “is” is the linking verb that links the subject to what comes after it (predicate). What comes after the linking verb is a predicate nominative that connects back to the subject or it could be a predicate adjective that describes the suject it is linked to.
- Predicate nominative RENAMES THE SUBJECT AND SO IT IS IN THE NOMINATIVE CASE!!!
  - Linking Verbs (usually introduce predicate nominative, probably as a pronoun after it):
    - is
    - am
    - are
    - was
    - were
    - seem
    - being
    - been
  - Linking Verbs (usually introduce predicate adjectives that descrie the subject it is linked to):
    - smell
    - taste
    - sound
    - feel
    - look
  - This is incorrect: “The teacher, Conway and him, planned the party.” THIS IS CORRECT: “the teacher, Conway and he, planned the party.” The appositive “Conway and he” were referencing the subject and must be in te nominative case.
This is incorrect: “The argument was between Tommy and I.”
- There is a linking verb “was” but a preposition followed it instead. The thing following a preposition is the OBJECT of the preposition. So “I” MUST BE “me.”
- This is correct:" “The argument was between Tommy and me.”
Elliptical clauses are used in comparisons. They used words like “than, as, or like.”
- This is incorrect: “The brother is taller than me.”
- THIS IS CORRECT: “The brother is taller than I (am).”
  - The (am) is the implied linking verb that went with I.
- This is correct: “We thanked him more than she (did).”
- THIS IS ALSO CORRECT: “We thanked him more than (we thanked) her.”
- Context is important to see what exactly is being compared.
Reflexive pronouns reflects back to a noun. They can always be identified by the suffixes “-self” and “-selves.” A personal pronoun would precede these suffixes. The other qualification of reflexive pronouns is that they must be necessary.
- “We enjoyed ourselves.” Ourselves reflects we. It is also needed to show what exactly is being enjoyed, otherwise the sentence makes no sense.
- “The boy explained himself to the principal.” Without himself, the sentence has its meaning distorted or has no sense.
- Personal pronouns in reflexive pronouns MUST BE IN THE OBJECTIVE.
  - It is not “hisself.” It is “himself.”
Emphatic pronouns emphasize a noun or pronoun. They are still personal pronouns with the suffixes “-self” and “-selves” added to it. HOWEVER, they are OPTIONAL.
- “Micheal himself made the explanation.” WIth “himself,” it is emphasized that Micheal did this alone. The sentence is still fine without it.
- Word order can make the difference between a reflexve and emphatic pronouns.
  - “I bought myself a pair of jeans.” - Reflexive
  - “I myself bought a pair of jeans.” - Emphatic
Demonstrative pronouns point out and direct attention to a specific noun.
- “These are all my lovable students.” - These points out to the object “lovable students.”
- “This dishonesty bothers me.” If you pair a demonstrative pronoun and an active verb, YOU MUST HAVE AN OBJECT FOR THE SENTENCE.
(HARD ONE) Relative pronouns introduce a dependent clause that MUST RELATE to the sentence.
- The Relative Pronouns:
  - who
  - whoever
  - whom
  - whomever
  - whose
  - which
  - what
  - that
- who, whomever, whoever, whom, whose REFER TO PEOPLE
- which, what, and that REFER TO NON-PEOPLE

Exercise J
- Look for the overlap in the two sentences.
  - In #1, ‘the Irish poor” is said in both sentences
- Take the overlap out and replace the redundancy
- Decide if it’s a subject or an object
- Create the clause and superimpose it into the other sentence