Pronoun Errors
Welcome to the most difficult
and most annoying errors in Grammar. There are three kinds of errors in
pronouns:
1. Pronoun case (You may never get it right while
speaking)
2.. Pronoun-antecedent agreement (often eludes our
attention)
3. Pronoun
reference (gives rise to politically incorrect and sexist language).
The problem with
pronoun errors is that there is a vast difference between "pure
grammar" and "current usage", This is one of the most
favourite areas on the CAT.
I often wonder how to introduce yourself? "Myself
Gaurav?" or "Me Gaurav" or "I am
Gaurav"? Should I say: "It is I" or "It is me"? Should I say: "The book which is on the
table" or "The book that is on the table"? Should ,I
say: "You and I did it" or "I and you
did it"? Should I say: "Between you and I/he did it" or
"Between you and me/he did it"?/etc.
Do you think you can outsmart the
CAT-setter? Here is a check to flex your muscles at pronoun errors. Pick the right option
in the following sentences.
1.
Fred
whispered to his wife/"Let's keep this a secret between you and
(I/me)."
2.
(We/Us)
students began our adventure at dawn.
3.
Charlene and
(I/myself) are handling all the renovations.
4.
He is one of
those doctors (who/whom) others frequently ask for advice.
5.
He and I are
both hearty eaters/but he can eat more than (I/me).
6.
Each of the
books is in (its/their) proper place on the shelves.
7.
Dinesh gave a
party for Binod and (I/me).
8.
The victim of
the practical joke turned out to be (I/me).
9.
We objected
to (him/his) taking all the credit.
10.
(We/Us)
managers must assume a leadership role.
11. He and (myself/I) are cousins.
12. The play could never have been produced without (he and
I/him and me).
13. One has to work hard to build up (his/one's) muscles.
14. What can we do to stop (them/their) worrying about us?
15. The defeat did not hurt him so much as (they/them).
16.
They notified
everyone except Margie and (she/her).
17.
For
(who/whom) was the gift intended?
18. Derek is going to the game with (she/her) and (I/me).
19. The two boys/Larry and (he/him)/are sleeping.
20. Daisy saw the two boys/Larry and (he/him).
21.
She is
funnier than (he/him).
22. She is taller than (I/me).
23. Do you like Professor Danto more than (me/I)?
24. The teacher and (I/me/myself) organised a reading of the
play.
25.
The caterers
left the decision up to Nicholas and (she/her/herself).
26.
(Myself/I
myself) supervised the renovation.
27. This was a task best handled by (us/we/ourselves).
28. Bill and (I/me) went to the movie.
29. (She/Her) and I went to the movies.
30.
Tami met
Spencer and (I/me) at the movie.
31. It was (I/me).
32. It is (we/us).
33.
That can't be
(she/her).
34.
It might have
been (they/them).
35. When the bell rings/it will be (he/him).
36. Who's going to be the new team captain? I would like it
to be (I/me).
37. With my luck/the boss will turn out to be (him/he).
38.
The boy
(who/whom) she met lives nearby.
39.
If I had
known (who/whom) she was/I would have introduced myself.
40.
She resents
(his/him) playing basketball all day.
41.
He had no
patience for (their/them) whining about homework.
42.
Our parents
were proud of (our/us) running in the marathon.
43.
Here is a gift
from (I/me).
44.
You can go
with (she/her).
45.
Sit quietly
beside (he/him) on that bench.
Solutions
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1.
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me
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2.
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We
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3.
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I 4. whom
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5.
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I
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6.
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its
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7.
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me 8. me
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9.
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his
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10.
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We
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11.
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I 12.. him and me
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13.
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one's
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14.
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their
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15.
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them 16. her
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17.
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whom
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18.
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her and me
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19.
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he 20. him
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21.
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he
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22.
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I
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23.
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Both are correct depending upon the meaning.
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24.
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I
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25.
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her
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26.
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I myself 27. us
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28.
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I
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29.
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She
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30.
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me 31. I
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32.
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we
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33.
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she
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34.
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they 35. he
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36.
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me
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37.
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him
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38.
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whom 39. who
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40.
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his
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41.
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their
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• 42.
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our 43. me
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44.
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her
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45.
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him
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The rules regarding
pronouns involve a lot of grammatical terms that are pretty annoying. So we
shall try to limit ourselves
to the minimum guidelines that should get you the right answer always.
No
objective personal pronoun
1.
It is I (not me) who came yesterday.
2.
It is he (not him) who will help you.
3.
If I were she (not her)/I wouldn't do it.
4.
It is they (not them) who saved us.
Note - It should be remembered that in colloquial use/personal pronoun can be
used in the objective
form. But this is not allowed in writing. As - It is me! It wasn't him! He is taller than
me. This form is considered wrong in written English.
Order
You
can use some simple formulae to remember the
correct use of pronouns.
> In singular number/remember 3 + 2 + 1/that is You + He + I.
> In plural number/it is 2 + 3 + 4/that is/We + You + They.
> But
if the sentence has a bad sense/or is expressive of some error or fault/the
order should be thus- I/We
+ You + He/ They.
The following examples will make this clear.
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1.
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You/he
and I are good friends.
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2. We/you
and they can live together.
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3.
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You
and he were classmates.
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4. Ram
and I lived in the same house.
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5.
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You
and I can travel together.
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6. We
and you and they can work together.
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7.
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They
and we were in the same class.
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8. I/you
and he have to accept our fault.
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9.
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You
and he will be punished.
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"Each other" Vs. "One
another"
Traditionally/"Each other" is used for
two and "One another" for more than two. This rule/however is almost
outdated.
1. The two brothers help each other.
3. The two wheels rub against each other.
2. All the five brothers help one another.
After "than" or "as"
The full form of "I am
taller than he" will be "I
am taller than he is". Therefore/in order to decide/we should mentally
speak tl• whole sentence in our mind.
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1.
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I am stronger
than he (is). So don't say "I am stronger than him.'
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2.
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I am as strong as he (is).
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3.
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He loves you
more than I (love you).
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4.
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I love you more than he (loves you).
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5.
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He gave you more
marks than (he gave) me.
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6.
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I shall give you
as many books as (I shall give) him.
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7.
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He and I are
both hearty eaters/but he can eat more than (I can).
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8.
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Dinesh gave a
party for Binod and me.
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9.
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The defeat did
not hurt him so much as (it hurt) them.
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10.
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The two
boys/Larry and (he/him)/are sleeping. (Would
you say/"he is sleeping" or "him is sleeping"? Ans.
he
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11.
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Daisy saw the
two boys/Larry and (he/him).
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Ans. Daisy saw him.
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12.
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She is funnier
than (he/him).
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She is funnier than he is.
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13.
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She is taller
than (I/me).
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She is taller than I am.
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14.
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Do you like
Professor Danto more than (me/I)?
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This can be written in two ways both of which are
correct:
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15.
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Do you like
Professor Danto more than I like him?
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OR
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16.
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Do you like
Professor Danto more than you like me?
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17.
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The caterers
left the decision up to Nicholas and (she/her/herself).
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HER
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18.
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Bill and (I/me)
went to the movie.
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I
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19.
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(She/Her) and I
went to the movies.
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SHE
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20.
Tami met Spencer
and (I/me) at the movie. ME
With and without
"that"
In some of the
statements below/the word "that" has been put in brackets/where it
can be removed without changing meaning. But "that" cannot be removed in the
other sentences.
1.
I know the
house (that) he lives in.
2.
I catch the
point (that) you are hinting at.
3.
The picture (that) I saw yesterday was good.
4.
The man (that) you interviewed yesterday has
come again.
5.
That is the
house (that) I lived in.
6.
That is the
man (that) I talked to.
7.
I have not
yet read the book (that) you
suggested to me.
8.
I have lost
the pen (that) you gave me.
9.
Gandhi was
the greatest man that modern India produced.
10. He is the best speaker
that I have ever heard.
11. This is all the
statement that he gave.
12. . He is the same boy that came yesterday.
13. It is only the
fools that talk that way.
14. There was none
that was not moved to tears.
15.
What is it
that troubles you so much?
16. What is there that I cannot do?
17. Who am I that
you should care for?
18. The rider and
his horse that tried to cross the
river were drowned.
19. The driver and his bus that crossed the lane struck against a tree.
"Which" and "that"
It is
very important to understand the distinction between which and that.
If the clause you are introducing can be removed
without significantly changing the meaning of the sentence/use the nonrestrictive
"which". You will use a comma to set off the clause beginning
with "which".
If you can't remove it without altering the
meaning or intent of the sentence/use the restrictive "that". In
addition/assuming that you opt for "which"/very likely you
will be setting off the clause with a comma or two. You will not use a comma
with "that".
Let
us look at an example.
1.
The book/which I returned to the library yesterday/is one of my
favourites.
The book is one of your favourites whether or not you
returned it to the library. Thus/ the information in the "which"
clause is not vital to your meaning.
2. The
book that I want you to read is in the library.
The particular book you are referring to is in the
library. The information in the "that" clause
is vital to your meaning.
In
some cases/it is not so easy to choose between "which" and
"that".
1.
The values which
were recorded by the instrument were all in normal range (Incorrect).
2.
The values/which
were recorded by the instrument/were all in normal range (Correct).
3.
The values that
were recorded by the instrument were all in normal range. (Best option)
4.
They those
worship money only are deprived of life's other rewards. (Incorrect)
5.
They that worship
money only are deprived of life's other rewards. (Correct)
6.
I remember
the day which he came. (Incorrect)
7. I remember the day which he came on.
(Correct but clumsy)
8.
I remember
the day that he came. (Better)
When "that" is better than "which" or
"who"
"That"
is
preferred to "who" or "which" in the
following cases:
1.
After
adjectives in the superlative degree
2.
After
"all"/"same"/"any"/"none"/"nothing"
and "only"
3.
After the
interrogative pronouns/"who" and "what"
4.
After the
antecedents/one denoting a person and the other an animal or a thing.
Using
these rules/let us set right some incorrect sentences on the next page.
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Incorrect
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Correct
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It
was the best food which we ever tasted.
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It
was the best food that we ever tasted.
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I
did all which I could for him.
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I
did all that I could for him.
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What
is there which may not be asked in General
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What
is there that may not be asked in General
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Awareness?
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Awareness?
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The
old man and his stick which are always
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The
old man and his stick that are always present at
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present
at the party were conspicuous by their
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absence
today.
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the
party were conspicuous by their absence today.
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The
office was located in the heart of the town
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The
office, which had state-of-the-art interior
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which
had state-of-the-art interior
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decoration.
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decoration,
was located in the heart of the town.
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He
had a cow and which gave him milk.
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He
had a cow, which gave him milk.
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He
had a cow, which was
brown in colour and
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He
had a cow, which was brown in colour and
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that
gave him milk.
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which
gave him milk.
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(The conjunction and
has been properly used to join
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two clauses beginning with which, both
referring to
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the cow.
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Sometimes "but" is used as a pronoun/in which case it means "who not" or "which not".
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1.
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There
is none but admires you. (but
admires = who does not admire)
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2.
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There is no problem but can be solved. (but can be solved = which cannot be
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solved)
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3.
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There is none but loves his country. (but loves = who does not love)
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4.
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Incorrect: There is no city but does not have a huge population.
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Now/as the rule suggests/but is equivalent to which... not in such sentences.
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The above sentence then has a double
negative which wrongly suggests that
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there is no city which has a huge
population. But this is not true. We mean to say that:
There
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The sentence should
be:
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Correct: There is no city but has a huge population.
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Such as
As is
always used after "such"/"the same" or "as".
1. His behaviour was such as was well expected 3. My difficulty is the
same as yours.
The same .... that / as
If in a certain
sentence/"the same" comes
before a noun/the same noun is suggested by "as" or "that"
in the
following clause. But if
in the following clause/the verb is understood (i.e. not expressed)/only "as" will be used/not
"that".
1. This is the same book as/that I bought last year.
2. He
is the same man as/that came this morning.
3. This is the same case as yours.
One/one's/oneself
One is an indefinite pronoun. It is used in
its own form in all the three cases. In nominative and objective cases/it is
used
as one; in possessive case it
is one's/and in the reflexive form it is oneself.
It is wrong to use a personal pronoun with it.
1.
One should mind one's (not his) own
business.
2.
One should avail oneself (not himself) of
every opportunity.
3.
One cannot succeed unless one (not he) works hard.
Reflexive and emphatic pronouns
1. I can do it myself.
(reflexive)
2. I
myself can do it. (emphatic)
There
are some verbs that take some reflexive pronoun for their object if there is no
other object to complete
them.
Examples: Avail/absent/ acquit/apply/ revenge/ enjoy/
exert/forget/over-reach /pride/
resign/ etc.
1. I availed myself of this opportunity.
2. I revenged
myself upon him.
3. He absented himself from the class.
4. You
must have enjoyed yourself during
the vacation.
5. Incorrect: I pride in being an Indian.
Correct:
I pride myself in being an Indian.
Some of us have a peculiar habit of using
"myself" for "I" or "I am". As a result we speak
or write such monstrosities:
1.
Incorrect: Myself
Gaurav.
Correct: I am Gaurav.
2.
Incorrect: Myself can do it.
Correct: I can do it. OR I myself can
do it. OR I can do it myself.
Pronoun-antecedent problems
There is a pronoun in the sentence
but it is not clear what or who it is referring to. Worse/it may appear to
point to the wrong noun altogether. The way out is to reduce the gap between
the pronoun and its correct antecedent or to rewrite the sentence in order to
introduce the correct antecedent. Does that sound very complicated? The
following examples will make things clear.
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Incorrect
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Correct
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He has a resilience would see him through
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He has a resilience that would see him
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anything.
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through anything
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The book was such that he could read.
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The book was such as he could read.
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They who are students of the school need
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Those who are students of the school need
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not buy tickets.
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not buy tickets.
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Susan has changed her major twice this
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Susan has changed her major twice this
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semester. This might mean she is unsure of
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semester. This change might mean she is
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her career goal.
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unsure of her career goal.
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(Try to draw an arrow from the pronoun
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this to its logical antecedent. The sentence
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does not contain a noun which equals this,
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so the pronoun has no explicit antecedent.
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This makes it necessary to introduce the
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word change".)
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After interviewing several nurses, I realised
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After interviewing several nurses, I realised
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that it was not the career for me.
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that nursing was not the career for me.
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(The pronoun it refers to nursing — a word
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that never appears in the sentence.
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Therefore, we revise the sentence by
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replacing the pronoun with a noun.
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The team's poor sportsmanship made all of
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The team's poor sportsmanship made all of
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them look
like whiners,
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its members
look like whiners.
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(The pronoun "them" is trying to refer
to
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the members of the team. However, neither
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the word "team" nor the word
"members"
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is used in the sentence. Instead, the
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possessive form "team's" is used. A
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possessive antecedent may be used only for
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a possessive pronoun. Therefore, the
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sentence has been rewritten.
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Richard told Sam that he needed to buy a
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"Sam," said Richard, "you need to
buy a
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new car.
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new car."
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OR
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"I need to buy a new car," Richard told
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Sam.
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(The pronoun he could refer to either
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Richard or Sam. The reader doesn't know if
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Richard is announcing his own need for a
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new car or telling Sam that Sam's car was a
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piece of junk. If the antecedent of a
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pronoun is ambiguous, the sentence must
be reworded or the pronoun must be
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replaced with a noun. When the pronoun
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refers to people, quoting may be a
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solution.)
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He found
himself caught up in floor
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He, who was usually a good student, found
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activities and neglecting his schoolwork,
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himself caught up in floor activities and
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who was
usually a good student.
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neglecting his schoolwork.
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(The pronoun who can grammatically refer
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back to the antecedent him, but the
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distance between them is too great. Arrange
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sentences so that the pronoun refers back
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to the nearest noun.
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Who
vs. whom
Another frequent cause of pronoun
case error is the confusion between who and whom.
There
is one strategy to eliminate this confusion. The difference between "who"
and "whom" is one letter — M. Associate the M in "whom" with the M
in the objective case pronoun "him". If you could use the
pronoun him in your sentence/you can correctly use "whom".
1. You gave permission to him? You gave permission to whom?
3. He agreed
to that? Who agreed to that?
Pronouns
Practice
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Incorrect
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Correct
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Every man must love their own country.
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Every man must love his own country.
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I am not one of those who believes
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I am not one of those who believe
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everything I see.
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everything they see.
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The committee decided the matter without
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The committee decided the matter without
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leaving its seats.
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leaving their seats.
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Both Manas and Appu showed his fondness
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Both Manas and Appu showed their
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for his father.
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fondness for their father.
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The chairman and managing director (CMD)
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The chairman and managing director (CMD)
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of the company granted their approval to
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of the company granted his approval to the
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the scheme.
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scheme.
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Every teacher and every student got their
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Every teacher and every student got his
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dress ready.
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dress ready.
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Neither Mani nor Guni has brought their
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Neither Mani nor Guni has brought his
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identity card.
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identity card.
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Neither the father nor his sons cares for
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Neither the father nor his sons care for
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his books.
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their books.
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It is him whom we are looking for.
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It is he whom we are looking for.
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Let you and I take a dip in the holy water.
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Let you and me take a dip in the holy
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water.
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Between you and I the problem could have
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Between you and me the problem could
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been sorted out.
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have been sorted out.
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When it comes to providing news, The
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When it comes to providing news, The
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Times of India is as good as him.
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Times of India is as good as he.
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No friend will come to your partybut I.
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No friend will come to your partybut me.
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He earns more than her.
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He earns more than she.
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M4ohan and myself decided to
join politics.
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Mohan and I decided to join politics.
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The film city in Bombay is much more
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The film city in Bombay is much more
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developed than Noida.
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developed than that in Noida.
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This is
true that bell-bottoms were once in
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It is true that bell-bottoms were once in
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fashion.
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fashion.
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India won the match and it was a good
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India won the match and this was good
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news.
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news.
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One should
take care of his house.
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One should
take care of one's house.
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Each boy was accompanied by an adult but
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Each boy was accompanied by an adult but
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there were none with the orphan.
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there was none with the orphan.
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I am used to many guests everyday but
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I am used to many guests everyday but
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there was none today.
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there were none today.
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I could not meet either of my three
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I cou!d not meet anyone of my three
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brothers at home.
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brothers at home.
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Either of the choice fit the answer.
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Either of the choices fits the answer.
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The boys narrated stories each.
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Each of
the boys narrated stories.
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