Pronoun CasePronoun Case

Les Hanson 2002Les Hanson 2002

Pronoun CasePronoun Case Case tells whether a pronoun shows possession or

acts as subject or object in the sentence Writers use the following four terms

SubjectiveObjectivePossessiveReflexive

SubjectiveSubjective Use the subjective case when the pronoun is

either the subject or the complement of the sentence (The doer of the action)

She gave her goldfish to the boy next door.

It was he who called me a bad name.I, you, he, she, we, they, who

Use the Subjective CaseUse the Subjective Case

At the beginning of sentencesI/me hate grammar

After any form of the verb “to be” (is, was, will be)The one who ate the most pizza is he/him.

When referring to the subject of an implied clause following “as” or “than”

My brother is more agile than I /me (am).

ObjectiveObjective Use the objective case when the pronoun is an

object of the sentence (the receiver of the action)Arnold sent flowers to her. (Object of Preposition)Betty phoned him tonight. (Object of Verb)Alex hates Garth more than (he hates) me. (Object in an implied clause)Me, you, him, her, us, them, whom

Use the Objective CaseUse the Objective Case

After action verbsArnold bought (her, she) a new toaster

After prepositions (joining words)Several of (us, we) girls are going to Cancun for our holidays in March

PossessivePossessive Use possessive case pronouns to show ownership

Possessive case pronouns do not use an apostropheExample: The goldfish was ours, but Sam gave it to his cat. Mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Use the Possessive CaseUse the Possessive Case

With words that modify gerunds(a gerund is an ing word that functions as a noun)

I knew that (his / him / he) smoking in the toilet would make the flight attendants angry.

The chances of our / we / us winning the World Cup are not very good

ReflexiveReflexive Use reflexive pronouns when one pronoun has

already been used to refer to someoneHe hit himself with a hammerShe bought herself a new carMyself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves

Using the Reflexive CaseUsing the Reflexive Case

Only use the reflexive if the other cases do not workThe minister and me/ myself/ I toured the mill.

He kept looking at he/ him/ himself in the mirror.

Rules of ThumbRules of Thumb

Don’t automatically use the word “I” at the end of sentencesJohn spread the virus to Martha and IJohn spread the virus to Martha and me

Reduce sentences to their simplest forms Rod and (I / me) ate three pizzas(I / me) ate three pizzas (delete the words “Rod and”)

I / me ate three pizzasRod and I ate three pizzas (replace the words “Rod and”)