See A5 in the Quick Editing Guide for advice on editing pronoun case.
The first-person pronoun can be I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, or ours. Which form do you pick? It depends on what job you want the pronoun to do.
Depending on a pronoun’s function in a sentence, we say that it is in the subjective case, the objective case, or the possessive case. Some pronouns change form when they change case, and some do not. The personal pronouns I, he, she, we, and they and the relative pronoun who have different forms in the subjective, objective, and possessive cases. Other pronouns, such as you and it, have only two forms: the plain case (which serves as both subjective and objective) and the possessive case.
We can pin the labels subjective, objective, and possessive on nouns as well as on pronouns. Like the pronouns you and it, nouns shift from plain form only in the possessive (teacher’s pet, Jonas’s poodle, her parents’ home).
When you are not sure which case to choose, beware of falling back on a reflexive pronoun (myself, himself). Instead of writing, “Return the form to John or myself” or “John and myself are in charge,” replace the reflexive pronoun: “Return the form to John or me”; “John and I are in charge.”
| 5a | Use the subjective case for the subject of a sentence or clause |
subject: The part of a sentence that names something — a person, an object, an idea, a situation — about which the predicate makes an assertion: The king lives.
Jed and I ate the granola.
Who cares?
Maya recalled that she played baseball.
Election officials are the people who count.
A pronoun serving as the subject for a verb is subjective even when the verb isn’t written but is only implied:
Jed is hungrier than I [am].
Don’t be fooled by a pronoun that appears immediately after a verb, looking as if it were a direct object but functioning as the subject of a clause. The pronoun’s case is determined by its role, not by its position.
The judge didn’t believe I hadn’t been the driver.
We were happy to interview whoever was running. [Subject of was running]
| 5b | Use the subjective case for a subject complement |
subject complement: A noun, an adjective, or a group of words that follows a linking verb (is, become, feel, seem, or another verb that shows a state of being) and that renames or describes the subject: This plum tastes ripe. (See 3a.)
When a pronoun functions as a subject complement, it plays essentially the same role as the subject and its case is subjective.
The phantom graffiti artist couldn’t have been he. It was I.
| 5c | Use the subjective case for an appositive to a subject or subject complement |
appositive: A word or group of words that adds information by identifying a subject or object in a different way: my dog Rover, Hal’s brother Fred
A pronoun in apposition to a subject or subject complement is like an identical twin to the noun it stands beside. It has the same meaning and case.
The class officers — Ravi and she — announced a senior breakfast.
| 5d | Use the objective case for a direct object, an indirect object, the object of a preposition, or a subject of an infinitive |
direct object: The target of a verb that completes the action performed by the subject or asserted about the subject: I met the sheriff.
indirect object: A person or thing affected by the subject’s action, usually the recipient of the direct object, through the action indicated by a verb such as bring, get, offer, promise, sell, show, tell, and write: Charlene asked you a question.
The custard pies hit him and me. [Direct object]
Mona threw us towels. [Indirect object]
Mona threw towels to him and us. [Object of a preposition]
We always expect him to win. [Subject of an infinitive]
| 5e | Use the objective case for an appositive to a direct or indirect object or the object of a preposition |
object of a preposition: The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition (such as in, on, at, of, from) that connects it to the rest of the sentence: She opened the door to the garage.
Mona helped us all — Mrs. Van Dumont, him, and me.
[Him and me are in apposition to the direct object us.]
Bob gave his favorite students, Tom and her, an approving nod.
[Her is in apposition to the indirect object students.]
Yelling, the team ran after us — Mona, him, and me.
[Him and me are in apposition to us, the object of the preposition after.]
| 5f | Use the possessive case to show ownership |
infinitive: The base form of a verb, often preceded by to: to go, to play
Possessive pronouns can function as adjectives or as nouns. My, your, his, her, its, our, and their function as adjectives by modifying nouns or pronouns.
My new bike is having its first road test today.
The possessive pronoun its does not contain an apostrophe. It’s with an apostrophe is a contraction for it is, as in “It’s a beautiful day for bike riding.”
The possessive pronouns mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs can discharge the whole range of noun duties, serving as subjects, subject complements, direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions.
See C2 in the Quick Editing Guide for a chart of possessive personal pronouns.
Yours is the last vote we need. [Subject]
This day is ours. [Subject complement]
Don’t take your car; take mine. [Direct object]
If we’re honoring requests, give hers top priority. [Indirect object]
Give her request priority over theirs. [Object of a preposition]
| 5g | Use the possessive case to modify a gerund |
gerund: A form of a verb, ending in -ing, that functions as a noun: Lacey likes playing in the steel band.
A possessive pronoun (or possessive noun) is the appropriate escort for a gerund. As a noun, a gerund requires an adjective for a modifier.
Mary is tired of his griping. [The possessive pronoun his modifies the gerund griping.]
I can stand their being late every day but not his drinking on the job. [The possessive pronoun their modifies the gerund being; the possessive pronoun his modifies the gerund drinking.]
present participle: A form of a verb ending in -ing that cannot function alone as a main verb but can act as an adjective: Leading the pack, Michael crossed the finish line.
However, editing possessives can be confusing because two different verb forms both end in -ing: gerunds that act as nouns and present participles that act as adjectives. If you are not sure whether to use a possessive for a gerund or an objective pronoun with a word ending in -ing, look closely at your sentence. Which word — the pronoun or the -ing word — is the object of your main verb? That word functions as a noun; the other word modifies it.
Mr. Phipps remembered them smoking in the boys’ room. [Mr. Phipps remembers them, those naughty students. Them is the object of the verb, so smoking is a participle modifying them.]
Mr. Phipps remembered their smoking in the boys’ room. [Mr. Phipps remembers smoking, that nasty habit. The gerund smoking is the object of the verb, and the possessive pronoun their modifies it.]
In everyday speech, rules about pronoun case apply less rigidly. Someone who correctly says, “To whom are you referring?” is likely to sound pretentious. Say, if you like, “It’s me,” but in formal situations write “It is I.” Say, if you wish, “Who did he ask to the party?” but write “Whom did he ask?”