FORM = FUNCTION

• Rather than repeating the noun:

  • Bob took a few final bites of Bob’s sandwich before Bob went to Bob’s one o’clock class.

  • Bob took a few final bites of his sandwich before he went to his one o’clock class.

• *HINT:  NAME=FUNCTION

  1) PERSONAL:
  	SINGULAR	PLURAL
  	I, me	we, us
  	you	you
  2) POSSESSIVE:
  	my, mine	our, ours
  	your, yours
  	his, hers, its	theirs

• 3) DEMONSTRATIVE

  • as PERSONAL pronouns replace people’s names and POSSESSIVE pronouns show ownership, DEMONSTRATIVE pronouns demonstrate, point to, point out

    • this, that, these, those

    • not “them”

  • so, with all deference to Guido and Pink Floyd, the following are incorrect:

    • How do you like them apples?! AND

    • Hey! Teacher, leave them kids alone!

  • Correct:  These test results belong to those students.

• 4) INDEFINITE

  • replace an indefinite, unnamed, undetermined set of nouns

  • (do not know names, sexes, or numbers)

  • Everyone was glad there was no quiz on the homework.

• 5) RELATIVE

  • show relationship to noun

    • who, whom, whose, which, that

  • not subject of the sentence

  • clause = fragment

  • Dracula’s castle, which was perched on the edge of a steep cliff, provided Jonathan Harker a stunning view of the Carpathian Mountains. (“relative clause”)

  •  

• 6) REFLEXIVE

  • refer back to the noun, intensify the nouns referred to

  • *use only sparingly:

    • used to show emphasis

      • “even God Himself”

    • used as an object in rare cases

      • “I bought myself a ticket.”

    • not used when objective form is required

      • Wrong: “Jacques went to Paris with myself.”

      • Right: “Jacques went to Paris with me.

    • not used as a subject

      • Wrong: “Renee and myself went to the movies.”

      • Right: “Renee and I went to the movies.”

    • used if the SUBJECT and OBJECT are one and the same

      • “I bought myself a hotdog for lunch on Monday.”

  • self = singular, selves = plural

    • myself, yourself, himself/herself, itself

    • ourselves, yourselves, themselves

  • The students behaved themselves on the class trip to the art museum.

• 7) INTERROGATIVE

  • used in questions; start questions

    • who, which, what, where

  • What did you expect me to do with this hastily written essay?

• 8) RECIPROCAL

  • refer to individual parts of the plural term

    • each other, one another

  • Although they did not know each other, Suzi and Ashley had to work together on the group assignment.

• when in doubt, simply drop the other noun or pronoun

  • If we get past our differences, you and I/me can surely achieve our goals.

    • “I can surely achieve our goals.” OR “ME can surely achieve our goals.”

  • Us/We girls have got to stick together.

    • “US have got to stick together.” OR “WE have got to stick together.”

• WHO = subject form

• WHOM = object form

  • (to, for, from, about)

• simple solution:  use “whom” if you can say “him” instead (“m” goes with “m”)

  • To WHO/WHOM would you like to speak?

    • You would like to speak to HE.

    • You would like to speak to HIM. (*)

  • WHO/WHOM submitted this test without a name?

    • HE submitted the test without a name. (*)

    • HIM submitted the test without a name.

• do NOT use apostrophes with possessive pronouns

  • only NOUNS need (’s) to become possessive

  • unlike NOUNS that need "surgical augmentation" to illustrate ownership,

    • POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS are "born possessive"

    • and therefore require no "cosmetic surgery"

• ITS

  • it’s = it is or it has

    • The cat washed its paws.

  • you would not write hi’s or his’, her’s, theirs’

• WHOSE

  • who’s = who is or who has

    • Who’s on first?

    • Whose book is on the table?

  • use possessive pronouns when they precede gerunds (-ing)

    • The result of your bickering will be my incarceration.

    • (not you bickering)

• put yourself LAST in a list

  • Rob, Jeanne, and I went to the library to study for the Biology exam.

  • The professor yelled at her and me for not turning off our cellular telephones in the lecture hall.
     

• Get your Nerd on for this one!

• sometimes pronouns follow LINKING VERBS:

  • is, am, are, was, were (forms of "to be")

  • seem, appear, become, feel, grow, look,

  • smell, sound, taste, stay, remain

    • (*to see if a verb is functioning as a LV, replace it with "is" or another form of the "to be" -- if that retains the same/similar meaning, then it's a LV)

• in that case, it is functioning as the PREDICATE NOMINATIVE

  • (completes the Linking Verb & renames the Subject

  • by "linking" Subject & the Predicate Nominative)

• & must thus take the SUBJECT FORM (the nominative case):

  • When you answer the phone:  It is I. (not It is me.)

  • The Outstanding Student Award recipient is she. (not is her)

  • It was they who joined the honor society.

  • The gold medalist for the marathon on the men's side was he.

  • The best writers in class are she and I.

• It doesn't "sound right" (because we don't speak grammatically correct), but it is correct.