Your English Class

Compound Personal Pronouns

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The compound personal pronouns are made by adding the suffix –self or –selves to the appropriate form of the simple pronouns.

In the first and second persons, the suffix is added to the possessive case: myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves. In the third person they are added to the objective case: himself, herself, itself, themselves. Do not use the forms hisself and theirselves, for they are considered illiterate.

CASE

The case of the simple pronoun to which the suffix is added does not correspond to the case of the completed compound pronoun.

Therefore, although the suffix is added to the possessive case in the first and second persons, the resulting compound forms are not in the possessive case; they are in either the nominative or objective case, depending on their use in the sentence.

I myself will be held responsible (nominative — in apposition with the subject I).

I must have been kidding myself (objective — object of the verb).

Likewise, the third person forms, made from the objective case of the simple pronouns, are either nominative or objective, depending on their use in the sentence.

She herself will arrange the meeting (nominative — in apposition with the subject).

He made the desk for himself (objective — object of the preposition).

USES OF THE COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS

The compound personal pronouns have two uses.

Reflexive. In this use the action performed by the subject comes back to, in other words, is reflected back to, the subject.

He cut himself (direct object)

They set aside some money for themselves (object of a preposition).

She made herself a sandwich (indirect object).

When a reflexive pronoun is used as the object of a verb, we have the only exception to the rule that the direct object stands for a different person or thing than the subject. The test that the reflexive pronoun is the object of the verb is that it names the receiver of the action.

Note. In older English and in colloquial modern English the simple pronouns are used reflexively: as, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” I bought me a drink.” He got him a ticket to the concert.” “I looked behind me.” (In the last example, me is the accepted form.)

Emphatic. Compound pronouns can be used to add emphasis to a pronoun or noun already named.

I myself will take care of it.

They called a meeting with the supervisor himself.

These emphatic pronouns are in apposition with the preceding noun or pronoun.

Not all emphatic uses of compound pronouns invoke apposition.

The decision, in and of itself, wasn’t a bad one.

She hasn’t been herself lately.

I worked on the project by myself.

Copyright © 2012 Thomas Fasano.
Your English Class™ trademark is the property of Thomas Fasano.

The Case of Pronouns after “Than” and “As”

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The case of the pronoun in comparisons using than and as requires special attention. Shall we say, for example, “He is taller than I” or He is taller than me”; “He is as tall as I” or “He is as tall as me”? These are known as elliptical constructions, and the proper form of the pronoun can be easily determined by expanding the sentence to its fullest. For example, “He is taller than I (am),” “He is as tall as I (am).” Here it is easy to see that the proper form of the pronoun is I because it is the subject of the verb am.

Similarly, the sentence, “She likes Frank more than me” means “She likes Frank more than (she likes) me,” in which me is correctly in the objective case because it is the object of the verb likes. In addition, the sentence, “She likes Frank more than I,” means “She likes Frank more than I (do).

AGREEMENT BETWEEN PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person, number, and gender. In English, case is not a consideration.

Thus, if the antecedent is in the third person, singular number, masculine gender, the pronoun that refers to it must also be in the third person, singular number, masculine gender: for example, “The boy said that he had been working on his homework.” Compare, “The girl said that she had been working on her homework” (third person, singular number, feminine gender).

Remember, the case of the pronoun is not determined by the case of the antecedent: it is determined solely by how the pronoun is used in the sentence—as subject of a verb, object of a verb, etc.

Note. The pronouns I and you are regularly used with no expressed antecedent. I refers only to the speaker, whereas you refers to the person who is addressed. Therefore, it’s possible not to have a clear antecedent in the sentence. In conversation, pronouns are often used with no clear antecedent when the context is clear; that is, when the person or thing referred to is made clear with a look, gesture, or some other means. “Consider him over there.” “Give her back the book.”

Copyright © 2012 Thomas Fasano.
Your English Class™ trademark is the property of Thomas Fasano.

Personal Pronouns: Case and Agreement

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CASE AND USE

Most personal pronouns have different forms for the nominative, possessive, and objective cases.

The appropriate form to employ depends on the way the pronoun is used in the sentence.

A Nominative Case form (I, we, you, he, she, it, they) must be employed when the pronoun is used:

(1) As the subject of a verb.

He went out for a walk.

They bought a new house.

(2) As a predicate pronoun (the same grammatical construction as a predicate noun).

My sister is she.

It is I.

It was they.

The use of the objective case in these constructions is incorrect. Do not say “My sister is her,” or “It is me.”

(3) In apposition with the subject of a verb or with a predicate noun.

John F. Kennedy — he about whom many books have been written — was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The candidate was Barack Obama — he who would become president.

(4) In the Nominative Absolute construction.

They having reached a decision, the jury was ready to deliver its verdict.

(5) In direct address

Okay, you guys, let’s get going.

An Objective Case form (me, us, you, him, her, it, them) must be employed when the pronoun is used:

(1) As the direct object of the verb.

The panhandler asked us for money.

I saw her there.

(2) As the indirect object of a verb.

My wife made me dinner.

I sent him a package.

(3) As the object of a preposition.

I have several paintings by him.

The soldiers shot at them.

That’s between you and me (not I).

(4) In apposition with an object of a verb or of a preposition.

They formed a neighborhood gang — him and his band of losers.

Note. A pronoun theoretically can be used as an objective complement: “Still grieving for their dead mother, the children made their step-mother her.” However, in actual usage the objective complement is seldom a personal pronoun.

The Possessive Case of pronouns, like that of nouns, denotes possession.

The shorter possessive forms — my, our, your, her, and their — are used when a noun follows: as, “This is my car.”

The longer forms — mine, ours, yours, hers, and theirs — are used when no noun follows: as, “This car is mine.” (One still encounters in older English and in poetry the longer forms occurring before nouns: as, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”)

Pronouns in the possessive case do not take an apostrophe: thus, its, hers, theirs. The form it’s is not a possessive case pronoun, but is the contraction for it is: as, “It’s a good idea.” Compare, “The campaign lost its momentum” (possessive case).

Case after “Than” and “As”

The case of the pronoun in comparisons using “than” and “as” requires special attention. Should we say, for example, “He is taller than I” or He is taller than me”; “He is as tall as I” or “He is as tall as me”? These are known as elliptical constructions, and the proper form of the pronoun can be easily determined by expanding the sentence to its fullest. For example, “He is taller than I (am),” “He is as tall as I (am).” Here it is easy to see that the proper form of the pronoun is I because it is the subject of the verb am.

Similarly, the sentence, “She likes Frank more than me” means “She likes Frank more than (she likes) me,” in which me is correctly in the objective case because it is the object of the verb likes. In addition, the sentence, “She likes Frank more than I,” means “She likes Frank more than I (do).

Copyright © 2012 Thomas Fasano.
Your English Class™ trademark is the property of Thomas Fasano.