Test 5 notes

Relative pronouns Relative Pronouns Use who, whom, whose reference to human beings (only) which reference to animals or things that reference to animals, things, or people

"relate" a subordinate clause to the rest of a sentence. They are used to introduce adjective and noun clauses (subordinate clauses, including adjective and noun clauses)

Two methods can be used to determine whether a clause is necessary (restrictive or nonrestrictive): (1) If the clause answers the question "which one?" or "which ones?" it is restrictive. No commas should be used.

(2) If the clause can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence or without taking away information that is vital to the sentence, it is nonrestrictive. A nonrestrictive clause should be set off by commas.

All indefinite pronouns may replace nouns used as subjects, predicate nouns, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of a preposition, and appositives.

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Because a separate form of personal pronoun exists to indicate possession, no apostrophes are used with possessive pronouns. Nevertheless, many people confuse possessive pronouns with contractions, combined words in which an apostrophe indicates where a letter or letters have been omitted.

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Confusing: When Mother left Megan at the school, she cried. Clear: Megan cried when Mother left her at the school. Confusing: Julie went with Sarah to the supper. She was happy. Clear: Julie went with Sarah to the supper. Julie was happy.

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If the relative pronoun is the object of the preposition, the preposition usually belongs in the adjective clause. Remember that not all prepositions are part of an adjective clause. A noun clause may be used as the object of a preposition.

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Noun clauses are often introduced by some of the same relative pronouns that adjective clauses use--who, whom, whose, and which.

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Relative adverbs are also called subordinating conjunctions. Although subordinating conjunctions usually introduce adverb clauses, subordinating conjunctions may also be used as introductory words in an adjective clause. Introductory words may serve as subjects, complements, objects of the preposition within the clause, or as modifiers.

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Sometimes a noun or a pronoun is used in apposition to we or us. When a sentence begins Let's you and me go . . . you need to realize that you is the understood subject, that us is the direct object (in the objective case), and that you and me is in apposition to the direct object us and must, therefore, be in the objective case. When a pronoun is in apposition to we or us, it will be in the same case as the pronoun it follows. A subject or a predicate noun would take a nominative-case appositive pronoun.

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The nominative case forms are used as subjects, predicate nouns (subject complements), and in comparisons.

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Compound-personal pronouns

A compound-personal pronoun is formed by combining a personal pronoun with the word self or selves. Compound-personal pronouns may be reflexive or intensive.

Indefinite pronouns

A pronoun that does not specify a definite or specific person or thing is known as an indefinite pronoun. Most of the indefinite pronouns are singular. Always Singular: one, anyone, someone, no one, everyone, anybody, somebody, nobody, everybody, anything, something, nothing, everything, either, neither, another, each, Always Plural: both, few, many, others, several Singular or Plural: some, all, most, none, any

Seeing the difference between reflexive and intensive pronouns

A reflexive pronoun will have a grammatical function in the sentence, while an intensive pronoun is "extra." if you remove a reflexive pronoun from a sentence, it will "fall apart". Removing an intensive pronoun will not make a sentence "fall apart."

Ambiguous reference.

A writer should always provide clear information about a pronoun. When information lacks clarity and the reference is ambiguous, the error is called an ambiguous reference. Always check to see that you have chosen words that do not cause the reader to question your meaning.

Ambiguous reference can cause annoyance or serious misunderstanding. If the reference is not clear, repeat the antecedent or use a synonym for it. If repetition proves awkward, rewrite your sentence.

Ambiguous: Dave told Harry that he had made a mistake. Clear: Dave admitted to Harry, "I've made a mistake."

Two kinds of clauses are main (or independent) clauses and subordinate (or dependent) clauses.

Any part of speech in the sentence that requires a noun can use a noun clause instead. Its function will usually determine its position in the sentence.

A pronoun as the object of a preposition.

Between you and me, we will finish the task."Between" is the preposition; "you" and "me" are the objects of the preposition.

Remember, the apostrophe represents letters which have been eliminated. To test which type, pronoun or contraction, should be used in a sentence, return the contraction to its (not it's) original form.

Example: Correct: It's cold outside. (It is cold outside.) Incorrect: The dog licked it's paw. (The dog licked it is paw.) Correct: I know they're having fun. (I know they are having fun.) Incorrect: I know they're car won't last long. (I know they are car won't last long.)

An antecedent is a word for which a pronoun is substituted to avoid repetition. The word antecedent comes from Latin and means "one that goes before."

Example: I saw Pete yesterday, and he was looking much better. In this sentence, Pete is the antecedent of he. I has no antecedent in the sentence.

Pronouns are classified as masculine (he, him, his), feminine (she, her, hers), and neuter (it, its).

Example: Tom shaved his moustache. Daisy broke her remote control. The car doesn't have the power that it did before the engine broke down.

When a clause begins a sentence using no comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence, and the verb immediately follows it, the clause must be the subject of the sentence.

Example: /That the candidate would likely be elected/ was obvious to his supporters.

Adjective clauses are either necessary (restrictive) or not necessary (nonrestrictive). A necessary or restrictive clause indicates the particular one to whom, or the specific object to which, the speaker refers. Without the information contained in the clause, the indication of the person or object is not completely clear. A restrictive clause should not be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. A nonrestrictive clause is set off by commas.

Example: The verse /you just quoted/ is my favorite verse. The clause you just quoted is restrictive because it is needed to point out which verse is being referred to. The clause is not set off by commas.

Traditionally, the masculine gender is usually used when the gender of the object or person is not known.

Example: Who left his books on the chair?

However, the common use is gradually changing due to the fact that some readers take offense to the exclusive use of the masculine pronoun in situations where the gender is not determined (such as the above example). As a solution, many students will substitute their for his. Unfortunately, this in incorrect. Here are some work-arounds:

Example: Whose books are these on the chair?Who left his or her books on the chair? Another option is simply to use his in some examples and her in others.

A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person, number, and gender.

Examples: Every pupil in the class was ready to give his report. The seniors' transcripts are checked carefully before they are filed. (They refers to its plural antecedent transcripts.)

In addition, these pronouns may take the suffixes -ever and -soever.

Examples: He /who/ forgets to wear shoes in the snow has cold feet. (Adjective clause) Roger, whatever/ he may have lacked in strength, applied all of his cleverness to get his cat out of the tree. (Adjective clause) I can't believe /that/ he actually did it. (Noun clause) You know /which/ one of the baskets is ours, don't you? (Noun clause)

The word that introduces the adjective clause may be preceded by a preposition that also is part of the clause.

Examples: I know of no road /by which we may reach the top of the cliff./ This is the bridge /under which flows the Monongahela River./ You heard the promise /on which I base my claim./

The object of a preposition can be a noun clause. Such a clause will follow a preposition and will identify what? or whom? after the preposition.

Examples: Often a person must be guided /by his beliefs./ (prepositional phrase) Often a person must be guided by /what he believes/. (noun clause object of preposition)

An appositive may be a noun clause. An appositive is the second in a pair of nouns which renames the first noun. It is often set off by commas when it consists of more than one word.

Examples: The agenda item, /constitution revision/, is before the house. (adjective plus noun; appositive phrase) The duck, /a huge mallard with a bad attitude/, is chasing the dog around the pond. (appositive phrase including a prepositional phrase) His opinion, /that school should be mandatory until age 21/, does not receive my support. (noun clause as an appositive)

Adjective clauses are usually introduced by one of these relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, or that.

Examples: The one /who perseveres/ will succeed. (who is the subject of perseveres.) Here is the jacket /that I borrowed./ (that is the direct object of borrowed.) Both clauses modify the noun immediately preceding them.

An adjective clause may be introduced also by a relative adverb: where, when, or why.

Examples: The park /where we camped/ is closed. The time /when you are alone/ can be used for meditation.

An indirect object that is placed between the action verb and the direct object can be a noun clause. An indirect object answers the question for whom? or for what? something (the direct object) is done, given, or expressed.

Examples: The school will give a /football/ player a special award. (one word indirect object) The school will give /whoever makes the first touchdown/ a special award. (noun clause indirect object)

When the antecedent is a collective noun, such as family, club, class, group, committee, audience, or team, and you want to refer to it as a single unit, use the pronoun it. When you want to refer to the separate members of the group, use a form of they.

Examples: The team had a party after its win against the Tigers. (team = single unit) The team had a party for their friends. (team = separate members of the group) The class vote was that it wanted to go to the zoo. (class = single unit) The class voted and their decision was split down the middle. (class = separate members of the group)

A predicate noun can be a noun clause. It answers the question what? after a linking verb.

Examples: This is the /pattern/ for my new dress. (one word predicate noun) This is /how I made my dress/. (noun clause predicate noun)

Intensive: Compound-personal pronouns are called intensive pronouns when they are used to intensify, or to stress, meaning.

Examples: I myself saw the accident. She herself is to blame. You are responsible for this accident yourself. Each of the pronouns used in the examples above emphasizes the pronoun subject.

Who and whoever are the nominative case; therefore, who and whoever are used as subjects or as predicate nouns (subject complements). Whom, or whomever, in the objective case, is used as a direct object, an indirect object, or the object of a preposition. Whose is a possessive adjective, not to be confused with who's, which is a contraction of who is.

Examples: My friend, whose father is a pilot, is studying music. Whose research paper is this? Who's going to the library?

Personal pronouns. The personal pronouns are used more often than any other kind of pronouns. They designate the person speaking, the person spoken to, and the person spoken about.

First person (speaker) singular: I, me, my, mine plural: we, us, our, ours Second person (spoken to) singular: you, your, yours plural: you, your, yours Third person (spoken about) singular: he, she, it, his, her, hers, its plural: they, them, their

2. A pronoun as a predicate noun.

He knew that it was she who originally came up with the idea."He" is the subject of the independent clause; "it" is the subject of the dependent clause; "she" is the predicate noun to "it"; "who" is the subject of the final dependent clause.

The subject of the sentence may be a noun clause. In this case, it usually comes at the beginning of a sentence and is followed closely by the verb.

His commen/t bothered the group. (noun phrase subject) What he said/ bothered the group. (noun clause subject)

1. A pronoun as the subject of a clause.

I have been studying for almost three hours."I" is the subject of the sentence.

Be careful in your use of the pronouns it, this, that, and which. Unclear: Saturday we cleaned the house, which really needed it. Clear: Saturday we gave the house the kind of cleaning it had been needing. Unclear: Yesterday we cleaned the yard, which took longer than we had planned. Clear: Cleaning the yard yesterday took longer than we had planned.

In the first "unclear" sentence, which refers to house; it refers to the job of cleaning rather than to a given word. In the second "unclear" sentence, which refers to the job of cleaning; again no given word is the antecedent of which. Although such constructions are often used in speech, in writing, an effort should be made to be as specific and clear as possible.

Example: The two of us, you and me, could handle the customers.

In this sentence, you and me is a compound appositive to the object of the preposition us and is in the objective case. When an elliptical clause (a clause from which certain essential words have been omitted) shows a comparison, the thought must be completed by supplying the correct pronoun mentally. Examples: John is taller than I (am tall). The coach gave Tom more opportunities than (he gave) me.

None of the reflexive pronouns can be used as subjects or predicate nouns, and they are used as direct objects only when they and the subject are the same person, persons, or things.

Incorrect: John and myself lost the game. (Would you say myself lost the game?) Incorrect: It was Angie and myself who worked the hardest. (Would you say It was myself who worked the hardest?) Incorrect: Give the box to Ed and myself. (Would you say Give the box to myself?)

Relative pronouns may be found in questions.

Interrogative pronouns can only be used in questions.

A pronoun as an indirect object.

Jane gave him a pencil."Jane" is the subject of the sentence; "pencil" is the direct object of the verb gave; "him" is the indirect object.

An objective pronoun in comparison.

Jennifer likes Roger more than me.This sentence means that Jennifer likes Roger more than she likes me.Note: The sentence "Jennifer likes Roger more than I" means that I like Roger less than Jennifer does.

3. A nominative pronoun in comparison

Jennifer likes cooking more than I.This sentence means that Jennifer likes to cook more than I do.Note: The sentence "Jennifer likes cooking more than me" is grammatically correct but means that Jennifer likes cooking more than she likes me.

A direct object that answers the question what? after an action verb may be a noun clause.

Mr. Harden grows /strawberries. (one word direct object) Mr. Harden grows /whatever his family will eat. (noun clause direct object)

Personal pronouns are subdivided into three cases: nominative, objective, and possessive. The pronouns change in form with each case.

Nouns and some indefinite pronouns (such as anyone, someone, or everyone) have a distinctive case form only in the possessive forms, but the personal pronouns have distinctive forms in all three cases. The relative and interrogative pronoun who has characteristic forms for the three cases as well.

Sometimes the introductory word may be omitted from the adjective clause.

Omitted: Most of the things /we worry about/ never happen. Included: Most of the things /that we worry about/ never happen.

The confusion between possessive pronouns and contractions arises in such examples as the following.

Pronoun Contraction your you're (you are) their they're (they are) its it's (it is)

Pronouns smooth the flow of speech and writing and are used, therefore, as grammatical devices to avoid awkward repetition and to identify persons, places, things, or ideas.

Pronouns are divided into six categories: relative, interrogative, demonstrative, indefinite, reflexive, and personal.

A pronoun is a part of speech used as a substitute for a noun or as a noun equivalent.

Pronouns may be used in the same ways that nouns are used and may refer to persons or things previously named.

Interrogative pronouns.

Pronouns that are used to ask questions are called interrogative pronouns. In English, there are five of them: who, whom, whose, which, and what.

Reflexive:

Pronouns that are used to refer to the subject of the sentence are called reflexive pronouns. Reflexive pronouns indicate that the object is identical to the subject. Examples: He hit himself with the hammer. She found herself in the wrong room.

A pronoun as the object of a verbal.

Running him just seems to get the dog more worked up."Running" is a gerund; "him" is the object.

Nominative case.

Singular Plural First person: I we Second person: you you Third person: he, she, it they

Objective case. The objective case is used for a direct object, an indirect object, the object of a verbal, and the object of a preposition. Pronouns in the objective case may not be used either as subjects or as predicate nouns.

Singular Plural First person: me us Second person: you you Third person: him, her, it them

Possessive case. The possessive case has two forms for each person and number, an adjective form and a noun substitute form. The possessive case pronouns appear below:

Singular Plural adjective noun adjective noun First person: my mine our ours Second person: your yours your yours Third person: his, her, its, his, hers, its their theirs

Regarding indefinite pronouns which can be either singular or plural the pronoun is singular when it refers to a singular noun or to a collective noun that is singular in meaning. It is plural when it refers to a plural noun or to a collective noun that is plural in meaning.

Singular: Some of the class is in the library. Plural: Some of the students are reading. Singular: All of the team runs together. Plural: All of the players run together.

Since the use of a demonstrative pronoun can result in confusion, avoid using them when the antecedent is a vague reference.

That is yours? What are these? This use is acceptable only in context, when the person addressed is familiar with what you are referring to.

Adjective clauses are dependent clauses. They each have a subject and a verb, but the introductory word of the adjective clause makes it dependent upon the main clause. All adjective clauses modify nouns or pronouns.

The adjective clause is placed immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies. The only word group that can come between the clause and the word it modifies is a prepositional phrase. If a clause follows a noun, it is probably an adjective clause. However, an adjective clause must describe, limit, or qualify the noun or the pronoun it follows.

Example: Romans 8:28, /which you just quoted/, is my favorite verse.

The clause which you just quoted is nonrestrictive because it is not needed to point out which verse is being referred to; therefore, the clause is set off by commas.

Example:Any girl who is a good batter can make the team.

The clause who is a good batter answers the question "which one?"; therefore, the clause is restrictive. If the clause is omitted, Any girl can make the team is not a true statement, again proving that the clause is restrictive.

Example:Dan Pierce, /who is taking creative writing/, wrote the poem.

The clause who is taking creative writing is nonessential; therefore, it is set off by commas.

Example: Who did you say is the woman who flew across the Atlantic?

The first who is an interrogative pronoun because it is located at the beginning of the sentence. The second who introduces the adjective clause who flew across the Atlantic and serves as a relative pronoun.

them

The personal pronoun them cannot be used as a demonstrative adjective or as a demonstrative pronoun.

A pronoun as a direct object.

They watched him closely for signs of illness."They" is the subject of the sentence; "him" is the direct object of the verb "watched." Whom did you select for your fantasy football team running back?"You" is the subject of the sentence; "whom" is the direct object of the verb "did select."

Do not use a pronoun to refer to a word in the title of an essay, or to the title as a whole. The remoteness of reference makes understanding difficult.

Title: Insurance without Benefit Remote: When people decide to buy it, they naturally expect specific benefits in return for their investment. Better: When people invest in insurance, they naturally expect specific benefits.

Demonstrative pronouns

To demonstrate means to point out or to show. it points out to whom or to what the speaker is referring. The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those. Singular: This is a cluttered desk. Plural: These are the accounts that must be finished.

which

Traditionally, which has been used to introduce nonrestrictive clauses

Pronouns

Two functions are to demonstrate the intention of a speaker and to refer to nothing or no one in particular.

Example:Rebecca, who is a good batter, will make the team.

Unless three Rebeccas are trying out for the team, the name Rebecca is enough identification. The clause, then, is nonrestrictive. If the clause is omitted, the meaning of the remaining sentence remains basically unchanged. The fact that Rebecca is a good batter is additional information that is not necessary for identifying her. Use commas to set such nonrestrictive clauses off from the rest of the sentence. An adjective clause that modifies a proper noun is usually set off by commas. Rebecca is Rebecca no matter what she can or cannot do.

With the exception of what instead of that, the interrogative pronouns are the same words that are used as relative pronouns.

Unlike relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns are typically located at the beginning of the sentence unless they are preceded by a preposition. Often interrogative pronouns lack antecedents because they are asking for them.

The best way to recognize these "no signal" clauses within a sentence is to look for a subject-verb combination immediately following a noun or pronoun. When a subject-verb combination occurs in the middle of a sentence, and the words which or that may be inserted in front of the subject-verb combination without changing the meaning of the sentence, an adjective clause has been used

Use who, whom, and whose to refer to people; that to refer to people, animals, or things; and which to refer to animals, groups of people referred to impersonally, or things.

Unclear: I heard Mom and Dad scolding Mac for his drop in grades. That has been going on for a long time Better: I heard Mom and Dad scolding Mac for his drop in grades. He has been slipping in his schoolwork for a long time.

What has been going on for a long time-the scolding or the drop in grades? No clear reference is present.

Demonstrative pronouns can act either as pronouns or as determiners.

When a noun directly follows the demonstrative pronoun, the pronoun is being used as a determiner. When this, these, that and those are used to modify a noun, they are referred to as demonstrative adjectives, which are a type of determiner. Examples: Will you please hand me that book? ( Take these papers to the office.

Remote reference.

When a pronoun is located too far from its antecedent, the remote reference requires the reader to search for the antecedent. Always check to see that pronouns are placed as close as possible to their antecedents. If necessary, repeat the antecedent. Remote: The river winds on for many miles. Cattails grow along the banks; the pussy willows bend the breeze. It is well stocked with fish. Better: The river winds on for many miles. Cattails grow along the banks, and pussy willows bend in the breeze. The river is well stocked with fish.

A person who frequently uses such terms as them boys or them books is considered uneducated.

Whenever a person speaks, he reveals two things: his message and his level of education.

Examples: Tom came yesterday with Jerry. I thought he looked ill.

Who looked ill? The reader is left wondering. Repeating Tom or Jerry is better than leaving the reader in doubt.

elliptical clause

a clause from which certain essential words have been omitted

Noun clauses are dependent, or subordinate, clauses

a clause is a group of related words that forms a sentence or a part of a sentence and that contains a subject and a predicate.

subordinate clause

a clause that acts as an adjective, noun, or verb. It does not express a complete thought

nonrestrictive clause

a clause that provides descriptive information that isn't essential to the meaning of the sentence

restrictive clause

a clause that provides essential information about the subject of a sentence

predicate noun

a noun following a linking verb that restates or stands for the subject

restrictive

a subordinate clause that qualifies the noun it modifies so definitely that it cannot be left out without changing the meaning of a sentence

Hisself and theirselves

are nonstandard forms and should be avoided when either speaking or writing.

determiner

articles, possessive nouns and pronouns, numbers, indefinite pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns used to modify a noun

Personal pronouns

can be straightforward or compound-personal.

Examples in context:

my book The book is mine. your thoughts The thoughts are yours. our home The home is ours. his book The book is his. their idea The idea is theirs. her desk The desk is hers. its boundaries, its place, its end

Reflexive pronouns

myself yourself himself herself itself oneself ourselves yourselves themselves

nonrestrictive

not necessary to the correct reading of a sentence

that

that has been used to introduce restrictive clauses.

Subordinating conjunctions that introduce noun clauses include: that, whether, if, what, when, whenever, where, and wherever

the last four words can introduce any of the three types of subordinate clauses: noun, adjective, or adverb.

Although which and that are frequently used interchangeably to introduce both restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses,

the overuse of which should be avoided, especially in written work.

This and these

usually refer to persons, animals, or things that are closer to the speaker. That and those indicate people, animals, or things at a greater distance from the speaker.

Examples of contractions:

you are becomes you're. they are becomes they're. does not becomes doesn't. will not becomes won't. do not becomes don't. has not becomes hasn't. cannot becomes can't. of the clock becomes o'clock. must not becomes mustn't. 1898 becomes '98 (informal). it is becomes it's. is not becomes isn't.