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Yet More Pronoun Pitfalls
This is part five in a loose series detailing the difficulty of mastering pronouns. Even simple sentences can include snares that distract us from
distinguishing between subjects and objects.
Two weeks ago, we showed that pronouns linked by any form of the verb to be wrongly become objects in everyday English, which prefers It’s me or It could be her to the formally correct It’s I and It could be she.
Last week, we showed that in colloquial sentences with compound subjects or objects, personal pronouns are routinely confused, resulting in faulty usages
such as Him and Joe went fishing or It happened to my wife and I. We also cautioned against mixing a subject pronoun with an object
pronoun joined by and or or, as in her and I or either he or us, because in such constructions, one of the pronouns
will always be wrong.
Unfortunately, there’s more. In many comparative sentences, pronoun confusion is an unwelcome byproduct. Two common troublemakers are as and than. Sentences like She works as hard as me and I’m luckier than him sound fine to most people—but not if we
repeat the verb: no one would say, “She works as hard as me work” or “I’m luckier than him is.” Adding the
verb confirms that the strictly proper usages would be She works as hard as I and I’m luckier than he.
Now consider I depend on you more than him. It’s correct if the subject (I) thinks you’re the one who is more
dependable. But if the intended meaning is “I depend on you more than he depends on you,” than he would be the
choice.
Back in the sixties, the Beatles sang, “I must be sure from the very start that you would love me more than her.” They meant, “I must be
sure that you would love me more than she loves me.” But a close reading reveals that they said something spicier: “I must be
sure that you would love me more than you love her.”
So be careful: a humble pronoun used incorrectly may create a major distraction.
Still more pronoun hazards next time…
Due to the E-Newsletter's large readership, please submit your English usage questions through GrammarBook.com's “Grammar Blog.” |
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Pop Quiz
Find the grammatically correct pronouns.
1. She’s as capable as I/me.
2. My little brother looks older than he/him.
3. I’d rather give it to you than to Bill or they/them.
4. Apparently, you trust him more than we/us, because we’re not at all sure about him.
5. He’s not honest with either of us. He’d lie to you as sure as I/me.
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 Wordplay
Only in America do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
Only in America do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
Only in America do we have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. She’s as capable as I.
2. My little brother looks older than he.
3. I’d rather give it to you than to Bill or them. (them is the object of to)
4. Apparently, you trust him more than we, because we’re not at all sure about him. (than we do)
5. He’s not honest with either of us. He’d lie to you as sure as me. (as sure as he’d lie to me)
Learn all about who and whom, affect and effect, subjects and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and much more by just sitting back and enjoying these easy-to-follow lessons. Tell your colleagues (and boss), children, teachers, and friends. Click here to watch. |
