Category Archives: pronouns

To whom it may concern

May 7, 20129:30 p.m.

“Who” and “whom”’ cause all sorts of problems for writers. No one seems to know when to use which one, and whether to even bother with “whom” at all. More on that in a minute.

The basics:
“Who” is a subject pronoun. It is the subject of a verb, even if that verb is in a dependent clause.
“Whom” is an object pronoun. It is the object of a verb or a preposition.

The trick:
Substitute “he” or “him” to determine whether to use “who” or “whom.” If “he” makes sense, use “who.” If “him” makes sense, you can use “whom” (both have an M).
– The employee, who/whom the boss promoted after only six months, ended up doing well in her new post. (The boss promoted HE? No, the boss promoted HIM = whom)
– The employee, who/whom everyone said was incompetent, got promoted after only six months.
(Everyone said HIM was incompetent? No, everyone said HE was incompetent = who). This one is wrong a lot — editors change a lot of overcorrected “whoms.”

The rub:
Usage of “who” and “whom” is in transition, and “whom” is dropping out of English.
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By The Editors | Tags: , , , , Filed under pronouns, usage | Comments

Just you and I: Subject and object pronouns

Dec. 13, 20119:04 a.m.

When some of us were kids, we’d get corrected if we announced to our mothers or teachers a sentence along the lines of: “Me and her are going snake-hunting in the creek.” “It’s ‘she and I,’” they’d say, apparently more concerned about proper grammar than the state of our shoes after the excursion.

But they were right: when the pronouns are the subject of the sentence, we need to use the subject forms: I, we, you, she, he and they.

Conventions of English dictate that you don’t start a pair with “I,” but it’s not grammatically incorrect to say “I and my cousins went bungee-jumping in New Zealand.” (It does sound a bit odd, though.)

But we tend to run into problems with object constructions. We get so conditioned to say “you and I” that we want to use it everywhere, as in: “Just between you and I, his feet smell terrible.” However, “between” is a preposition, so we need to use the object forms: me, us, you, him, her and them. So “between you and me” is correct. The same goes for “Doodle’s going with Cindy and me on the snake hunt.”

Between you and me, a quick way to determine the correct word is to replace the pair of pronouns with “we” or “us.” If “we” sounds right, use the subject forms. If “us” sounds right, use the object forms.

“[Me and her] -> us are going snake-hunting in the creek” Nope. Use the subject pronouns here: She and I.

“Just between [you and I] -> we, his feet smell terrible.” Nope. Use the object pronouns here: you and me.

And watch out for snakes in the creek.

By The Editors | Tags: , , , , Filed under pronouns, usage | Comments

Reflexive actions

Feb. 10, 20104:19 p.m.

Reflexive pronouns are those that end in “-self” — myself, herself, themselves and so on. These pronouns are used when a subject and an object are the same person.

Reflexive pronouns can be direct obects:
Vampires can’t see themselves in a mirror.

They can be indirect objects:
The Invisible Man bought himself a fresh roll of bandages.

They can be objects of a preposition:
With that hairdo, Frankenstein’s bride found it hard not to draw attention to herself.
bride
They can even be used for special emphasis on a subject or an object:
Even Dr. Frankenstein himself realized that it all could end badly.
Make sure you deliver this message to Mina Harker herself — don’t leave it on the table.
When nothing the others did seemed to be able to stop the Blob, the teenagers went after it themselves.

But remember that reflexives should not be used when the subject and the object are two different people:
*The mummy came after Sir Joseph and myself.
Use: The mummy came after Sir Joseph and me.

And a reflexive should never be used as a subject:
*John and myself set out in search of werewolves.
Use: John and I set out in search of werewolves.

For more about “me, myself and I,” listen to our podcast here.

By The Editors | Tags: , , Filed under pronouns | Comments