PRONOUNS

Pronouns

Pronouns are used in place of nouns. They enable speakers to refer to something or someone without having to repeat its name. Example: Mr. Jones lives in Kentucky. He frequently travels to Memphis to see his wife. She is a lawyer and only sees him on weekends. The subject and object pronouns in English are as follows: Subject I You He She It We They Object Me You Him Her It Us Them Use subject pronouns when the pronoun refers to the doer of the action or the main topic (subject) of the sentence. Henry hit a baseball over the fence. He didn't know where it would land. It went right through Mrs. Crabby's window. She was furious. She called Henry's parents and told them what happened. Henry had to pay for the window with his hard-earned money. He wasn't too happy about that, but he learned a lesson. Now, he only plays baseball at the ball park. Use object pronouns when the pronoun refers to the receiver of the action or is the object of a prepositional phrase. Ms. Lindon met her husband in a gold mine. The first time she saw him, she was in love. He also liked everything about her. He asked her to marry him the next day. Many friends joined them in the wedding celebration. Reminders: Do not use subject pronouns in the object position or vice versa. WRONG: Correct: WRONG: Correct: Give the balloon to he. Give the balloon to him. Her is the one I want to see. She is the one I want to see. Remember to use he/him when referring to males and she/her when referring to females! WRONG: Correct: WRONG: Correct: Mary lived on a farm. He had a little lamb. Mary lived on a farm. She had a little lamb. Mr. Smith has gone to Washington. I'll give her the message. Mr. Smith has gone to Washington. I'll give him the message.

What can be the subject of a sentence?

A noun:

Jonathan loves chocolates.
Mrs. Smith lives next door to the barber shop.
The yellow dog makes me nervous.
Crocodiles are very dangerous.

A pronoun:

It isn't time yet.
They went to sleep at 9:00.
Are you coming to the dance?

Words like everyone, everybody, everything, something, anybody, nothing, no one

Everything is ready.
Is everyone here?
Is anybody home?

Quantifiers with nouns/pronouns

Without nouns/pronouns.

Some of the pie was gone.	Some (count) are here. Some (non-count) is not.
Some of the pies were gone.	All is well. All are watching.
Both of them are in the foyer.	Both are correct. (as a group)
Neither of them is in the foyer.	Neither is correct. (separately)
None of those people are nice.	(all of them are not nice)
None of those people is my friend.	(not any individual)

Noun clauses

Whoever left the food on the table is in trouble.
What you say is not important.
How you do it is up to you.

"Dummy" subjects

There are five people in the room.
There is some milk in the refrigerator.

Be careful

In most cases, the words before the verb are the subject of the sentence.

It is just the three of us.
The three of us are going to be there.

Prepositional phrases cannot be subjects, even if they come at the beginning of a sentence.

On the table was a red hat.
On the table were a red hat, white gloves and a blue scarf.

Some words look plural but are actually singular:

Physics is my favorite subject.
The news was good.

Scotch and soda is my favorite drink. (This is very uncommon usage.)
My faithful friend and companion is Terry.

Mass or "group" nouns may be singular or plural, depending on focus.

The family is more important than the individual.
The family are going in separate directions.

With either/neither...or/nor, the subject closest to the verb determines agreement.

Neither John nor Jane was the winner.
Either the men or the women are going to take the cake.
Neither Mr. Jones nor his sons have a car.
Neither the boys nor their father has a car.

Some can sometimes be used to indicate an unidentified person.

Some woman was here to see you.
Some guy keeps calling you.

Relative clauses do not affect the main subject-verb relationship; however, S-V
agreement within the relative clause may be different, depending on the meaning.

The people who live there are my friends.
The house that the Jacksons built needs to be remodeled.

One of the men who live there is deranged.
He is the only one who lives there.a