GRAMMAR SUPPLEMENT: VA 2.

2
[Prepared by Captain AK Kalia}

Pronoun Errors
1. Types of Pronouns & their Functions: A Quick Recap a) b) Pronouns are nouns in disguise and can replace nouns as subjects; objects and complements of verbs; and as objects of prepositions.

Unlike nouns, pronouns always turn up on their own and do not have determiners in front of them.

c) Pronouns can be grouped into different categories: personal, reflexive, emphatic, indefinite, distributive, demonstrative, interrogative, reciprocal and relative.

d)

Personal Pronouns: refer to the person speaking (first person), the person spoken to (second person), and the person spoken of (third person). Person(Singular/Plural) Subjective Case Objective Case Possessive Case First Person (Singular) First Person (Plural) Second Person (S/P) Third Person (Singular) Third Person (Plural) Relative/Interrogative Indefinite I WE YOU HE SHE IT THEY WHO ONE ME US YOU HIM HER IT THEM WHOM ONE MINE OURS YOURS HIS HERS ---THEIRS ------Possessive Determiner MY OUR YOUR HIS HER ITS THEIR WHOSE ONES

e)
sentence.

Pronoun Case: governs the way in which the form of a word changes according to its function in a

-Subjective Case is used for subjects of a sentence: I am happy; He likes skating; Have they come? -Objective Case is used for objects of verbs or prepositions: Vinay knows her; The boss spoke to us. -Possessive Case is used for indicating possession: This house is ours, that one is theirs.

f) Possessive Pronouns stand on their own and are not followed by nouns, whereas Possessive
Determiners come before nouns to tell you whose. - This is my book. (Possessive Determiner); This book is mine. (Possessive Pronoun)

g) Pronoun or Determiner: Indefinite, distributive, demonstrative, and possessive pronouns stand

on their own, whereas determiners come before nouns to tell you which one, or how many, or whose, and so on. -Of all colours available, I like these best, but my wife likes those. (Demonstrative Pronouns) -In my opinion these colours are the best. (Demonstrative Determiner)

h) Indefinite Pronouns stand in place of an undefined person or thing: anybody, anything,

anyone, somebody, something, someone, nobody, nothing, no one, none, all, both, some, any, little, less, least, few, fewer, fewest, much, many, several, and so on.

i) Distributive Pronouns refer to persons or things one at a time: each, every, either, neither, everybody,
everything, everyone, and so on.

j) Demonstrative Pronouns identify or point out the person or thing referred to: this, that, these, and those.
-This is mine and that is yours; Of all the shirts in the shop, I like these best.

k) Reflexive Pronouns reflect back on the noun or pronoun, when the object is the same as the subject.
-We enjoyed ourselves; I hurt myself; Only idiots talk to themselves; He hit himself on the foot.

l) Emphatic Pronouns are used merely for emphasis.

-Even he himself wont be able to do it; The teacher herself was absent; I myself play the piano well.

m) Reciprocal Pronouns come in pairs and indicate a bilateral or multilateral relationship among the elements. Each
other is used when two elements are being discussed or there is a bilateral relationship, and one another is used of more than two elements and the relationship is multilateral. -We shook hands with each other. -They are a pair of overgrown children constantly taunting each other. -The noise of street dogs barking at one another kept me awake all night.

n) Interrogative Pronouns are used in questions:

-Who is at the door? Which is yours? Whom do we thank? What is the time?

o) Relative Pronouns relate one part of a sentence to another and modify the nearest noun in the main clause. They
also introduce a relative or subordinate clause. -The chauffeur whom you hired yesterday is at the door. -The elephant, which ran amok, has been killed. -The town that has ancient monuments will always attract tourists. -It was we who had left before he arrived.

2. Use of Pronouns: Common Errors

a) Pronoun Case: Some problematic examples of pronoun case are given below: -Let you and me (I (?) ) pray. [Objective case with a transitive verb] -The news came as a shock to my husband and me (I (?) ). [me is object of the preposition to] -They must be cursing you and me (I (?) ) back home. [me is object of the verb cursing] -We (Us (?) ) men will have to try a bit harder. [We is the subject of will have] -That is quite a problem for us (we (?) ) wives and mothers. [us is object of the preposition for] -If I were he (him (?) ), I would not go. [he is the complement of the verb to be, hence I =he] -Who (Whom (?) ) do you think is the most promising candidate? [Answer: I think (that) he is] -Whom (Who (?) ) do you consider to be the most promising candidate? [Answer: I consider him]

b) Use of WHICH or THAT: There are two types of relative clauses introduced by relative pronouns: defining and
non-defining. Which or That can be used in defining clauses without a pair of commas to cordon off the thatclause, because the that-clause is an integral part of the sentence acting as an adjective to define the noun. On the other hand, only which is used in non-defining clauses and is cordoned off from the rest of the sentence by a pair of commas, because it contains incidental information about the noun and is not integral to the sentence. -Defining Clause: The family which/that prays together stays together. [that-clause is here a defining clause as it specifies the family in question, and has no commas before and after] -Non-defining Clause: The family, which is the basic unit of human society, is losing its appeal. [which-clause is here a non-defining clause as it simply gives some incidental information about the family, and is cordoned off by commas to show that it is not really an essential part of the sentence] c) Use of WHO/WHOM or THAT: In non-defining clauses, who and whom are used to modify nouns or pronouns referring to people, and are cordoned off by a pair of commas: who for the subjective case and whom for the objective case. In defining clauses, however, that always replaces whom for the objective case; and both who and that can be used for the subjective case. NON-DEFINING CLAUSES

1. [Subjective Case] Asoka, who established a great empire, was a kind and compassionate man. 2. [Objective Case] Amitabh, whom the people adore, has performed in a wide range of roles.

DEFINING CLAUSES 1. [Subjective Case] The boy who/that has come first in Delhi University is a friend of mine. [Either who and that can be used.] 2. [Objective Case] The boy that (whom (?) ) the teacher was referring to has been expelled from school. [whom is always replaced by that in defining clauses] d) Special Uses of THAT 1. In clauses relating to the indefinite/distributive pronouns anything, everything, nothing, and something. Can you think of anything that has to be finished before the weekend? [NOT anything which] 2. In clauses following a superlative. This is the most versatile computer that has ever been produced. [NOT computer which] 3. In relative clauses following it is construction. It was the dog that died, not the man. [NOT dog which] e) Pronouns can Modify Nouns but not Clauses -The noise at the airport was deafening, which (?) made conversation difficult if not impossible. [Incorrect: which cannot be used to modify a clause The noise at the airport was deafening] [Correct: The deafening noise at the airport made conversation difficult if not impossible.] -At last he succeeded, which (?) completely altered his outlook on life. [Incorrect: which cannot be used to modify a clause At last he succeeded] [Correct: His eventual success completely altered his outlook on life.] -Liquor companies are now producing low-alcohol wines and nonalcoholic products; it (?) is a response to a growing moderation of all social habits and an interest in health and fitness. [Incorrect: it cannot be used to modify the preceding clause, but this can] f) Pronoun consistency: If you use one pronoun, be consistent and stick to it. Dont start with you and switch over to one later in the sentence. -You get the feeling that there is something fishy, dont you (doesnt one (?) )? -One has to do a lot of homework and hand it in to ones (his (?) ) teacher the next morning. -When one considers the vastness of the universe, one (you (?) ) cannot help being struck by ones (your (?) ) own insignificance. -You may dislike the curtain-raiser owing to the playwrights use of well-worn clichs, but the principal play of the evening will please you (one (?) ) with fresh insights into character. g) Pronoun-noun Agreement: The pronoun used to replace a noun must always agree with it. -Jones was a man who (whom (?) ) we all expected would succeed. [who is the subject of would succeed] -She was angry with the managers, who (whom (?) )she felt were underestimating her talents. [who is the subject of were estimating, not the object of felt] -Although trained to respect the body, the athlete of today may feel so overwhelmed by competitive pressure and the glare of publicity that he secretly takes (they secretly take (?) ) drugs believed to improve performance. [they does not agree with the athlete of today] h) Pronoun must have a clearly-stated Noun Referent -Accidents, unforeseen weather conditions, and pilot errors often cause much larger deposits than they had anticipated. [Incorrect: they has no noun referent in the sentence. Substitute the authorities for they.]

-However seldom you dream, you should write them down. [Incorrect: them has no noun referent in the sentence.] [Correct: However seldom you have dreams, you should write them down.]

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