Answers to Questions About Pronouns

Answers to Questions About Pronouns Answers to Questions About Pronouns Answers to Questions About Pronouns By Mark Nichol Here are a few questions about pronouns submitted by readers, along with my responses. 1. This sentence does not sound correct to me, and it was spoken by a high school English teacher: â€Å"She wanted my other sister and I to focus on it.† Is it right? Your instinct is spot-on: Remove â€Å"my other sister and,† and what are you left with? â€Å"She wanted I to focus on it.† Therefore, me is the appropriate form. (You wouldn’t write or say, â€Å"This sentence does not sound correct to I.†) I would be correct only if it were the subject, or part of the subject, of the sentence, as in â€Å"My other sister and I will focus on it.† 2. If I am showing someone photographs, would I say, â€Å"This is me in a canoe,† or is it I? In your sentence, the personal pronoun is a predicate nominative it renames the subject, this so (in strictly formal writing, at least) it should be in the subjective form: â€Å"This is I in a canoe.† Most of us don’t talk or write that way, however, even in many formal contexts. 3. In your phrase â€Å"dysphemism assigns a mildly or scathingly pejorative term to a concept or person that may be considered neutral or positive,† is it correct to have that refer to a concept and a person? A person may be referred to as either a who or a that, though the former relative pronoun is preferred, but if a reference to a person is linked to a reference to a thing, as here, the pronoun must be that. To sidestep the issue, I could have written, â€Å"dysphemism assigns a mildly or scathingly pejorative term to a concept that, or a person who, may be considered neutral or positive.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartDisappointed + PrepositionHow to Write a Proposal