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Adverbs - Phrases and Clauses

More Shouting SHOUTING time. Wake up! Again, learning this concept about chunks of words that act as nouns, adjectives, and now adverbs is crucial to your future as a writer.So here it is again, the key concept: Other chunks of words, words that are ...

A Summary of Adverbs

In this section, we met the last of the working words, the adverb. We have visited the noun, the verb, the adjective, and now the adverb.We learned that adverbs come in a variety of sizes: one-word adverbs, multiword phrases, and multiword clauses. W...

Pronouns - Words Substituting for Words

In this section, we’ll learn about pronouns. We have seven kinds in the English language. They cause all kinds of problems, even to people in positions of power. After all, haven’t you heard someone say, “Evan and myself want to thank you for t...

Pronouns - Definition, Overview, and Lists of Examples

WelcomeBelow you’ll find links to our discussion on pronouns. We recommend that you start with the first topic,Pronouns - Words Substituting for Words. At the bottom of each topic, you’ll find links to “Next” and to “Previous.” So start w...

Seven Varieties of Pronouns

The first pronouns our forbears invented were the (1) personal pronouns, words that could substitute for Igor, Amber, and other members of the tribe. Then they invented (2) reflexive and intensive pronouns, those ‑self words enabling them to say,...

1. Personal Pronouns

I, Me, My, Mine, We, Us, Our, Ours, etc.Let’s start with the personal pronouns, those that take the place of people or other living or once-living beings. Personal pronouns can refer to Igor, Amber, or Amber’s pet turtle. We’ve already met some...

Person - Three People

Only Three People Exist on EarthAmber, Igor, and Miss Hamrick realized a long time ago that people mostly talk about only one thing—other people. That is, they gossip. They recognized, therefore, a universal truth:When ordinary human discourse took...

Number - Singular or Plural

More than OneWhen the Pronoun Committee met in Amber and Igor’s cave, it realized another universal truth:Often there would be more than one speaker, more than one listener, and more than one unfortunate soul being talked about. So in addition to s...

Case - Subjective, Objective, Possessive

Pronoun Case - Watch OutRemember the section on nouns? Remember those nuggets of information we tucked away for the future? Remember those paragraphs mentioning the case of pronouns? Well, the future is now.1. Pronouns in the subjective case replace ...

Gender - Masculine, Feminine, Neuter

He or SheOur forbears on the Pronoun Committee had a sinister goal in mind: They set out to wreak havoc on people in the late 1900s and early 2000s. They invented one set of pronouns for men and another set for women, for they knew that one day we’...

Table of Personal Pronouns

You might want to bookmark this page.Now let’s put it all together. The first table below shows singular personal pronouns; the second, plural personal pronouns. Singular Personal Pronouns Person Subjective Case Objective Case Possessive Case ...

“Your” and “Its”

Personal Pronouns - Watch Out - Your and itsI would be remiss in my duties as an early 21st-century reincarnation of Miss Hamrick if I didn’t pause and talk a bit about serious problems many people have with two words: your and its. Let’s take yo...

Antecedents - Placement of Pronouns

Before we discuss the other types of pronouns, let’s pause and discuss the concept of pronoun antecedents.When you use a pronoun, it will typically refer to a word somewhere close by. That is, the noun the pronoun replaces sits somewhere in the vic...

Antecedents - Number and Gender

Pronoun AgreementYou must use a plural pronoun to refer to a plural noun, a singular pronoun to refer to a singular noun. This rule is called agreement in number. Thus: The young women pursued their career goals. That’s easy, and few people make th...

Sexist Writing

Sexist Writing - A QuagmireWhen Amber, Igor, and Miss Hamrick developed our language, they dreamed up another rule:Pronouns must agree with the gender of the nouns they replace or refer to. A pronoun referring to a woman or girl must be the feminine ...

Sexism - Proposed Solution

Make your antecedents plural.Refer to people, not a person. Refer to readers, not a reader. Talk about neighbors, not a neighbor. Then you can use they, their-theirs, them, and themselves.Problem solved.Some texts now use this approach. When generali...

Sexism - Other Solutions

Other tricks can help you avoid the problem of sexist writing:1. When you need a possessive pronoun, don’t write his or her. Instead, use an article so that the need for a pronoun goes away. The writer should submit his manuscript. The writer shou...

2. Reflexive Pronouns - The -self Words

Myself and Other MistakesThese are the reflexive ‑self pronouns, and we use them in the objective function to handle situations where the subject and the object of the sentence are the same person. (As discussed below, we also use these words as in...

2. Intensive Pronouns - The -self Words

Pronouns that EmphasizeFinally, the ‑self words also serve as intensives, structures enabling us to emphasize. We use them to repeat the noun referred to. In formal style, we put the ‑self word directly after the noun. In less formal settings, we...

3. Indefinite Pronouns

One, Each, Somebody, and Many OthersOodles of indefinite pronouns enable us to refer to any one, any two, several, or all in a group or class of persons or things or ideas. As shown in the list below, some of the pronouns have possessive forms. Unlik...

“They-Their-Them”

In the future, it will likely be regarded as correct to use third-person plural pronouns they-their-them to refer back to singular indefinite pronouns. In fact, the trend shows that they-their-them will correctly refer back not only to singular indef...

“None”

None Can Be PluralThe indefinite pronoun none requires some separate discussion. A myth has emerged that none always requires a singular verb.Not true.The word none can take the singular or the plural. In the words of New Fowler: It is a mistake to s...

“Each”

Each Is SingularUnder the traditional rule, the indefinite pronoun each is always singular and takes a singular verb.Thus: Each of the golfers wants to win the PGA. Each of us wishes for success. Some usage panels disagree. Consider this usage note ...

4. Demonstrative Pronouns

Four Important Words: This, That, These, and ThoseThese four words can serve as demonstrative pronouns or as demonstrative adjectives. This, That, These, Those - Pronouns We have four demonstrative pronouns in our language: this and that and their pl...

5. Relative Pronouns

That or Which? Who or Whom?Smart people get confused over relative pronouns. They use which when it feels good and that when it sounds right, and totally come apart when trying to sort out who-whom-whose.That, Which, Who, Whom, and WhoseAmber, Igor, ...