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The Mayfield Handbook of Technical & Scientific Writing
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Section 6.18

Pronoun Case

A pronoun can appear in one of three cases: subjective, in which the pronoun functions as a subject; objective, in which the pronoun functions as an object; and possessive, in which the pronoun functions as a possessor. The following list shows the subjective, objective, and possessive forms of the personal pronouns.

Subjective Objective Possessive
I me my
you you your
he him his
she her her
it it its
we us our
they them their
who whom whose
whoever whomever whose ever


Subjective Case

We observed no difference in outcome between groups in which different intervals elapsed between the transposition of the gracilis muscle and the implantation of the stimulator. [We is the subject of the sentence.]

--"Anal Dynamic Graciloplasty in the Treatment of Intractable Fecal Incontinence," New England Journal of Medicine (modified)

Objective Case

The results of this study show us that in a majority of cases, the transposed muscle can cope with a nonphysiologic level of action. [Us is the indirect object of show.]

--"Anal Dynamic Graciloplasty in the Treatment of Intractable Fecal Incontinence," New England Journal of Medicine (modified)

Possessive Case

The patients in whom the technique was successful improved their professional effectiveness and social ease. [Their indicates possession of effectiveness and ease.]

--"Anal Dynamic Graciloplasty in the Treatment of Intractable Fecal Incontinence," New England Journal of Medicine (modified)


If you are unsure which pronoun form to use after a coordinating conjunction, test the pronoun by itself in the sentence, without the conjunction.


Unacceptable

John Conway, an Oxford professor, and some enthusiastic computer hackers worked together on the project. What Conway and them found was that even such a simple universe as Life could indeed exhibit sufficiently complex behavior to form computers, and possibly more. [What they found was . . . ]

Acceptable

What Conway and they found was that even such a simple universe as Life could indeed exhibit sufficiently complex behavior to form computers, and possibly more.

Unacceptable

Playing with various Life patterns became a full-time obsession for Conway and they.

Acceptable

Playing with various Life patterns became a full-time obsession for Conway and them.

--Kai Wu, "Artificial Life," SciTech Magazine (modified)


If you are unsure which pronoun form to use after a coordinating conjunction, do not use a reflexive pronoun to avoid making a choice. Instead, test the pronoun by itself in the sentence, without the conjunction.


Unacceptable

Playing with various Life patterns became a full-time obsession for Conway and themselves.

Acceptable

Playing with various Life patterns became a full-time obsession for Conway and them.

--Kai Wu, "Artificial Life," SciTech Magazine (modified)


Use objective pronouns as subjects of infinitives.


In one of his experiments in the late 18th century, John Hunter, now considered the father of modern surgery, marked two points in a growing pig's bone and later found them to be the same distance apart in the mature animal. He thus showed that bones grow in length only at their ends.

--Linglei Xu, "Bone Talk," Scitech Magazine (modified)


Use possessive pronouns with gerunds.


Although her calculating the necessary response based on incomplete data was unorthodox, the desired results were nevertheless achieved.


Use whom as an object, who as a subject.


Unacceptable

The project was awarded to the engineer whom was most familiar with the site and its problems.

Acceptable

The project was awarded to the engineer who was most familiar with the site and its problems.


Many writers and speakers use who for both subjects and objects. This is widely accepted in informal contexts, but in formal writing, use only whom for the objective case.


Acceptable

The project was awarded to an engineer whom I know well.

Acceptable

I spoke to the engineer to whom the project was awarded.


Reference Link Text
## Pronoun Case ##
Reference Link Text

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