Proper use of pronouns

In our everyday speech and writing, we use pronouns every now and then because they are convenient to use.
What many of us don’t know is that on many occasions we use pronouns incorrectly. In other words, pronouns, though very useful in speech and writing and convenient too, are the source of many incorrect expressions and sentences in English.

In today’s lesson and in subsequent ones, we are going to discuss one aspect of the incorrect use of pronouns in English.

Now, pronouns are words which are used in place of nouns. That is to say that when I decide not to use a noun, I can use a pronoun to replace the noun.

For instance, in the sentence: When Ama met Kofi she insulted him, both she and him are pronouns because they have been used in place of the nouns Ama and Kofi, respectively.

There are different types of pronouns. We have the personal pronouns — I, me, we, she, her, them, they, us, him, he, you; the relative pronouns — who, which, that, whom, etc; the reflexive pronouns — himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves, yourself, myself, etc; the indefinite pronouns — somebody, nobody, anybody, someone, everybody, etc.

I am sure some of you have noticed that the personal pronouns come in two forms.

We have I and me; he and him, she and her, they and them, we and us.

Many of us assume that the pairs of personal pronouns could be used any how; that we may decide to use one or the other at our own will.

But that is not so at all. Indeed, that tendency is the source of one of the errors committed with pronouns.

You may have heard sentences such as:

1) Me and my friends went to the party.

2) Mr Oti caned Aba and he.

3) My brother is taller than me.

4) People such as them cannot be trusted one bit.

5) The girls and him are going to face the teacher.

6) Between you and I, let’s keep this a secret.

7) Myself and the others are writing the examination again.

8) Who did it? Him.

9) Who is there? Me.

10) Mum sent I and Joojo to the market.

All these sentences are incorrect. This is because all the pronouns used are incorrect.

I shall soon explain why the pronouns in the sentences are incorrect and how they can be corrected, but for now let’s say that this incorrect use of pronouns affects all manner of speakers of English, from students through to teachers, other professionals, politicians, etc.

Now, the personal pronouns are grouped into two main cases — SUBJECT and OBJECT.

I, We, They, He and She are in the subject case, while Me, Us, Them, Him and Her are in the object case. I have left out you because you is both object and subject

If a pronoun is said to be in the subject case, it means that pronoun can be used as the subject of a verb.

The subject of a verb is the person, place, thing, etc that the sentence talks about. Usually (but not always), the subject performs on action and pronouns in the subject case are the only pronouns that can perform that function.

Eg. My friends and I went to the party.

Nobody but we must do this work.

They were not present in class yesterday.

Pronouns in the object case, on the other hand, serve as objects of verbs.

The object of a verb is the person, thing, idea, etc that suffers from or receives the action denoted by a verb. In other words, the action denoted by a verb is received by the object.

It is only pronouns in the object case that can perform that function; those in the subject case cannot.

Eg The man beat the girl and me.

We saw the new girl and them at the canteen.

Our children should have faith in us.

By Quame Asomaning/Junior Graphic/Ghana