Chapter 6

Usage
Using Pronouns:
Nominative, Objective,
and Possessive Cases
Case Forms of Personal Pronouns
Case is the form that a noun or a pronoun takes to show its relationship to
other words in a sentence. In English, there are three cases: a) Nominative
b) Objective c) Possessive
Most personal pronouns have three different forms, one for each case.
Within each case, the forms of the personal pronoun also indicate number,
person, and gender.
NOMINATIVE OBJECTIVE POSSESSIVE
First Person Singular I me my, mine
Second Person Singular you you your, yours
Third Person Singular he, him, his,
she, her, her, hers,
it it its
First Person Plural we us our, ours
Second Person Plural you you your, yours
Third Person Plural they themtheir, theirs
I- DIRECTIONS: Classify each underlined personal pronoun in the
following sentences. In the parentheses, write ‘F’ for first person,
‘S’ for second person, or ‘T’ for third person. Then, write ‘N’ for
nominative case, ‘O’ for objective case, or ‘P’ for possessive case.

1- The clerk was very helpful to Ms. Ayala and me. ( )

2-Was it he who called while I was at the recycling
center? ( )
3- I didn’t know that their mother was a published
poet. ( )
4- I’ve decided that I thoroughly support your point of
view. ( )
5- Please provide them with your new address and
phone number. ( )
II--DIRECTIONS: On the blank in each of the following
sentences, write an appropriate pronoun to correctly
complete the sentence.
A description of the pronoun appears in parentheses:
1- Grandmother sent electronic greeting cards to both
Jacob and _________. (first person singular, objective)
2- I gave Gina and _______ copies of my speech.
(third person plural, objective)
3- The coach hasn’t seen _________ best effort yet.
(first person singular,
possessive)
4- __________ have donated funds to the relief effort.
(First person plural, nominative)
5- Do __________ understand this poem?
(second person singular, nominative)
I- The Nominative Cases
- The personal pronouns in the nominative case
(I, you, he, she, it, we, and they)
are used as subjects of verbs and as predicate nominatives.
a) The subject of a verb should be in the nominative case.
e.g. - We studied the poetry of Homer.
b) A predicate nominative should be in the nominative case.
e.g. - The candidate with the most votes is she.
e.g. - Frank and Deanne said that they would help us clean up
after dinner. [subject]
e.g. - The only players left are Latasha and she.
[predicate nominative]
-DIRECTIONS: Choose the correct pronoun that correctly
in each of the following sentences. Then, in the
parentheses, write ‘S’ if the pronoun is a subject or ‘PN’
if it is a predicate nominative.
1- I believe the man you’re looking for is (him, he). [ ]
2- Lina and (him, he) are playing tennis tonight. [ ]
3- Either Rina or (I, me) will be the punter for the football team.
[ ]
4- The students who hope to see the natural hot springs are
(we / us). [ ]
5- The painter of the auditorium’s panoramic mural is (she / her)
[ ]
II- The Objective Cases
- The personal pronouns in the objective case
(me, you, him, her, it, us, and them)
are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of
prepositions.
a) A direct object should be in the objective case.
e.g. - Lina invited Mario and me to the new Japanese
restaurant.
b) An indirect object should be in the objective case
e.g. - Critics have awarded them many honors.
c) An object of a preposition should be in the objective case.
e.g. – Tamer sat with us at the concert.
 An indirect object
1- An indirect object answers the question "to
whom?",
"for whom?", "for what?"...
2- An indirect object cannot exist without a
direct
object.
e.g. - They sent him a postcard.
– 'him' is the indirect object of the verb sent.
(To whom did they send a postcard?)
- He bought his son a bike
– 'his son' is the indirect object of the verb bought.
(For whom did he buy a bike?)
A) There are certain verbs which are followed by two object
with the proposition ’to’ to between the direct and indirect
objects as: (tell / explain / bring / give / award / send / lend / …)
Form: verb + something + to + somebody
e.g. They awarded a trophy (direct object) to Jane (indirect object).

B) There are certain verbs which are followed by two object

with the proposition ’for’ to between the direct and indirect
objects as: (build / pay / buy / …)
Form: verb + something + to + somebody
e.g. – He bought a new house (direct object) for his parents (indirect object).
- DIRECTIONS: Decide whether the underlined
words in bold are subjects, direct objects or
indirect objects:
1- She sent her friend an email.
2. Sally will help you with your housework.
3- Where did you put the keys?
4- He gave them a bag full of money.
5- John sold me his car.
6- Denny brought Tony some apples, bananas, and
strawberries
from the store.
7- Place the puppy into his pen and come to dinner.
8- Jennifer sent an e-mail to her friend in Missouri.
9- The ship’s captain gave the crew orders.
10- John sold me his car.
- DIRECTIONS: In each of the following sentences, choose the
correct pronoun in the objective case. Then, in the
parentheses write ‘Do’ if the pronoun is used as a direct
object, ‘IO’ if it is used as an indirect object, or ‘OP’ if it is an
object of preposition:
1- Estella received an invitation from (he / him) and Rosa. [ ]

2- Did anyone see (she / her) and (them / they) at the recital? [ ]

3- The grocer sells (they / them) fresh vegetable every day. [ ]

4- Our teacher offered (he / him) endless encouragement and guidance.
[ ]
5- Please tell (they / them) the story about your trip to the National
Museum. [ ]
III- The Possessive Case:
- The personal pronouns in the possessive case
(my, your, his, her , its, our, their / mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, & theirs)
are used to show ownership or possession.
a) The possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, & theirs)
are in the same ways that the pronouns in nominative and objective
cases are.
e.g. – Hers was the best essay-writing I’ve ever read. [Subject]
- I got mine at a department store. [direct Object]
b) The possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her , its, our, their ) are used to
modify nouns and pronouns.
e.g. – Your painting is beautiful. Its image is outstanding.
c) A noun or a pronoun preceding a gerund should be in the possessive
case.
e.g. – Mum objected to his calling at such a late hour.
- DIRECTIONS: In each of the following sentences, choose the
correct possessive pronoun. Then, in the parentheses ,
identify its function by writing ‘S’ for subject, ‘PN’ for
predicate nominative, ‘O’ for object, or ‘M’ for modifier:
1- We were all elated by (his / him) scoring in the top 2 percent of the state.
[ ]
2- Do you know (their / theirs) address or phone number? [ ]

3- This cardigan sweater is (her / hers). [ ]

4- We ordered (our / ours) yesterday afternoon. [ ]

5- Your bicycle seat and (my / mine) are not the same height. [ ]