We the People, or…?
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
We the People, or…?
For much of the last two months, we have been analyzing why the subject pronouns I, he, she, we, they and the object pronouns me, him, her, us, them are chronically misused and confused.
In this final installment, we’ll deal with flawed sentences like Politicians should respect we the people and It’s a happy outcome for he who laughs last.
Formal writing requires “us the people” (object of respect) and “him who laughs last” (object of for), even though we instinctively resist tampering with venerable expressions like we the people and he who laughs last.
If being correct would ruin the mood, there may be creative ways around the grammatical buzzkill. In the first case, we could probably avoid censure by using capitals: Politicians should respect We the People. This signals the reader that the well-known phrase is sacrosanct and must not be altered.
In the second example, we could write: a happy outcome for “he who laughs last.” The quotation marks grant the words special dispensation, like the title of a book or movie.
So now, here is a summary of the chief causes of pronoun confusion.
- All forms of the verb to be. Informal sentences (It was me, It must have been them, It seems to be her) wrongly use object pronouns instead of what are called subject complements. (The correct pronouns respectively would be I, they, and she.)
- Compound subjects and compound objects. In everyday speech, when and or or links a pronoun with other nouns or pronouns, the results are often ungrammatical: Joe and him went fishing, Sue invited my friend and I for dinner, Her or I will meet you there. (The correct pronouns respectively would be he, me, and she.)
- Comparative sentences using as or than. Sentences like You’re as smart as her and Eddie ran faster than them sound fine but are technically flawed. (The correct pronouns respectively would be she and they.)
- Infinitives and verbs ending in –ing. They change subjects to objects. An infinitive such as to be turns I believe he is honest into I believe him to be honest. A verb ending in –ing, such as going, gives us the option of saying either I saw he was going home or I saw him going home. This can be especially confusing with compound subjects and objects, or when who-whom is involved.
- Idiomatic phrases containing subject pronouns (we the people, he who laughs last).
Pop Quiz
Correct any sentences that are formally ungrammatical.
1. LaTroy knew it was him who everyone preferred.
2. According to witnesses, it had to have been we.
3. The receipts were always safe with Maria and I.
4. May him and his friend join us for a nightcap?
5. She’s every bit as confused as me.
6. Your cousin’s wife looks older than he.
7. Who do you suspect was hiding something?
8. Who do you suspect to be hiding something?
9. This has been a hard week for we residents of California.
10. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. LaTroy knew it was he whom everyone preferred.
2. According to witnesses, it had to have been we. CORRECT
3. The receipts were always safe with Maria and me.
4. May he and his friend join us for a nightcap?
5. She’s every bit as confused as I.
6. Your cousin’s wife looks older than he. CORRECT
7. Who do you suspect was hiding something? CORRECT
8. Whom do you suspect to be hiding something?
9. This has been a hard week for us residents of California.
10. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Great series-good idea, thanks.
We’re happy to hear you’ve liked the series.
Which is correct?
To enable we third agers to remember…..
To enable us third agers to remember
The object pronoun us is correct.
I haven’t read all of the comments, so perhaps I am being redundant with my suggestion. I like the alternatives offered of using capitals and quotation marks, but to use the phrase as the object of a preposition, what would be wrong with just eliminating the pronoun entirely and using “the people” as an object of the preposition?
We agree that writing a statement such as “politicians should answer before the people” is more efficient and grammatical than “politicians should answer before we the people.” In a conversational or less formal context, some writers might include “we the people” for an emphasis that would be understood although grammatically incorrect.