Lesson 1: Forms of Personal Pronouns A

Definition

Case is the form that a pronoun takes to show its relationship to other words in a sentence. English has three cases for pronouns: the nominative case, the objective case, and the possessive case.

Explanation

Think of case as the pronoun's special job in a sentence. The nominative case is for the subject—the one doing the action. The objective case is for the object—the one receiving the action. And the possessive case is for showing who owns something. Remember, the pronouns you and it are tricky because they look the same in both the nominative and objective cases, so you have to look at their job in the sentence to know which is which!

Examples

• Nominative Case: We are going to the museum on Friday. [The pronoun We is the subject of the verb are going.]
• Objective Case: Maria passed the note to him. [The pronoun him is the object of the preposition to.]
• Possessive Case: The dog wagged its tail happily. [The pronoun its shows the tail belongs to the dog.]

Definition

The subject of a verb should be in the nominative case.

Explanation

When a pronoun is the main character doing the action in a sentence, it's the subject. You must always use a nominative case pronoun for the subject. This includes pronouns like I, he, she, we, and they. This rule is extra important when you have a pair of subjects, like in "She and I." Both pronouns need to be in the nominative case because they are both doing the action.

Examples

Chose the correct pronoun or pronouns in parentheses in the following sentences.

• Did (they, them) see the new movie yet? [They is the subject of the verb did see.]
• The teacher smiled, and (he and I, him and me) knew we did a good job. [He and I are the subjects of the verb knew.]
• How can (we, us) help with the project? [We is the subject of the verb can help.]

Definition

A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun that is in the predicate and that identifies or refers to the subject.

Explanation

After a linking verb (like is, are, was, were), you might use a pronoun to rename or identify the subject. This is called a predicate nominative, and it must be in the nominative case. It might sound a bit formal to say "The winner was he," but it's correct! Here's a great tip: try flipping the sentence. The one that sounds right is your answer!

Examples

Chose the correct pronoun or pronouns in parentheses in the following sentences.

• The best artists in the class are (she and he, her and him). [The pronouns she and he are the predicate nominative, renaming the subject artists.]
• The only person left in the gym was (I, me). [To check, flip the sentence: I was the only person left in the gym. "Me was..." sounds incorrect.]
• Could the mystery guest be (she, her)? [The pronoun she is the predicate nominative, renaming the subject guest.]