4 Pronouns MARY ELLEN GUFFEY AND CAROLYN M SEEFER BUSINESS ENGLISH 12e â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Valeri Potapova/Shutterstock L E A R N I N G O U T C O M E S Level ▶ Use subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns correctly ▶ Choose the correct pronoun in compound constructions, comparatives, appositives, reflexives, and following linking verbs â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Guidelines for Using Personal Pronouns  Pronouns fall into three cases: Singular Plural Subjective Case Objective Case Possessive Case I me my, mine you you your, yours he him his she her hers it it its we us our, ours you you your, yours they them their, theirs â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Basic Use of the Subjective Case  Subjective-case pronouns are used as subjects of verbs He was hired for the position last month We asked about the new policy They submitted the report on time â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Basic Use of the Objective Case  Objective-case pronouns are used as objects of verbs and prepositions The manager called us Object of verb We told them our plans That delivery is for her Object of preposition Requests are sent to him â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Basic Use of the Objective Case TIP  When the words between, but, like, and except are used as prepositions, be sure to use an objective-case pronoun for the object of the preposition No one but (I or me?) has the combination Workers like Brad and (she or her?) are excellent Let’s keep this between you and (I or me?) â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Basic Use of the Possessive Case  Possessive pronouns show ownership or special relationship They require NO apostrophes: hers, yours, ours, theirs, its Hers is the shiny red Jeep Our report is here; where is yours? Its hood makes the machine less noisy Theirs is the house with white trim © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Basic Use of the Possessive Case TIP  Don’t confuse contractions with possessive pronouns There’s a reason for this (There’s = There is) Although it’s late, we must finish (it’s = it is) You’re sure to get the job (You’re = You are) HINT: Possessive pronouns never have apostrophes © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock Challenges in Using Personal Pronouns  Compound Subjects and Objects  Comparatives  Appositives  Reflexive Pronouns  Subject Complements © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock  Compound Subjects and Objects  When pronouns appear as compound subjects or objects, ignore the extra noun or pronoun and related words Only the manager and I (not me) will attend Ms Kuwata assigned Mike and me (not I) to the job â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 10 Who/Whom and Whoever/Whomever Pronoun Case Uses Who Subjective Subjects and subject Whoever Whom Whomever complements Objective Objects of verbs and prepositions â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 40 Five Steps for Choosing Between Who and Whom Isolate the who/whom clause Invert the clause, if necessary, to restore normal subject-verb-object order Substitute he or him for who or whom Equate the subjective pronoun he with who and the objective pronoun him with whom If the sentence sounds correct with he, replace he with who to complete sentence If the sentence sounds correct with him, replace him with whom to complete sentence â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 41 Choosing Between Who and Whom Alex is the student (who/whom) won the competition Isolate (who/whom) won the competition Invert Not needed Substitute he won the competition Equate who won the competition Replace/ Alex is the student who won the Complete competition © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 42 Choosing Between Who and Whom Sam is the one (who/whom) we want Isolate (who/whom) we want Invert we want (who/whom) Substitute we want him Equate we want whom Replace/ Sam is the one whom we want Complete â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 43 TRY TRY YOUR YOUR SKILL SKILL Select the correct He is the applicant (who, whom) applied last pronoun to complete week these sentences An old friend (who, whom) we had not seen for years surprised us with a visit Did the visitor say (who, whom) she wanted to see? Brandon is the candidate (who, whom) communicates his ideas most clearly â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 44 Choosing Between Who and Whom With Intervening Phrases When choosing between who and whom, mentally ignore parenthetical phrases such as I hope, we think, I believe, they said, and you know â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 45 Intervening Phrases Example Hire the intern (who/whom) you think is best Isolate (who/whom) you think is best Ignore (who/whom) is best Substitute he is best Equate who is best Replace/ Hire the intern who you think is best Complete © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 46 Choosing Between Whoever and Whomever  Use the five-step method to choose between whoever and whomever  Clauses containing whoever/ whomever often function as subjects or objects in sentences  When the entire clause acts as a subject or object, determine how whoever/ whomever functions within that clause © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning â 2017 Cengage Learningđ May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 47 Isolate Invert Substitute Equate Replace/ © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning © 2017 Cengage Learning® May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website or school-approved learning management system for classroom use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock ... use management system for classroom use © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 17 Summary of Personal Pronoun Cases Subjective Case Objective Case Subject of verb Direct or indirect... with their antecedents in number and gender ▶ Make personal pronouns agree with subjects joined by or or nor, indefinite pronouns, collective nouns, company and organization names, and the adjectives... Ray/Shutterstock © Larysa Ray/Shutterstock 22  Plural Pronouns  If a pronoun refers to two nouns joined by and, the pronoun must be plural The manager and the supervisor discussed their plans for improving