who whom whose (whose) 3 rd person

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1 PRONOUN CASE This is a run-down of how to decide pronoun case in clauses. (N.B. I do not say decide pronoun case in sentences why not?) I urge you to read carefully Chapters 24 and 25 on pronoun case in the textbook as well. In English, luckily for all of us, only pronouns change their form according to case; nouns don t. So nouns like John or table don t change between subjective and objective case, and they change only slightly for possessive case (apostrophe + s). We only have to worry about pronouns. Rules governing pronoun case are not individually complex, but there are a number of them working in a hierarchy so that some rules trump others. You have to think through each example methodically. To use the same old analogy: If you re familiar with math, pretend each sentence is a mathematical equation that you re working through according to the order of operations or PEMDAS (Parenthese-Exponents-Multiplication-Division-Addition-Subtraction). Parsing the grammar of sentences requires exactly the same kind of analytical, logical, step-by-step thinking: The first order of operations is to locate each S V pairing, which in turn will allow you to find each clause. From there you can figure out what should be happening with each clause, both inside the clause (pronoun case, S V agreement, comma placement, etc.) and outside the clause (joining, comma placement, pronoun antecedent agreement, etc.). The difference is that you may not be as quick to recognize the boundaries of clauses or prepositional phrases or whatever as you are to recognize parentheses in a math equation. All I can suggest is that you train your eye through practice. You should by now be able to zero in on true verbs and then S V combos, which are the foundation of everything else. The correct cases for pronouns fall into three categories: subjective, objective, or possessive. SUBJECTIVE = subject of sentence, or if pronoun is a subject complement (p.187, 24a). A subject complement is when a pronoun follows a "to be" verb (is, was, will have been, etc). OBJECTIVE = object in sentence, i.e., not the subject of any verb. If pronoun is *inside* a prepositional phrase it usually takes objective case (remember: nothing *inside* a prepositional phrase can be a subject and therefore cannot take the subjective case). POSSESSIVE = if the pronoun possesses something in the sentence, OR if it falls right before a gerund. SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE POSSESSIVE I me my (mine) 1 st person you you your (yours) 2 nd person singular she her her (hers) 3 rd person he him his (his) 3 rd person it it its (its) 3 rd person we us our (ours) 1 st person plural you you your (yours) 2 nd person they them their (theirs) 3 rd person who whom whose (whose) 3 rd person 1

2 Here are the two most basic rules: - If a pronoun is the subject of a verb, then it takes subjective case. - If a pronoun is not the subject of a verb, then it will probably takes objective case (pronoun is probably the object of a verb or a preposition). Since Alex had told Stephanie the arrival time, Stephanie met him and John at the train station. Sub Clause: Since Alex had told Stephanie the arrival time V = had told S = Alex Indep. Clause: Stephanie met him and John at the train station. V = met S = Stephanie. him and John are not subjects of the verb in that clause; therefore, they take objective case. (In English, luckily, only pronouns show case; nouns like John don t change form with case.) That is a secret between him and me. V = is S = that between him and me is a prepositional phrase. You will never find a subject *inside* a prepositional phrase, so these pronouns cannot take the subjective case. Therefore, between he and I would be wrong, though a very common error. There are two major exceptions to these basic rules that I gave you in class: 1) IF A PRONOUN IS DIRECTLY FOLLOWED BY A GERUND, THAT PRONOUN ALWAYS TAKES THE POSSESSIVE CASE (HACKER 24G). I like this rule because there are no exceptions and because it trumps all others. Daniel s parents were worried by his smoking. V = were worried S = Daniel s parents PP = by his smoking Since the pronoun is not the subject of the clause, you might think it would take objective case, e.g., by him smoking. However, because the pronoun comes directly before a gerund, it takes possessive case. Always. My failing the accounting class was an awful performance. V = was S = My failing the accounting class Pronoun my takes possessive case before a gerund) Underneath his lying, he was very frightened. V = was [very] frightened S = he PP = Underneath his lying Since the pronoun appears inside a prep. phrase you might think it would take objective case, e.g., underneath him lying. However, because the pronoun comes directly before a gerund, it takes possessive case. Always. 2

3 2) IF THE PRONOUN DIRECTLY FOLLOWS A TO BE VERB THAT IS, IF THE PRONOUN IS A SUBJECT COMPLEMENT (HACKER 24A) IT TAKES THE SUBJECTIVE CASE. Thus, the correct response from me to someone s request on the phone to speak to Naomi would be This is she, not This is her. Sounds weird and stilted nowadays, but the fact is, it s grammatically correct. (A high school friend of mine used to get around this issue by saying You re talking to him in response to May I speak to John, please? Note correctly used objective case.) The bride today would have been I, if I had accepted his proposal of marriage last year. Indep clause = The bride today would have been I V = would have been S = the bride today subj. complement = I (pronoun directly follows a to be or being verb). Subord. Clause = if I had accepted his proposal of marriage last year V = had accepted S = I Joshua confessed that the thief was he. Indep. Clause = Joshua confessed V = confessed S = Joshua Subord Clause = that the thief was he V = was S = thief subj. complement = he (pronoun directly follows a to be or being verb). It was she who saved the kitten from the fire, not the fireman. Indep. Clause = It was she, not the fireman V = was S = It subj. complement = she (pronoun directly follows a to be or being verb). Subord. Clause = who saved the kitten from the fire V = saved S = who ( who is subject of the verb in this clause = subjective case) 3

4 To figure out what case you should use for a pronoun, go through the following steps: 1) Locate the clauses (indep. or subord.) in the sentence, and figure out the boundaries of each clause that is, where each clause begins and ends. To do this, you must first locate the verb(s) and then subj. of each verb in the sentence. One S V combination makes one clause. 2) Locate ALL pronouns inside each clause. 3) Figure out case of pronoun(s) judging from pronoun position **within its own clause** (not within the whole sentence this is important see NOTE below). If the pronoun is the subject of the verb, it is in subjective case. If it is anything other than the subject, it will usually take objective case. POWERFUL DECIDER: If the pronoun is a subject or a subject complement (if it directly follows some form of the verb to be ) then it will take the subjective case. MORE POWERFUL DECIDER: If the pronoun falls **inside a prepositional phrase** it takes the objective case (you will never find a subject inside a prepositional phrase; therefore, you will never find a subjective case pronoun inside a prepositional phrase). MOST POWERFUL DECIDER: All of the above are over-ruled if the pronoun *directly preceeds* a gerund, in which case it takes possessive case. Big example of all steps on next page. NOTE: He will read his horrible poetry to whoever will listen to him. Indep. Clause = He will read his horrible poetry V = will read S = He Subord Clause = whoever will listen to him V = will listen S = whoever (subj. case who ) Because whowever follows to, it looks like it should be in objective case. But within its own clause, the pronoun whoever is the subject of the verb will listen. So it takes subjective case. 4

5 Step 1) Find S V combos and boundaries of clauses V = ran S = he V = made [them] lose S = His stumbling V = did mind S = she Indep. Clause = His stumbling made them lose the three-legged race Subord clause = while he ran with her through the sand while = subordinator Indep Clause = she didn t mind and = coordinating conj. Step 2) Find the pronouns in each clause Step 3) Figure out case of pronoun(s) judging from pronoun position within its own clause His stumbling made them lose the three-legged race "His," them "His stumbling" is the subject of the verb in this clause. However, you don't put the pronoun in the subjective case and say "He stumbling lost us the three-legged race " because it sounds weird. (hah are you listening? That s not a good reason.) The pronoun takes possessive case because it directly precedes the gerund "stumbling." Gerunds, fortunately, are easy to diagnose, but you do have to be alert to spot them in the first place. "them" takes objective case because it isn't the subject of the verb in this clause. NOTE: If it were a girl who stumbled, the clause would read Her stumbling lost them the threelegged race. Some people may think that her is in the objective case, and, if the sentence were about a boy, would transfer that error and decide, erroneously, that the sentence should read Him stumbling lost us the race. You know better. while he ran with her through the sand he, her He is the subject of the verb in this clause. Subjective case. her is not the subject of anything in this clause, so it probably takes objective case. The clincher is the fact that her appears inside a prepositional phrase, and you will never find subjects or subjective case inside a prepositional phrase. she didn t mind she she is subject of the verb in this clause. Subjective case. TO REITERATE: For answers about pronoun case, as for most things grammatical, you work best with logical, step-by-step, break-it-down-and-analyze-it-bit-by-bit thinking. 5