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 |
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)
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)
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)
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 . . . ]
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.
Playing with various Life patterns became a full-time obsession
for Conway and they.
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.
Playing with various Life patterns became a full-time obsession
for Conway and themselves.
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.
The project was awarded to the engineer whom was most
familiar with the site and its problems.
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.
The project was awarded to an engineer whom I know
well.
I spoke to the engineer to whom the project was
awarded.
