1. Pronoun Case
Les Hanson 2002

2. Pronoun Case
Case tells whether a pronoun shows possession or acts as subject or object in the sentence
Writers use the following four terms
Subjective
Objective
Possessive
Reflexive

3. Subjective
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

4. Use the Subjective Case
At the beginning of sentences
I/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).

5. Objective
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

6. Use the Objective Case After action verbs
Arnold bought (her, she) a new toaster
After prepositions (joining words)
Several of (us, we) girls are going to Cancun for our holidays in March

7. Possessive Use possessive case pronouns to show ownership
Possessive case pronouns do not use an apostrophe
Example: The goldfish was ours, but Sam gave it to his cat.
Mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

8. Use 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

9. Reflexive
Use reflexive pronouns when one pronoun has already been used to refer to someone
He hit himself with a hammer
She bought herself a new car
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves

10. Using the Reflexive Case
Only use the reflexive if the other cases do not work
The minister and me/ myself/ I toured the mill.
He kept looking at he/ him/ himself in the mirror.

11. Rules of Thumb
Don’t automatically use the word “I” at the end of sentences
John spread the virus to Martha and I
John 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 pizzas
Rod and I ate three pizzas (replace the words “Rod and”)