Pronouns

Pronoun: A word used in place of a noun (he; it; they)

Case: The form a pronoun takes as it fills a position in a sentence:

· Subject: The noun that is carrying out the verb in the sentence

· Object: A noun in the sentence that is not carrying out the verb (Direct and Indirect)

Subjective Case: The pronoun refers to a subject

First Person: I We

Second Person: You You

Third Person: He/She/It They

Who Who

Pronouns in the subjective case can fill two positions:

1. Subject positions

a. The ones in the subject position will be easy to identify.

Ex: He is the nicest man I have ever met.

b. Others may not be at the beginning of the sentence, but they have their own verbs, which means they are not objects.

Ex: He is the nicest man I have ever met.

*Some of these may be hard to identify because the verb is implied:

Ex: She is nicer than I (am).

2. Refer back to the subject

Ex: It is she who spoke.

Ex: The best students, he, Ray, and Blanca, explained it to the rest of the class.

Objective Case: The pronoun refers to an object rather than a subject with a verb

First Person: Me Us

Second Person: You You

Third Person: Him/Her/It Them

Whom Whom

Pronouns in the objective case can fill two positions:

1. Object positions

a. They can be objects after the verb

1. Direct object: Answers the questions what or whom in connection with the verb

Ex: We saw her in the library.

2. Indirect object: Answers the question to/for whom in connection with the verb

Ex: I gave the box to Doug.

b. Objective-case pronouns are objects after prepositions

a. I went with Essie and her to the store.

2. Objective-case pronouns may also refer back to object words.

They saved the pie for the latecomers –Martin and me.