TABE Level D English: Pronoun Usage

Words to Know

More about Pronoun Usage
 

Show Emphasis with Reflexive Pronouns

Have you ever heard someone use a pronoun with the suffix –self or – selves on the end of it? When they are used correctly, reflexive pronouns, such as myself, himself and ourselves are very effective.

Examples:
I’ll take care of that assignment myself.
We decided to paint the house ourselves.
He, himself, found it really difficult to do.
In each case, the reflexive pronoun emphasizes another word. In the sentences above, myself emphasizes I. Ourselves emphasizes We. Himself emphasizes He. The problem occurs when we use the reflexive pronoun instead of I, me, or us.

Tip:
Use reflexive pronouns to refer back to a personal pronoun or a noun. Reflexive pronouns intensify, or add importance to the personal pronouns. Look back to the three examples above. Are the pronouns singular or plural?

Reflexive Pronouns

 

Very important tip: The first column under Singular contains pronouns that can act as subjects. The first column under Plural contains pronouns that can act as subjects. None of the other pronouns can take that job; they can only refer back to subject words.

Incorrect: John and myself decided to paint the house. (Myself can’t be used as the subject.)
Correct: John and I decided to paint the house.

Incorrect: The manager gave the assignment to myself. (Myself does not refer to the subject, manager, so it cannot be correct.)
Correct: The manager gave the assignment to me.

Avoiding Problems with Pronouns
Just by dividing pronouns into three groups, you will avoid, not all, but many pronoun problems.
As you know, words have names (noun, verb, and so forth) and they have jobs (subject, action or linking word, and so forth). You can explain pronouns in the same way. You know that pronouns (that is their name) take the place of names (that is their job). In addition, pronouns can be placed in three groups according to what they do.

Look at these sentences. Some contain linking verbs and others have action verbs.

The chart above tells you why each pronoun is correct.

Tip:
As you work with the sentences below, remember this: The pronoun that follows a linking verb either (1) describes the subject or (2) equals the subject.
(1) Describes the subject: The new office is ours. Ours is an ownership pronoun. Ours describes office.
(2) Equals the subject: The fastest runner is she. She equals the subject.

The best test of the subject and the pronoun being equal is this: You can turn the sentence around and achieve the same meaning.
She is the fastest runner.
She is the new council president
He is our greatest resource.

The authors know that most people do not answer the phone by saying, “Yes, this is he/she.” In many cases that would be too formal and not natural. You need to make a choice based on the situation. At those times, when being casual is not appropriate, you need to use the correct pronoun form.

Pronoun Problem #2
Another problem occurs when a pronoun comes later in the sentence but refers to something before it. The word to which the pronoun refers is called the antecedent. You learned that subjects and verbs must agree in number. The same rule applies to a pronoun and its antecedent. For example: A. new employee will pick up their own uniform.
What is the subject of the sentence and is it singular or plural? Employee is the subject and it is singular. Their is a plural pronoun that refers to employee, the antecedent. But that can’t be correct, can it? Either both words must be plural or both must be singular. There are two ways to correct this sentence.
 

Corrections: A. new employee will pick up his or her own uniform.
OR
All new employees will pick up their own uniforms.

More examples:
1. The employee told the repairman that his computer was down.
Whose computer is down? Does it belong to the employee? Or does it belong to the repairman? Rewrite the sentence:
The employee told the repairman that his, the employee’s, computer was down.
2. Larry and Juan moved the equipment to the new office, but he could not stay past 6 p.m.
Who could not stay? Larry? Juan? Rewrite the sentence:
Larry and Juan moved the equipment to the new office, but Juan could not stay past 6 p.m.

When to Use Demonstrative Pronouns
As it is used in the title, demonstrative means pronouns that identify. We use demonstrative pronouns to identify a person, place, or thing.

This book, that street, these children, and those printers are all correct uses of the pronouns.

The error most often heard is, “Them books are torn.” If you think about the definition of the demonstrative pronoun, you’ll see why this is incorrect.

Only four pronouns identify people, places, or things. This and that (singular) and these and those (plural) are the correct forms. The word them is not on that list. In the example, is books singular or plural? The answer, of course, is plural. How can you correct the error?

These books are torn.
Or
Those books are torn.

The example below shows another error to be aware of when you use demonstrative pronouns. Remember that this kind of pronoun is supposed to identify another word. What’s wrong with this sentence?
Incorrect: We bought a quilt at the outdoor market. This was a great find.
The question is, what was the great find, the quilt or the market? Rewrite the sentence correctly on the line provided.