Assignment 1: The Is Have It & Presidential Pronouns

Read The Is Have It and answer the following questions.

1. What is the grammar mistake that President Obama makes?
2. What is the rule for using I and me?
3. What has been Obamas strategy for avoiding misuse of I?
4. What rule of thumb does the article offer to help avoid this error?
5. Which would you usually say: Lets keep this between you and I, or Lets keep this
between you and me?
6. Have you ever caught grammatical errors while listening to an actor or musician accept
an award, your mayor speak on a news broadcast, your principal address the student
body? (If not, have no fear--you will start to notice more and more as you take this
course!) Do you think grammatical errors affect how listeners perceive authority figures?
7. Brainstorm a list of frequently made, either by you or by others, grammar mistakes.
(One of these will be selected as your topic for the Module 1 Unit Assessment). Consult
our grammar textbook, The Magic Lens, and/or a reliable reference source that guides
your work. Recommended resources include the following:
1. About.coms grammar site
2. Online Writing Lab at Purdue Universitys guide to Grammar, Punctuation and
Spelling
3. University of Chicagos guides to grammar and usage
Presidential Pronouns: Assess the usage of the underlined bolded words: are they grammatically
correct? Highlight in green the sentences with proper usage. Highlight in red the sentences
with incorrect usage. Then place a star next to the sentence you believe President Obama
actually said.
1. I have told each of my cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the
country, that they will be held accountable by me and the American
people for every dollar they spend.
2. I have told each of my cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the
country, that they will be held accountable by the American people and
me for every dollar they spend.
3. I have told each of my cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the
country, that they will be held accountable by the American people and I
for every dollar they spend.
4. I have told each of my cabinet, as well as mayors and governors across the
country, that they will be held accountable by I and the American people
for every dollar they spend.

5. Now, I understand that, on any given day, Wall Street may be more
comforted by an approach that gives bank bailouts with no strings attached
and that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions, but such an
approach won't solve the problem.
6. Now, I understand that, on any given day, Wall Street may be more
comforted by an approach that gives bank bailouts with no strings attached

and that holds nobody accountable for his reckless decisions, but such an
approach won't solve the problem.

7. So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now,

especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions.

8. So I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now,

especially when everyone is suffering in part from his bad decisions.

from the transcript of President Obamas Address to Congress on February

24,2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/us/politics/24obama-text.html