Pronouns

Pronouns

Definition. - A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Pronouns can be in one of three cases: Subject, Object, or Possessive.

Rule 1. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. You can remember subject pronouns easily by filling in the blank subject space for a simple sentence. Example: ______ did the job. I, you, he, she, it, we, and they all fit into the blank and are, therefore, subject pronouns.

Rule 2. Subject pronouns are also used if they rename the subject. They follow to be verbs such as is, are, was, were, am, and will be. Examples: It is he. This is she speaking. It is we who are responsible for the decision to downsize. NOTE: In spoken English, most people tend to follow to be verbs with object pronouns. Many English teachers support (or at least have given in to) this distinction between written and spoken English. Example: It could have been them. Better: It could have been they. Example: It is just me at the door. Better: It is just I at the door.

Rule 3. Object pronouns are used everywhere else (direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition). Object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. Examples: Jean talked to him. Are you talking to me?

To be able to choose pronouns correctly, you must learn to identify clauses. A clause is a group of words containing a verb and subject.

Rule 4a. A strong clause can stand on its own. Examples: She is hungry. I am feeling well today.

Rule 4b. A weak clause begins with words such as although, since, if, when, and because. Weak clauses cannot stand on their own. Examples: Although she is hungry... If she is hungry... Since I am feeling well...

Rule 4c. If a sentence contains more than one clause, isolate the clauses so that you can decide which pronoun is correct. Examples: Weak Strong [Although she is hungry,] [she will give him some of her food.] [Although this gift is for him,] [I would like you to have it too.]

Rule 5. To decide whether to use the subject or object pronoun after the words than or as, mentally complete the sentence. Examples: Tranh is as smart as she/her. If we mentally complete the sentence, we would say, "Tranh is as smart as she is." Therefore, she is the correct answer. Zoe is taller than I/me. Mentally completing the sentence, we have, "Zoe is taller than I am." Daniel would rather talk to her than I/me. We can mentally complete this sentence in two ways: "Daniel would rather talk to her than to me." OR "Daniel would rather talk to her than I would." As you can see, the meaning will change depending on the pronoun you choose.

Rule 6. Possessive pronouns show ownership and never need apostrophes. Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs NOTE The only time it's has an apostrophe is when it is a contraction for it is or it has. Examples: It's a cold morning. The thermometer reached its highest reading.

Rule 7. Reflexive pronouns - myself, himself, herself, itself, themselves, ourselves, yourself, yourselves- should be used only when they refer back to another word in the sentence. Correct: I worked myself to the bone. Incorrect: My brother and myself did it. The word myself does not refer back to another word. Correct: My brother and I did it. Incorrect: Please give it to John or myself. Correct: Please give it to John or me.

Pronouns Quiz

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1. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	Her went to the store.
	B)	She went to the store.

2. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	It was her.
	B)	It was she.

3. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	We talked to him.
	B)	We talked to he.

4. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	It is I.
	B)	It is me.

5. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	Talk to they before making a decision.
	B)	Talk to them before making a decision.

6. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	Can you go with we?
	B)	Can you go with us?

7. Choose the sentence with the correct pronoun.

	A)	Saleha and she have quit the team.
	B)	Saleha and her have quit the team.

8. Choose the sentence with the correct pronouns.

	A)	They asked him and I to join the staff.
	B)	They asked he and me to join the staff.
	C)	They asked him and me to join the staff.
	D)	They asked he and I to join the staff.

9. Choose the sentence with the correct pronouns.

	A)	That call was for I, not he.
	B)	That call was for me, not him.
	C)	That call was for me, not he.
	D)	That call was for I, not him.

10. Choose the sentence with the correct pronouns.

	A)	You didn't tell we that they were here first.
	B)	You didn't tell us that them were here first.
	C)	You didn't tell us that they were here first.
	D)	You didn't tell we that them were here first.

11. Choose the sentence with the correct pronouns.

	A)	I wonder what he could have said to she.
	B)	I wonder what him could have said to her.
	C)	Me wonder what him could have said to she.
	D)	I wonder what he could have said to her.

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Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and Adverbs

Definition - Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They may come before the word they describe (That is a cute puppy.) or they may follow the word they describe (That puppy is cute.).

Definition - Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A word is an adverb if it answers how, when, or where.

The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that answer the question how, so focus on these. Examples: He speaks slowly. Answers the question how. He speaks very slowly. Answers the question how slowly.

Rule 1. Generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it can have an -ly added to it, place it there. Examples: She thinks slow/slowly. She thinks how? slowly. She is a slow/slowly thinker. Slow does not answer how, so no -ly is attached. Slow is an adjective here. She thinks fast/fastly. Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has an -ly attached to it. We performed bad/badly. Badly describes how we performed.

Rule 2. A special -ly rule applies when four of the senses - taste, smell, look, feel - are the verbs. Do not ask if these senses answer the question how to determine if -ly should be attached. Instead, ask if the sense verb is being used actively. If so, use the -ly. Examples: Roses smell sweet/sweetly. Do the roses actively smell with noses? No, so no -ly. The woman looked angry/angrily. Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her appearance? We are only describing appearance, so no -ly. The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches. Here the woman did actively look with eyes, so the -ly is added. She feels bad/badly about the news. She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.

Good vs. Well

Rule 3. The word good is an adjective, while well is an adverb. Examples: You did a good job. Good describes the job. You did the job well. Well answers how. You smell good today. Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow with the adjective. You smell well for someone with a cold. You are actively smelling with a nose here, so follow with the adverb.

Rule 4. When referring to health, use well rather than good. Examples: I do not feel well. You do not look well today. NOTE: You may use good with feel when you are not referring to health. Example: I feel good about my decision to learn Spanish.

Rule 5. A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things, we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women." To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, "She is the poorest of them all." Examples: One Two Three or More sweet sweeter sweetest bad worse worst efficient* more efficient* most efficient* *Usually with words of three or more syllables, don't add -er or -est. Use more or most in front of the words.

Rule 6. Never drop the -ly from an adverb when using the comparison form. Correct: She spoke quickly. She spoke more quickly than he did. Incorrect: She spoke quicker than he did. Correct: Talk quietly. Talk more quietly. Incorrect: Talk quieter.

Rule 7. When this, that, these, and those are followed by nouns, they are adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns. Examples: This house is for sale. This is an adjective here. This is for sale. This is a pronoun here.

Rule 8. This and that are singular, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while that points to something "over there." Examples: This dog is mine. That dog is hers. This is mine. That is hers.

Rule 9. These and those are plural, whether they are being used as adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while those points to something "over there." Examples: These babies have been smiling for a long time. These are mine. Those babies have been crying for hours. Those are yours.

Rule 10. Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question when. Examples: I would rather go skiing than rock climbing. First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing.

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