Grammar Workshop Series · Grammar Workshop Series Unit 4 Pronoun Reference & Case . Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre What Is A Pronoun? ... Antecedent Ambiguity Practice In

Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre

Grammar Workshop Series

Unit 4

Pronoun Reference & Case

http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/


What Is A Pronoun?

• Basic Principle: A pronoun is a word that usually refers to something

earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number, gender and

person (when applicable) with the thing to which it refers. The pronoun

may, however, play a different grammatical role in its clause than its

antecedent did in the antecedent’s clause.

• So, for example, check out these sentences: “The painter I like best is Monet. He is truly gifted. His colour choice is exceptionally subtle. There are good reasons that cart historians pay so much attention to him.” What can you say about the pronouns in these sentences?



Pronoun Answers

a) The antecedent is Monet.

b) Because Monet is a singular male person who we are talking about in the third

person, we need to use versions of the masculine singular third person pronoun:

he, his, him.

c) ‘Monet” is the subject of the first sentence.

d) The pronoun with Monet as the antecedent is the subject of the second sentence,

and so the pronoun is in its subjective form: he.

e) In the second sentence, the pronoun describes who possesses or is associated

with something else (the color choice). So even though the antecedent was the

subject of its sentence, here we put the pronoun in its possessive form: his.

f) In the third sentence, the pronoun is the object of the sentence, so we put it in its

objective form: him.



Pronoun Case

• These forms are called “case.” Subjective case is used when

the pronoun is the subject of its sentence; objective, when it

is the direct or indirect object or is used in a prepositional

phrase; possessive, when it owns or belongs to or is strongly

associated with something.



Subjective Objective Possessive

I me my

you you your

he him his

she her her

it it its

we us our

they them their

who whom whose

whoever whomever whose ever



Pronoun Case in Compound

Constructions

Always ensure pronouns have appropriate case.

• Use subjective case when pronoun is subject of sentence

• Use objective case when pronoun is object of the sentence.

• Be particularly careful when pronouns are part of a compound construction (when “and” connects a pronoun to a noun or other pronoun)




Constructions: Subjective Case

Use subjective case with pronouns in compound constructions that serve as subject of sentence.

Choose the Best Option:

• (Monet and they/them) shared new approaches to art, painting the effects of light en plein air with broken color and rapid brushstrokes.

• (Some friends and I/me) have studied Impressionist art.

(answers on next slide)




Constructions: Subjective Case

Use subjective case with pronouns in compound constructions that serve as subject of sentence.

Answers to Questions on Previous Slide:

• Monet and they shared new approaches to art, painting the effects of light en plein air with broken color and rapid brushstrokes.

• Some friends and I have studied Impressionist art.




Constructions: Objective Case

Use objective case with pronouns in compound constructions that serve as object of sentence.

Choose the best option:

• Monet learned his technique from (Charles Gleyre and they/them).

• Impressionist art does not impress (my friends and I/me).

(answers on next slide)




Constructions: Objective Case

Use objective case with pronouns in compound constructions that serve as object of sentence.

Answers to Questions on Previous Slide:

• Monet learned his technique from Charles Gleyre and them.

• Impressionist art does not impress my friends and me.



Pronoun Case:

Prepositional Phrases

Use the objective case with pronouns in prepositional phrases.

• The painting was donated (to my friend and them/they).

• The significance of the word “impressionism” was misunderstood (by my friends and I/me).

• The dispute (between Monet and she / her) was legendary.

(Answers on next slide)



Pronoun Case:

Prepositional Phrases

Use the objective case with pronouns in prepositional phrases.

Answers to questions on previous slide.

• The painting was donated to my friend and them.

• The significance of the word “impressionism” was misunderstood by my friends and me.

• The dispute between Monet and her was legendary.



Pronoun Case: Appositives

Pronouns in appositives must match the case of

the word in the sentence to which they refer.

• Monet’s technique was informed by the group of

painters, Eduoard Manet and them/they),

whom he met in Paris in the 1850s.

• The entire class, (you and I/me and everyone),

is studying Impressionism.

Answers on next slide.



Pronoun Case: Appositives

Pronouns in appositives must match the case of the word in the sentence to which they refer.

Answers to questions on previous slide.

• Monet’s technique was informed by the group of painters, Eduoard Manet and them, whom he met in Paris in the 1850s. (appositive refers to “group” which is an object)

• The entire class, (you and me and everyone), is studying Impressionism. (appositive refers to class which is the subject)



Pronoun Case: Gerunds

• gerund (“ing” verb) is not really a verb; it plays the role of a noun

• nouns or pronouns that modify nouns take the possessive case – The painters’ exploring of plein-air painting was

revolutionary. • noun in possessive case

– Their exploring of plein-air painting was revolutionary. • pronoun in possessive case

– The student’s studying improved his grades. • noun in possessive case

– His studying improved his grades. • pronoun in possessive case



Gender Neutral Use of Personal

Pronouns

• Take a look at these sentences.

• “Every person has his own way that he does

things.”

• “By this point in the term, each student

must have submitted his research proposal

to his TA.”

• What’s the problem with these sentences?



Gender Neutral Use

• In each of these sentences, we’re talking about

people in general (“every person,” “each student”)

but we have used only the masculine form of the

pronoun (“his,” “he”). We have magically made the

entire female gender disappear! In academic

writing, we write inclusively, which means that

when we’re speaking in general terms or about

people whose gender hasn’t been defined, we don’t

just assume that they are all guys.

• So … How would you fix these sentences to make

them more inclusive?



Fixing the Problem

• Here are three popular ways to fix the problem:

1) “They/Their” used as a third person singular pronoun

(technically wrong, but increasingly used; however, it is

not acceptable in formal academic writing yet)

2) “S/he,” “he or she,” “his/her,” “his or her” (these are

technically okay, but they can be awkward)

3) Rephrase the sentence (e.g., turning the noun in question

to a plural)



Examples of Gender Neutral Options

Here are some examples:

• “Each student has his own book” vs. “… has their own

book” vs. “… has his or her own book” vs. “Students

have their own books.”

• “If a student is late for class, he must wait until the

break” vs. “… they must wait …” vs. “…s/he must wait

…” vs. “… he or she must wait …” vs. “Students who are

late for class must wait …”



Antecedent Ambiguity

• Pronouns have the potential to be ambiguous. The use of

“he” tells the reader that the antecedent is male,

singular, and third person, but that’s all it does. “They” is

especially ambiguous: it could refer to a group of people,

a group of animals, a bunch of rocks, etc. So when you

are working with pronouns, especially when you are

editing your work, always check to make sure that the

antecedent will be clear to the reader.

• Can you think of any strategies to use for that?



The Four Ps When you are checking over your work, think of the four Ps:

1) Presence. There must really be an antecedent for the pronoun.

If you can’t point to an antecedent, probably your reader won’t

be able to find it either. This is especially important with “they”—

for example, “At the hospital, they said my mother would be

fine.” Replace “they” with “the doctors” or “the nurses” or

whoever actually said it.



The Four Ps

2) Proximity. Generally speaking, the antecedent should be

as close to the pronoun as possible. Also, if the reader is

confused about the antecedent, he or she will probably

choose the nearest possible noun. If I read, “I saw Jim,

Steve, and Bill. He waved,” I will probably guess that it is

Bill who waved.



The Four Ps

3) Potential. In the above example, I had to guess who waved.

So a last guideline is to make sure that the antecedent is the

only noun of the right number and gender that is close to the

pronoun—i.e., that has the potential to be the antecedent. In

the above example, any of the three people could have been

the antecedent, as they were all masculine, singular, and third

person, like the pronoun.



The Four Ps

4) Possession. Nouns that are in possessive form (i.e., with apostrophe and s, such as “the Professor’s …”) can’t be antecedents. So in this sentence, “In Smith’s article, he says …,” the pronoun “he” is a problem because it actually doesn’t have an antecedent.



Antecedent Ambiguity Practice

In the following passage, identify the pronouns and their antecedents, and discuss

any problems or ambiguities with their usage (there are at least 7 such

problems). Use the Four Ps to describe how the ambiguities arose.

• “Life begins at forty” is a cliché many people live by, and this may or may not

be true. Whether one agrees or not with the cliché, you can cite many examples

of people whose public lives began at forty. For instance, when she was forty,

Pearl Buck’s novel The Good Earth won the Pulitzer Prize. Kenneth Kanuda,

past president of Zambia, was elected to it in 1964, when he was forty.

Catherine I became Empress of Russia at age forty, more feared than loved by

them. Paul Revere at forty made his famous ride to warn American

revolutionary leaders that the British were going to arrest them, which gave

the colonists time to prepare for battle. Forty-year-old Nancy Astor joined the

British House of Commons in 1919 as its first female member, though they did

not welcome her. • Adapted from http://wps.pearsonlongman.com/long_aaron_lbch_8/211/54091/13847334.cw/index.html.



Choose the Best Option

Monet learned his technique from Charles

Gleyre and ___________.

A) them

B) they

C) themselves

D) he



Choose the Best Revision

Any artist, if _________ interested, may

apply for the grant.

A) they are

B) she is

C) one is

D) they themselves are




Impressionist art does not impress _______.

A) me and my friends

B) my friends and I

C) myself and my friends

D) my friends and me

E) A and D




_____________ love Impressionist art.

A) Me and my sister

B) My sister and I

C) My sister and me

D) My sister and myself

E) none of the above




When someone has been drinking,

_________ may drive poorly.

A) they

B) she

C) he

D) one

E) B or C




_____ practicing made him a successful

painter.

A) He

B) Him

C) His

D) none of the above




Each of the paintings had ______ value

determined by an expert.

A) their

B) they’re

C) his

D) its

E) none of above




They decided to give the paintings to his

closest friends, him and _______

A) me

B) I

C) she

D) they

E) any of the above




______ workers must prepare the campaign

carefully

A) we

B) us

C) A or B




I gave _____ and Sue permission to go.

A) her

B) she

C) I

D) they


Grammar Workshop Series · Grammar Workshop Series Unit 4 Pronoun Reference & Case . Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre What Is A Pronoun? ... Antecedent Ambiguity Practice In

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