Pronouns Case and Reflexive Intensive Pronouns

Pronoun Case

A personal pronoun refers to a particular person or thing. Personal pronouns change form according to their function in a sentence. Personal pronouns can be subjective, objective, or possessive.

Personal Pronouns

SUBJECTIVE	OBJECTIVE	POSSESSIVE
I	me	my, mine
he	him	his
she	her	her, hers
it	it	its
we	us	our, ours
you	you	your, yours
they	them	their, theirs
who	whom	whose
whoever	whomever

Subjective Case

When a pronoun is a subject, it is in the subjective case.

Finally, she realized that dreams could come true.

Objective Case

When a pronoun is an object, it is in the objective case.

If Joanna hurries, she can stop him. (The pronoun him is the object of
the verb can stop.)

Professor Miller sent us information about his research. (The pronoun
us is the object of the verb sent.)

Marc threw the ball on them. (The pronoun them is the object of the
preposition to.)

Possessive Case

When a pronoun shows ownership, it is in the possessive case.

Hieu took his lunch to the meeting. (The pronoun his indicates that the
lunch belongs to Hieu.)

Debbie and Kim decided to take their lunches, too. (The pronoun their
indicates that the lunches belong to Debbie and Kim.)

Special Problems with Pronoun Case

When you are trying to determine which pronoun case to use in a sentence, three kinds of pronouns can cause problems: pronouns in compounds, pronouns in comparisons, and the pronouns who and whom (or whoever and whomever).

Pronouns in Compounds

Sometimes a pronoun is linked to a noun or to another pronoun with and or or to form a compound.

The teacher and I met for an hour.

He or she can pick up Jenny at school.

To determine whether to use the subjective or objective case for a pronoun in the second part of a compound, follow the same rules that apply for a pronoun that is not part of a compound.

If the compound is a subject, use the subjective case.
If the compound is an object, use the objective case.

Choosing Pronouns in Compounds

To determine which pronoun case to use in a compound that joins a noun and a pronoun, rewrite the sentence with just the pronoun.

Toby and [I or me?] like Jazz.

I like jazz. (not Me like jazz)

Toby and I like jazz.

Pronouns in Comparisons

Sometimes a pronoun appears after the word than or as in the second part of a comparison.

John is luckier than I.

The inheritance changed Raymond as much as her.

If the pronoun is a subject, use the subjective case.
If the pronoun is an object, use the objective case.

Choosing Pronouns in Comparisons

Sometimes, the pronoun you use can change your sentence's meaning. For example, if you say, "I like Cheerios more than he," you mean that you like Cheerios more than the other person likes them.

I like Cheerios more than he [does].

If, however, you say, "I like Cheerios more than him," you mean that you like Cheerios more than you like the other person.

I like Cheerios more than [I like] him.

Who and Whom, Whoever and Whomever

To determine whether to use who or whom (or whoever or whomever), you need to know how the pronoun functions within the clause in which it appears.

When the pronoun is the subject of the clause, use who or whoever.
When the pronoun is the object, use whom or whomever.

Who and Whom

To determine whether to use who or whom, try substituting another pronoun for who or whom in the clause. If you can substitute he or she, use who; if you can substitute him or her, use whom.

[Who/Whom] wrote a love song? He wrote a love song.

[Who/Whom] was the song about? The song was about her.

The same test will work for whoever and whomever.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Two special kinds of pronouns, reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns, end in -self (singular) or -selves (plural). Although the functions of the two kinds of pronouns are different, their forms are identical.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Singular Forms

ANTECEDENT	REFLEXIVE OR INTENSIVE PRONOUN
I	myself
you	yourself
he	himself
she	herself
it	itself

Plural Forms

ANTECEDENT	REFLEXIVE OR INTENSIVE PRONOUN
we	ourselves
you	yourselves
they	themselves

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns indicate that people or things did something to themselves or for themselves.

Rosanna lost herself in the novel.

You need to watch yourself when you mix those solutions.

Mehul and Paul made themselves cold drinks.

Reflexive Pronouns

Intensive Pronouns always appear directly after their antecedents, and they are used for emphasis.

I myself have had some experience in sales and marketing.

The victim himself collected the reward.

They themselves were uncertain of the significance of their findings.