PRONOUN CASE
This is a run-down of how to decide pronoun case in clauses. (Note, BTW, that 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.
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 an 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, 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 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.
In class, I gave you only the most basic rule: If a pronoun is not the subject of a clause, then it is probably the object of something (object of verb or of preposition) and will therefore take objective case.
Example:
· Since Alex had told Stephanie his arrival time, Stephanie met him and John at the train station.
Sub Clause: Since Alex had told Stephanie his 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, though you can’t tell with a proper noun)
· 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 the basic rule I gave you in class:
1) If a pronoun is directly followed by a gerund, that pronoun ALWAYS takes the possessive case. I like this rule because there are no exceptions and because it trumps all others.
Examples:
· Daniel’s parents were worried by his smoking.
V = were worried — S = Daniel’s parents — PP = by his smoking
Since the pronoun appears inside a prep. phrase 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) If the pronoun directly follows a “to be” verb (that is, if the pronoun is a “subject complement” – see 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.
Examples:
· The bride today would have been I, if I had accepted his proposal of marriage last year.
V = would have been — S = the bride today — subj. complement = I (pronoun directly follows a “to be” or “being” verb).
· Joshua confessed that the thief had been he.
Indep. Clause = Joshua confessed
V = confessed — S = Joshua
Subord Clause = that the thief had been he
V = had been — S = thief — s ubj. 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 (since “who” is the subject of the verb in this clause, it takes subjective case
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.
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, which means first locating the verb(s) and then subj. of each verb in the sentence.
2) figure out where each clause begins and ends.
3) figure out what case pronoun should be judging from its position **within its own clause** (not within the whole sentence—this is important).
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 complement, that is, if it directly follows a 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.
Example:
· His stumbling lost us the three-legged race
S = his stumbling — V = lost
There are 2 pronouns in this sentence: "His" and "us."
"His stumbling" is the subject of the sentence. 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.
"us" is in the objective case because it isn't the subject of the sentence.
NOTE: If it were a girl who stumbled, the sentence would read “Her stumbling lost us the three-legged 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.
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.
I hope this helps. We will go over pronoun case thoroughly via the homework in class on Monday 10/25, so if the homework feels complicated, do not despair. But do try to work through it according to this drill. Doing extra exercises on the Hacker website would help.