Understanding pronoun case

Page contents:

  • Pronouns as subjects

  • Pronouns as objects

  • Pronouns as possessives

Most speakers of English know intuitively when to use I, me, or my. The choice reflects differences in case, the form a pronoun takes to indicate its function in a sentence. Pronouns functioning as subjects are in the subjective case; those functioning as objects are in the objective case; and those functioning as possessives are in the possessive case.

SUBJECTIVE PRONOUNS

I/we you he/she/it they who/whoever

OBJECTIVE PRONOUNS

me/us you him/her/it them whom/whomever

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

my/our your his/hers/its their whose
mine/ours yours his/hers/its theirs

Pronouns as subjects

Use a subjective pronoun as a subject of a clause, a subject complement, or an appositive renaming a subject or subject complement (see Parts of Sentences).

SUBJECT OF A CLAUSE

They could either fight or face certain death with the lions.

Who is your closest friend?

Pedro told the story to Lizzie, who told all her friends.

SUBJECT COMPLEMENT

The person in charge was she.

APPOSITIVE RENAMING A SUBJECT OR SUBJECT COMPLEMENT

Three colleagues—Peter, John, and she—worked on the program.

Americans often use the objective case for subject complements, especially in conversation: Who’s there? It’s me. However, expect to use the subjective case in formal writing. If you find the subjective case stilted or awkward, try rewriting the sentence using the pronoun as the subject.

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Pronouns as objects

Use an objective pronoun as a direct or indirect object (of a verb or verbal), an object of a preposition, an appositive renaming an object, or when the pronoun is followed by an infinitive (see The basic grammar of sentences and Predicates).

OBJECT OF A VERB OR VERBAL

The professor surprised us with a quiz. [direct object of surprised]

The grateful owner gave him a reward. [indirect object of gave]

The Parisians were always wonderful about helping me. [direct object of gerund]

OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION

Several friends went with him.

APPOSITIVE RENAMING AN OBJECT

The committee elected two representatives, Sach and me.

PRONOUN FOLLOWED BY AN INFINITIVE

The students convinced him to vote for the school bond.

Pronouns as possessives

Use a possessive pronoun to show possession or ownership. Notice that there are two forms of possessive pronouns: those that function as adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose) and those that take the place of a noun (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, whose).

ADJECTIVE FORMS

People were buying their tickets weeks in advance of the show.

Whose fault was the accident?

NOUN FORMS

The responsibility is hers.

Whose is this blue backpack?

When a pronoun appears before a verbal that ends in -ing, using a possessive pronoun leads to a different meaning than using an objective pronoun.

I remember his singing.

The possessive pronoun his makes singing the object of remember.

I remember him singing.

The pronoun him is the object of remember, and singing modifies him.

Choose the pronoun that makes sense for the meaning you want to convey.

Quick Help: Editing for case

Talking the Talk: Correctness or stuffiness?