Using Pronouns Correctly

What are the cases of personal pronouns?

The nominative case
The objective case
The possessive case
Review A
Review B

What are the cases of personal pronouns?

Pronouns take the place of nouns. They take
different forms to do different jobs.
Subject

Ming-na
waits at the airport with flowers.
She
Direct object

She is holding thethem

flowers and smiling.
Possessive

her
The flowers are for Ming-nas
aunt.

The nominative case

Pronouns in the nominative case (or subject
form) are most often used as subjects.
Nominative case (subject form) pronouns
First person

I, we

Second person

you, you

Third person

he, she, it, they

Subject

I enjoy water sports.

Subject

He was the best surfer.

The nominative case

Make sure the subject of a verb is in the
nominative case.
Subject

MyThey
friends are thinking about summer jobs.
They

Them case
?Nominative
?
Subject

he clean houses for money.

Wendy and Jerome
Jerome
him

he

Nominative case
?

The nominative case

It can be difficult to know which pronoun form to
choose. Use a nominative form pronoun to replace
one or both parts of a compound subject.
She
found
the
treasure.
Dori and
and her
hercousins
cousins
found
the
treasure.
She is the nominative case pronoun that replaces Dori.
But what pronoun should replace her cousins?
Dori and
She
and they
they found
found the
the treasure.
treasure.
Doricousins
and them
found
the compound
treasure.
Her
is part
of the
subject. It should be in the nominative
case.

Or

The nominative case

How can you tell which pronoun to use? Heres an
easy way to check.
Sam and (I, me) went fishing.
Would you say I went fishing or
Me went fishing?

Sam and I went fishing.

I is in the nominative (subject)
case, so it is the correct pronoun.

The nominative case

On Your Own

Supply pronouns to complete the following sentences.

Use a variety of pronouns, but do not use you or it.
1. _______ used fresh tortillas for the burritos.
2. Eddie and _______ like fishing.
3. _______ must be the person in the gorilla suit.
4. _______ and I go to the movies often.
5. Were _______ at the door?
[End of Section]

The objective case

Pronouns in the objective case (or object form)
are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and
objects of prepositions.
Objective case
(object form)
pronouns
First
person

me, us

Second you, you

person
Third
person

him, her,
it, them

Direct object

The answer surprised us.

Indirect object

Howie showed me a magic trick.

Object of preposition

We sat with them at the game.

The objective case

A direct object should be in the objective case.
Direct object

us
Mom helped ______
with our projects.
Objective
case
we
?

us

Direct object

She took Pete and ______

me to the fabric store.
me

I case
?Objective
?

The objective case

An indirect object should be in the objective
case.
Indirect object

Grandma sent Joe and _____

him tickets to a play.
him

he case
? Objective
?
Indirect object

them tickets.
An usher gave _____
Objective
they
?case

them

The objective case

An object of a preposition should be in the
objective case.
Object of preposition

Does her dog always go with ______?

her
Objective
she
?case

her

Object of preposition

A walk will be good for Fluffy and ______.

me
me

I case
?Objective
?

The objective case

To decide which pronoun to use with a compound
object, try the sentence with just one pronoun.
Direct object

The teacher chose Josh and (her,

her. she).
Would you say The teacher chose her
or The teacher chose she?

Object of a
preposition

Maria
Maria sent
sent aa card
card to
to Dan
Dan and
and me.
(I, me).
Sent a card to I or sent a card to me?

The objective case

On Your Own

Supply pronouns to complete the following sentences.

Use a variety of pronouns, but do not use you or it.
1. Ms. Suarez ordered sandwiches for _______.
2. The firefighters rescued _______ from the blaze.
3. A clown entertained the children and _______.
4. Please give _______ and _______ some apple juice.
5. Sam stood in front of Mr. Sweeney and _______.
[End of Section]

The possessive case

Pronouns in the possessive case are used to
show ownership or possession.
Possessive case pronouns
First person

my, mine, our, ours

Second person

your, yours

Third person

his, her, hers, its, their, theirs

Is your homework finished?

I have done mine.

The possessive case

The possessive pronouns mine, yours, his, hers,
its, ours, and theirs can be used as subjects and
objects.
Subject
Direct object
Indirect object
Object of preposition

Your coat is warm. Mine is too.

We made ours with soft yarn.
Mother gave hers a quick glance.
Next to yours, my gloves look dirty.

The possessive case

The possessive pronouns my, our, your, his, her,
its, and their are used as adjectives before nouns.
Did you get your canary at a pet store?

My older sister raises zebra finches.

The bird fluttered its wings.

The possessive case

On Your Own

Fill in the blanks with appropriate possessive pronouns.

1. _______ books are on the shelf.
2. Have you finished eating _______ breakfast yet?
3. Ms. Thomson graded Waynes paper, and then she
gave _______ her complete attention.
4. I cant remember _______ phone number.
5. Last weekend we raked _______ front yard and
swept _____ sidewalk.
[End of Section]

Review A
For each of the following sentences, choose the correct
form of the pronoun in parentheses.
1. (He, Him) has promised to e-mail me.
2. The lead role will be played by (she, her).
3. (Your, Yours) is the ham sandwich.
4. Zack and (she, her) moved to San Diego last year.
5. We warned Paul and (they, them) about the wind.

[End of Section]

Review B
Proofread the following sentences for correct pronoun
forms. Correct any errors you find. If a sentence is
correct, label it C.
1. Lucy told Karen and I a funny story.
2. Does she know the answer to that riddle?
3. Him and the bus driver are good friends.
4. Uncle Jared made lunch for Mark and she.
5. I was not the person in the costume.

The End