If I Was You by Lauren Sussman

Author:Lauren Sussman [Sussman, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Adams Media, Inc.

Difficulties with Subjective and Objective Pronouns

Here’s the first part of a no-brainer: Subjective pronouns are used as the subjects of sentences (whom or what you’re talking about). You would say, for instance:

• I am going to leave for my appointment.

• She is late already.

No problem seeing the right form in those sentences, is there? For some reason, though, a problem occasionally arises when subjects are compound. You might read, for instance:

• His brothers and him are going to the ball game.

• Me and her see eye to eye on lots of things.

These pronouns are used incorrectly. Because the pronouns are used as subjects of the sentence, they should all be in the subjective case: I, you, he, she, it, we, or they. So, the sentences should read:

• His brothers and he are going to the ball game.

• I and she see eye to eye on lots of things. (Actually, etiquette says to put the other person first, so it’s better to word this sentence like this: She and I see eye to eye on lots of things. )

If you’re not sure if you’ve used the right pronoun, try writing or saying the sentence with only one subject. You’d never say:

• Him is going to the ball game.

• Me sees eye to eye on lots of things.

• Her sees eye to eye on lots of things.

Since those pronouns sound wrong when they’re by themselves, you know that they’re the wrong case. Change the pronouns to the ones you’d normally use when there’s just one subject. Here’s part two of the no-brainer: Objective pronouns are used as the objects in sentences. You would say, for instance:

• Hallie and Travis went to see her last night.

• When Liz and Marvin celebrated their anniversary, Betty gave them a new CD.

• “Give me the money right now!” the robber demanded.

As with compound subjects, problems arise with compound objects. People will write or say sentences like this:

• The argument arose last night between Carla and she.

• Please buy a raffle ticket from Fr. Hammerstein, Jane Ann, or I.

• “The car sped by he and I, going 90 miles per hour,” the witness testified.

Again, each pronoun is used incorrectly in these sentences. Because the pronouns are used as objects, they should all be in the objective case: me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. So, the sentences should read:

• The argument arose last night between Carla and her.

• Please buy a raffle ticket from Fr. Hammerstein, Jane Ann, or me.

• “The car sped by him and me, going 90 miles per hour,” the witness testified.

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