Pronouns
The correct use of the pronouns, personal and relative, involves a
degree of skill which many speakers and writers fail to possess. The
choice of the appropriate pronoun, the agreement with its antecedent,
the proper case form, are matters that require careful consideration.
Case Forms
Following _am, are, is, was,_ and other forms of the verb _to be,_ the
pronoun must be in the nominative case.
“Are you the person that called?” “Yes; I am _him.”_ The answer should
have been, “I am _he.”_
“I saw a man trespassing on my grounds, and I think you are _him.”
_Say, “You are _he.”_
“It is only _me;_ don’t be afraid.” “It is only _I”_ is the correct
form.
“It was _him_ that struck you, not _me.”_ Change _him,_ to _he,_ and
_me_ to _I._
“It might have been _him_ that sent you the present.” Use _he, _not
_him._
“It is _him whom_ you said it was.” The sentence should be, “It is _he
who_ you said it was.”
“That was but a picture of him and not _him_ himself.” Say, “and not
_he_ himself.”
After Verbs and Prepositions
When a pronoun depends upon a verb or a preposition the pronoun must be
in the objective case.
“Between you and _I,_ that picture is very faulty.” The pronouns _you
_and _I_ depend upon the preposition _between._ The pronoun _I _should
therefore be in the objective case, and the sentence should be,
“Between _you_ and _me,_ that picture is very faulty.”
“The president of the meeting appointed _you_ and _I_ upon the
committee.” As both pronouns are objects of the transitive verb
_appointed, _both should be in the objective case. _You_ having the
same form in the objective as in the nominative is, therefore, correct,
but _I_ should be changed to _me._
“The teacher selected _he_ and _I_ to represent the class.” The
pronouns are the objects of the verb _selected,_ and should be changed
to _him_ and _me._ The infinitive _to represent,_ like other
infinitives, can have no subject, and, therefore, does not control the
case of the pronouns.
Interrogatives
When a question is asked, the subject is usually placed after the verb,
or between the auxiliary and
the verb; as, “Did you go to town?” “Will he sail to-day?” “Has your
uncle arrived?” “Hearest thou thy mother’s call?”
The object or attribute of the verb, when a pronoun, is often used to
introduce the sentence. “_Who_ should I see coming toward me but my old
friend?” _Who_ should be _whom,_ for it is the object, and not the
subject, of the verb _should see._
_“Whom_ do you think that tall gentleman is?” _Whom_ should be _who,_
as it is the attribute of the verb _is._
“_Who_ do you take me for?” Being the object of the preposition _for,
who_ should be _whom._
After “To be”
“I knew it was _him”_ is incorrect, because the word which forms the
pronoun attribute of the verb _was_ must be in the nominative case. But
the infinitive of the neuter verb requires the objective case.
Therefore we must say, “I knew it to be _him,”_ not “I knew it to be
_he.”_ The latter faulty form is very frequently employed.
“_Who_ did you suppose it to be?” Incorrect. Say, _“whom.”_
_“Whom_ did you suppose it was?” Incorrect. Say, _“who.”_
After the Imperative
The imperative mood requires the objective case after it. “Let you and
_I_ try it.” It should be, “Let you and _me_ try it.”
“Let _he_ who made thee answer that.”—_Byron._ He should have said,
“Let _him_ who made thee answer that.”
“Let _him_ be _whom,_ he may.” _Him_ is the objective after the
imperative _let,_ and is correct. _Whom_ should be _who,_ as pronoun
attribute of the verb _may be._ “_Who_ he may be, I cannot tell,” is
correct. “_Who_ he may be, let him be,” is also correct. By
transposing, and by omitting _be,_ we have “Let him be _who_ he may.”
“Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and _they_ that
dwell therein.” When, as in this case, the verb is widely separated
from its object, we need to give particular care to the case of the
pronoun which constitutes the object. _They_ should be _them._
Silent Predicate
“Who will go with us to the woods? _Me.”_ The complete answer would
be,” Me will go with you to the woods,” the faultiness of which is
evident. The answer should be “_I.”_
After “Than” and “As”
The objective pronoun is often incorrectly used for the nominative
after _than_ or _as_.
“He can swim better _than me.”_ The complete sentence would be, “He can
swim better than _I_ can swim.” The omission of the verb _can swim
_affords no reason for changing _I_ to _me._
“He is no better than _me.”_ Say, “He is no better than _I,” _meaning,
_I am._
“They are common people, such as you and _me_.” Such people “as you and
I are.” The pronoun should be _I,_ not _me._
Parenthetical Expressions
When a parenthetical expression comes between a pronoun in the
nominative case and its verb, the objective is often incorrectly used
instead of the nominative.
“She sang for the benefit of those _whom_ she thought might be
interested.” The explanatory parenthesis _“she thought”_ comes between
the pronominal subject and its verb _might be interested._ Omit the
explanatory clause and the case of the pronoun becomes clear. “She sang
for the benefit of those _who_ might be interested.”
Agreement with Antecedent
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in _gender, person,_ and
_number._ The gender and person usually take care of themselves, but
the number of pronouns is a serious obstacle to correct speech.
“One tells the quality of _their_ minds when _they_ try to talk
well”—_George Eliot,_ in _Middlemarch._ The pronouns _their _and _they_
should be singular.
“Everybody has something to say which _they think_ is worthy of being
heard.” _Everybody_ refers to persons singly, and not collectively.
_They think_ should be _he thinks, he_ being the proper pronoun to
employ when the gender is not indicated.
“Every nation has laws and customs of _their_ own.” The use of the word
_every_ necessitates a pronoun in the singular, hence _their_ should be
_its._
“Every one is accountable for _their_ own acts.” Use _his._
“She studied his countenance like an inscription, and deciphered _each_
rapt expression that crossed it, and stored _them_ in her memory.”
Change _them_ to _it._
“Each of them, in _their_ turn, received the reward to which _they
were_ entitled.” This should be “Each of them in _his_ turn received
the reward to which _he was_ entitled.”
_No_ and _not,_ like _each_ and _every,_ when they qualify a plural
antecedent, or one consisting of two or more nouns, require a pronoun
in the singular.
“No policeman, no employee, no citizen dared to lift _their_ hand” Say,
_his_ hand.
Or, Nor
When the antecedent consists of two or more nouns separated by _or,
nor, as well as,_ or any other disjunctive, the pronoun must be
singular.
“Neither spelling nor parsing _receive_ the attention _they_ once
received.” Verb and pronoun should be singular, _receives_ and _it._
Collective Noun
When a noun of multitude or collective noun is the antecedent, the
pronoun, like the verb, must be plural or singular according to the
sense intended to be conveyed.
Ambiguity
Never leave the antecedent of your pronoun in doubt.
“John tried to see his father in the crowd, but could not, because _he
_was so short.” If the father was short, repeat the noun and omit the
pronoun, as “John tried to see his father in the crowd but could not
because his father was so short.” If John was short, recast the
sentence: “John, being short of stature, tried in vain to see his
father in the crowd.”
“He said to his friend that, if he did not feel better soon, he thought
he had better go home.” This sentence is susceptible of four
interpretations. We shall omit the first part of the sentence in the
last
three interpretations, as it is the same in all. “He said to his
friend: ‘If I do not feel better soon, I think I had better go home.’”
“If I do not feel better soon, I think you had better go home.” “If you
do not feel better soon, I think I had better go home.” “If you do not
feel better soon, I think you had better go home.”
“The lad cannot leave his father; for, if he should leave _him, he_
would die.” To avoid ambiguity substitute _his father_ for the
italicised pronouns. The repetition is not pleasant, but it is the
lesser of two evils.
Needless Pronouns
Avoid all pronouns and other words that are not essential to the
meaning.
“The father _he_ died, the mother _she_ soon followed _after, _and the
children _they_ were _all_ taken _down_ sick.”
“Let every one turn from _his or her_ evil ways.” Unless there is
special reason for emphasizing the feminine pronoun, avoid the awkward
expression _his or her._ The pronoun _his_ includes the other.
Mixed Pronouns
Do not use two styles of the pronoun in the same Sentence. “Enter
_thou_ into the joy of _your_ Lord.” “Love _thyself_ last, and others
will love _you_.”
Them, Those
It should not be necessary to caution the reader against the use of
_them _for _those._
“Fetch me _them_ books.” “Did you see _them,_ fat oxen?” “_Them’s_
good; I’ll take another dish.”
Which, Who
“Those _which_ say so are mistaken.” _Who_ is applied to persons;
_which,_ to the lower animals and to inanimate things.
“He has some friends _which_ I know.” _Whom,_ the objective case form
of the pronoun _who,_ should here be used.
“The dog, _who_ was called Rover, went mad.” Use _which._
What, That
_That_ is applied to persons, animals, and things. _What _is applied to
things. The antecedent of _what_ should not be expressed. _What_ is
both antecedent and relative.
“All _what_ he saw he described.” Say, “What he saw,” or “All _that _he
saw,” etc.
Uniform Relatives
When several relative clauses relate to the same antecedent, they
should have the same relative pronoun.
“It was Joseph _that_ was sold into Egypt, who
became governor of the land, and _which_ saved his father and brothers
from famine.” Change _that_ and _which_ to _who_.
Choice of Relatives
Since _who_ and _that_ are both applied to persons, and _which_ and
_that_ are both applied to animals and things, it often becomes a
serious question which relative we shall employ. Much has been written
upon the subject, but the critics still differ in theory and in
practice. The following is probably as simple a statement of the
general rule as can be found:
If the relative clause is of such a nature that it could be introduced
by _and he, and she, and it, and they,_ etc., the relative _who_ (for
persons) and _which_ (for animals or things) should be used in
preference to the relative _that._
“Man _that_ is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
The language of the Bible and of Shakespeare must stand, although the
forms of expression differ greatly from those employed at the present
day. According to modern standards, _that_ should be _who._
“The earth is enveloped by an ocean of air _that_ is a compound of
oxygen and nitrogen!” Change _that_ to _which_.
The relative _that_ should be used in preference to _who_ or _which:_
(1) When the antecedent names both persons and things;
(2) When it would prevent ambiguity;
(3) After the words _same, very, all;_
(4) After the interrogative pronoun _who;_
(5) After adjectives expressing quality in the highest degree.
“The wisest men _who_ ever lived made mistakes.” Use _that._ See (5).
“He lived near a stagnant pool _which_ was a nuisance.” Use _that. _See
(2).
“All _who_ knew him loved him.” Say _that._ See (3).
“Who _who_ saw him did not pity him.” See (4).
“He spake of the men and things _which_ he had seen.” See (1).
“These are my pupils _which_ I have brought to see you.” Use _whom, _as
_which_ is not applied to persons.
“This is the window _whose_ panes were broken by the rude boys.” Use
“the panes of _which.”_ Because of its convenience, perhaps, the faulty
_whose_ is very largely used; as, “The eagle _whose_ wings,” “The house
_whose_ gables,” “The ocean _whose_ waves,” “The vessel _whose_ sails,”
“The play _whose_ chief merit,” “Music _whose _chief attraction,” etc.
Which and Who after “And”
_Which_ and _who_ cannot follow _and_ unless there has been a preceding
_which_ or _who_ in the same sentence and in the same construction.
“The more important rules, definitions and observations, _and which_
are therefore the most proper to be committed to memory, are printed
_with_ a large type.”—_Murray’s Grammar._ In Moore’s _Bad English_ the
sentence is corrected thus: “The rules, definitions, and observations
_which _are the more important, _and which_ are therefore the most
proper to be committed to memory, are printed in larger type.”
Adverbs for Relative Pronouns
Adverbs are often employed where a preposition with a relative pronoun
would better express the sense.
“There is no method known _how_ his safety may be assured.” Use _by
which_ instead of _how._
“He wrote me a letter _where_ he repeated his instructions.” “Letter
_in which_ he repeated,” etc.
“And curse the country _where_ their fathers dwelt.” _“In which _their
fathers dwelt.”
“This is a case _where_ large interests are involved.” The preposition
and relative will better express the meaning; as, “This is a case _in
which _large interests are involved.”
Misplaced Relative
The relative should be so placed as to prevent ambiguity, and as near
as possible to its antecedent.
“Mr. Smith needs a surgeon, _who_ has broken his arm.” Say, “Mr. Smith,
_who_ has broken,” etc.
“The figs were in small wooden boxes, _which_ we ate.” “The figs _which
_we ate,” etc.
“He needs no boots _that_ cannot walk.” “He _that_ cannot walk,” etc.
Omitted Relatives
The relative pronoun is often omitted when it should be expressed.
“The next falsehood he told was the worst of all.” Say, “The next
falsehood _that_ he told,” etc.
“It is little we know of the divine perfections.” Say, “Little _that_
we know.”
“Almost all the irregularities in the construction of any language have
arisen from the ellipsis of some words which were originally inserted
in the sentence and made it regular.”—_Murray’s Grammar._ The sentence
should end with “_and which_ made it regular.”
The one, the other
When _the one_ and _the other_ refer to things previously mentioned,
_the one_ applies to the first mentioned, and _the other_ to the last
mentioned.
“Homer was a genius, Virgil an artist: in _the one_ we most admire the
man; in _the other,_ the work.”