Is it “you and I” OR “you and me”? IT DEPENDS Is the pronoun functioning as a subject? You and I were elected as delegates. OR Is the pronoun functioning as an object? The chairperson asked you and me to be delegates. THIS IS PRONOUN CASE 1

UWF WRITING LAB RULES OF THUMB FOR PRONOUN CASE from Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon 2

Common Pronoun Problems The lottery money was divided between Liz and I. The office has no record of you having called. Elise and myself bought tickets for The Lion King. Please let either Morgan or I know your decision. If there is a problem, please discuss it with Rus or I. Angie’s parents discovered that it was her who wrecked the family car. Contact Randi or myself if you need additional information. Finding a job will not be difficult for either Jason or I. Michele is a better dancer than me. Give the data to whomever requests it. Vote for a candidate who you can trust. Convincing we veterans to vote yes on the issue will be difficult. 3

Solving Your Pronoun Problems 1.Recognize and learn the pronouns which are limited to use in subject positions (SUBJECT PRONOUNS) and those which are limited to use in object positions (OBJECT PRONOUNS). 2.Learn PETs (Pronoun Editing Tricks) to help you locate pronouns that are used incorrectly in your writing. 3.Learn the three-step who-whom trick. 4

PRONOUNS SUBJECT PRONOUNS Iheshewetheywho OBJECT PRONOUNS mehim herusthemwhom 5

Pronouns and Other People PET 1: Ignore/delete and and the other people: You and I figured out the answer. The professor asked Angie and me to read the text. Everyone except Elise and me attended the meeting. 6

Pronouns and Other People INCORRECT I really appreciate your presence at me and Justin’s graduation party. CORRECT I really appreciate your presence at my and Justin’s graduation party. 7

Misspoken English – Nonstandard Self- Pronouns hisselftheyselftheyselvestheirselftheirselvesthemself 8

Standard English -Self Pronouns Reflexive/Intensive Pronouns – pronouns with a -self suffix SINGULAR SINGULARmyselfyourselfhimselfherselfitselfPLURALourselvesyourselvesthemselves 9

Misuse of –Self Pronouns Morgan cooked a pasta dish for Rowena and myself. TEST SENTENCE: Morgan cooked a pasta dish for Rowena and myself. INCORRECT: Morgan cooked a pasta dish for myself. CORRECT Morgan cooked a pasta dish for Rowena and me. 10

Correct Use of –Self Pronouns CORRECT when the –self pronoun is referring to the subject of the sentence. Morgan cooked a pasta dish for Rowena and himself. Morgan cut himself while cooking. I glanced in the mirror and saw myself. Rowena was proud of herself for not overeating and for staying on her diet. 11

Just between you and I OR Just between you and me 12

BETWEEN OBJECT PRONOUNS us me him her them whom whomever Is it Between you and us OR Between you and we ? SUBJECT PRONOUNS we I he she they who whoever OBJECT PRONOUNS us me him her them whom whomever 13

PET #2 Pronouns with Between Remember that between is a preposition, so you always need the object pronouns. Object pronouns are me, him, her, us, them, whom, and whomever. The debate was between her and me. A disagreement arose between him and his professor. QUIZ: Voters will soon find out the difference between (he, him) and his opponent. 14

Pronouns with Other Prepositions Use object pronouns after prepositions The manager promoted everyone except his assistant and me. I hope you’ll consider traveling “the world and the seven seas” with Randi and me. 15

PET #3 Pronouns with Other Nouns Ignore/delete the noun: We women who are a part of Emily’s List, a national organization promoting the election of women to political offices, must stick together. The instructor told us students to use MLA manuscript format for our papers. After the rally, there were many complaints about us students. 16

PET 4: Pronouns with Gerunds Use a possessive pronoun preceding a gerund (a gerund is an –ing verb form used as a noun): I am happy about your winning the lottery. The bartender disapproved of my having a drink before leaving the nightclub. We appreciate your being a guest on our show. Some possessive pronouns are my, his, her, your, their, and our. 17

PET 5 Pronouns after than or as Insert the elliptical/omitted words: My classmates are much older than I [am]. Janice is taller than I [am]. Michele is a much better dancer than he [is]. 18

Pronouns Following Linking Verbs Use subject pronouns after linking verbs. PET 6: Reverse the order of the sentence. The winner of the National Spelling Bee is she. [She is the winner....] It must have been he who sent me the text message. [He must have been it/the one.... ] The subject pronouns are I, she, he, we, they, who, and whoever. Some linking verbs are am, is, are, was, and were. 19

Pronoun Etiquette If you are using a first-person pronoun (I, me, we, us ) with a noun or another pronoun, mention yourself last: Contact your academic advisor or me. NOT Contact me or your academic advisor. The office manager and I are in a meeting. NOT I and the office manager are in a meeting. 20

Possessive Pronouns yoursNOTyour’s oursNOTour’s hersNOTher’s theirsNOTtheir’s mineNOTmines itsNOTits’ The commencement speaker reminded the graduates that the future is (their’s, theirs). 21

Debunk the Pronoun Myth MYTH: A SUBJECT PRONOUN IS ALWAYS AT THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE. Mike admitted that he thought me and Marclyn should not have married each other. Mike admitted that he thought Marclyn and I should not have married each other. 22

Avoid Glaring Pronoun Errors DO NOT USE A PRONOUN TO FOLLOW A NOUN IN THE SUBJECT POSITION: My college roommate he works three jobs and takes five classes. My college roommate works three jobs and takes five classes. 23

SOLVING YOUR WHO-WHOM PROBLEMS 24

Informal uses of “who” Who are you gonna call – Ghostbusters! Who are you voting for? Who would you like to speak to? WHEN DO WE USE WHOM? IS WHOM ON THE PRONOUN EXTINCTION LIST? 25

SUBJECT PRONOUNS whowhoever OBJECT PRONOUNS whomwhomever 26

The 3-Step Who-Whom Trick I = Isolate S = Substitute R = Rearrange and Read 27

PET 7: The WHO-WHOM Trick Though the organization cannot endorse a political candidate, each member may support (whoever, whomever) she chooses. STEP 1: Isolate the portion of the sentence in which the “who-whom” occurs whoever, whomever she chooses STEP 2: Change “who/whoever” to “he”; change “whom/whomever” to “him.” STEP 3: Arrange the words in the natural order of an English sentence. She chooses he OR she chooses him. 28

Who versusWhom Use who or whoever when you can replace the word with he: He is the candidate who should win. (He should win.) Give the money to whoever wins. (He wins.) Use whom or whomever when you can replace the word with him: He is a candidate whom we can trust. (We can trust him.) Give the money to whomever the team chooses. (The team chooses him.) 29

YOUR TURN I’ve sent this about Earth Day to those whom I think care. Change “whom” to “him/them.” Place words in the natural order of an English sentence. I think them care. INCORRECT. Try “he/they.” I think they care. I’ve sent this about Earth Day to those who I think care. 30

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Solving Your Pronoun Problems The lottery money was divided between Liz and me. Pronoun with between The office has no record of your having called. Pronoun with a gerund Pronoun with another noun Elise and I bought tickets for The Lion King. Please let either Morgan or me know your decision. If there is a problem, please discuss it with Rus or me. Contact Randi or me if you need additional information. Finding a job will not be difficult for either Jason or me. Angie’s parents discovered that it was she who wrecked the family car. Pronoun that renames the subject Give the data to whoever requests it. Change “who”/”whoever” to “he” Vote for a candidate whom you can trust. Change “whom” to “him” Michele is a better dancer than I. Pronoun following “than” 32

Let’s Practice!!! Alcohol and tobacco are harmful to (whoever, whomever) consumes them. WHOEVER If I should decide to buy a hunting license, (who, whom) should I see? WHOM Dr. Evans asked Suzanne and (I, me) to explain the recent studies in literary criticism. ME Just between you and (I, me), I think Lance Armstrong is the best cyclist in the world. ME 33

Let’s Finish Up With a Few More. (We, Us) students are worried about the rising cost of textbooks. WE STUDENTS… I was happy to hear about you getting married. …YOUR GETTING MARRIED. That man thinks he is smarter than me. …THAN I. I am certain that the woman wearing the red velvet jacket is her. …IS SHE. 34