Correct Use of Pronouns
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word
that stands for a noun. Effective use of pronouns allows flexibility in
writing.
e.g.
Peter left for New York
e.g. I
bought myself an expensive watch. It cost me one thousand dollars.
Relative pronouns (who,
whom, which, that) introduce clauses that describe nouns
or pronouns. These relative clauses can be restrictive (i.e. containing
essential information), or non-restrictive (i.e. containing only additional
but non-essential information).
Compare the
following pairs of sentences:
e.g.
The van that hit my dog was a mini van. (correct)
The relative clause
above identifies the van, and therefore is essential to meaning of the sentence.
e.g.
The van, which hit my dog, was a mini van.(incorrect)
The non-restrictive
relative clause above provides only additional information. The use of a
non-restrictive clause with the two commas further implies that it can
be deleted; however, without which hit my dog, the sentence would not
make much sense.
e.g.
The reporter who took the photos is now being sued for invasion of
privacy. (correct)
The relative clause
above is restrictive because it identifies the reporter being
sued.
e.g.
The reporter, who took the photos, is now being sued for invasion of
privacy. (correct)
The relative clause
above becomes non-restrictive with the addition of two commas, and who
took the photos becomes extra information non-essential to the meaning of
the sentence. The sentence without the non-restrictive clause who
took the photos would still make sense, and therefore is correct as it
stands.
Knowing the
difference between a restrictive and non-restrictive relative clause will help
you in effective sentence construction.
Incorrect use of subjective
pronouns is a common grammatical error.
e.g. My
father and I went to see the show. (NOT me: both of us
went to see the show)
e.g. It is I who made the decision. (NOT me: I
made the decision.)
e.g. The real losers are we ourselves. (NOT us: we
are the real losers.)
e.g. The man who called us was who? (NOT whom: who
called us?)
e.g. The woman who killed her baby was she. (NOT her:
she killed her baby.)
e.g. Peter and he went to the movie. (NOT him: both
went to the movie.)
The correct use of
pronouns can be difficult with certain expressions, such as, as and more
than. The following pairs of sentences are correct, but the meaning is
different.
e.g.
She likes him more than I. (She likes him
more than I like him.)
e.g.
She likes him more than me. (She likes him more than she
likes me.)
e.g. I
like Peter better than she. (I
like Peter better than she likes Peter.)
e.g. I like Peter better than her. (I like Peter
better than I like her.)
Use
possessive pronouns with gerunds (words ending in ing) correctly.
e.g. You don’t like my going to the fair by myself. (NOT me
going: you don’t like the “going” not “me” the person.)
e.g. Your smirking irritates me. (NOT you smirking:
not “you” but your “smirking” irritates me)
A
pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the noun that a pronoun refers
to).
e.g. All is well. (referring to the sum
of all things)
e.g. All are well. (referring to a number
of people)
e.g. Everyone wants to get his or her application
submitted. (NOT their)
e.g. None of them is going to succeed.
(NOT are: the subject is none)
e.g. Some is better than none. (referring
to a quantity)
e.g. Some are good. (referring to a
number of things)
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen
Lau
