Personal Pronouns
Subjects and Objects
A handful of pronouns cause more trouble than all the rest put together. These per-
sonal pronouns, as you may recall from Part One, Lesson 9, have different forms when
they are used as subjects and as objects. There is plenty of room for confusion. Because
these pronouns can be so tricky, this lesson reviews some basic guidelines for getting them
right.
Here are the troublemakers:
Singular Plural
As subjects: I he she we they
As objects: me him her us them
Notice that these pronouns are paired. Your choice in a sentence would be between I and
me, for example. I is the form used for the subject and me for the object.
I watched the Bears game Monday night.
(I is the subject of the verb watched.)
Steve told me about the surprise party for Luis.
(Me is the object of the verb told.)
Most pronoun difficulties occur when two pronouns are joined by and. When in doubt,
say what you would say if each pronoun stood alone.
Laura and she (not her) competed in the debate.
Say:
Laura competed.
She competed.
Laura and she (not her) competed. Laura and she form a compound
SUBJECT.
Mr. Foster gave Mollie and me (not I) a chance to play in the mixed-
doubles tournament. (Note: It is courteous to mention the other person first:
“Mollie and me,” NOT “me and Mollie.”)
PROBLEMS WITH PRONOUNS 193
Lesson
24

1. (We, Us) students are late for class.
2. Maria and (her, she) are fond of swimming.
3. When I’m dancing, nobody else can be as happy as (I, me).
4. Todd and (I, me) went to the Lakers-Celtics game.
5. Sharon, Mike, and (he, him) are studying together.
194 COMMON USAGE ERRORS
EXERCISE 2.
In each sentence, underline the correct form of the pronoun (used as
an object) in parentheses.
1. Mike bought shakes for him and (I, me).
2. Janna saw Greg and (them, they) on the bus.
3. The coach awarded letters to all of (us, we) members of the team.
4. We found our cat Max and (she, her) asleep on the couch.
5. Play with Sean and (I, me) in the band concert.
EXERCISE 3.
In each sentence, underline the correct form of the pronoun (either
subject or object) in parentheses.
1. (Her, She) and her tennis partner will travel to Cleveland for the match.
2. Mom prepared a hot dinner for Dad and (I, me).
3. (Us, We) students are entering our sweet potato casserole in the cooking contest.
4. Devon caught sight of Lam and (them, they) on the bus to Lockport.
5. (Them, They) are applying for American citizenship as soon as possible.
6. My faithful dog and (I, me) climbed Mt. Washington together.
7. When it comes to precalculus, Don is as quick as (her, she).
8. Mr. Ortiz brought Nathan and (her, she) some homemade fudge.
9. The treasurer asked all of (us, we) club members to pay our back dues.
10. Joanna and (them, they) made all the sandwiches for her sister’s bridal shower.
11. At the end of the recycling drive, the chairperson of the committee thanked (us, we)
workers for our help.
12. Aaron and (I, me) played a strong doubles match but lost in a tiebreaker.

EXERCISE 4.
In each sentence below, write a pronoun that agrees with its
antecedent.
1. A girl leaving the store stumbled and dropped _____ ice cream cone.
2. Marilyn has a new dress but has not worn _____ yet.
3. Michael knows that _____ will make the team.
4. Janine likes cats, but Ariel dislikes _____.
5. The building will have _____ roof repaired.
Indefinite Pronouns
Many problems of agreement arise with the words on the following list. They are
called indefinite pronouns. A personal pronoun that has one of these words as an an-
tecedent must be singular.
anybody either neither one
anyone everybody nobody somebody
each everyone no one someone
196 COMMON USAGE ERRORS
Note the following correct forms.
m
iiiiiiiiiiii
x
Each of the girls must bring her track shoes.
Each is singular. Her is singular.
m
hiiiiiiiiiij
r
x
hii
x
Everybody must report to his or her adviser.
Everybody is singular. His . . . her with or is singular. Even though everybody “sounds”

Everyone at the meeting has a stake in the decision.
Everyone is singular. Has is singular.
PROBLEMS WITH PRONOUNS 197
m
iiiiiiiii
x
Each of the members was asked to vote.
Each is singular. Was is singular.
m
iii
x
Neither the twins nor she wants to go to the beach this summer.
Twins is plural, but she is singular. The singular verb, wants, agrees with the nearer sub-
ject, she, which is also singular.
Some indefinite pronouns usually require a plural verb: several, many, both, some, few.
m
iii
x
Some were not invited to Yolanda’s party.
m
iiiiiiii
x
Many of the apples are still green.
m
iiiiiiiiii
x
Several in the stands cheer whenever Forenzo comes to bat.
EXERCISE 6.
Underline the correct form of the verb in parentheses.
1. Either Paul or she (are, is) running in Saturday’s marathon.

4. Ms. Maloney is (everybodys, everybody’s) favorite history teacher.
5. The book of Emily Dickinson’s poems is (hers, her’s).
6. Is this (someone’s, someones) physics textbook?
7. The puppy limps because it injured (its, it’s) paw.
8. The accident was (nobodys, nobody’s) fault.
9. The Gerhardts spent Thanksgiving with friends of (theirs, their’s).
10. (Its, It’s) time to turn the light off and go to sleep.
EXERCISE 8.
In each sentence, underline the correct pronoun form in parentheses.
1. (We, Us) students are willing to volunteer our time in the community.
2. Jayne says that book is (hers, her’s).
3. Go with John and (I, me) to the movies.
4. One of the girls (were, was) dismissed from the chorus.
5. Neither of the boys (plays, play) ice hockey.
PROBLEMS WITH PRONOUNS 199
6. (They, Them) are the teachers from our school.
7. Everyone on the girls’ soccer team had (her, their) name read aloud at the awards
ceremony.
8. Few students taking the test brought (his or her, their) own pencils.
9. Between you and (I, me), I thought the acting was bad.
10. Pedro and (I, me) liked John Grisham’s latest novel.
EXERCISE 9.
Fill in the blanks with the correct pronoun.
1. Alicia was in an accident. She broke _____ leg.
2. You ordered this CD and paid for it. Take it. It is _____.
3. Jon and I are neighbors. _____ lives next door to me.
4. Linda and Safiya are our friends. We like _____ very much.
5. The ball came right to you, but your bat could not connect with _____.
6. Meredith gave Matt the book. _____ had bought it especially for _____.
7. One of the boys played in every game of the tournament. _____ was exhausted.