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Personal pronouns are the stunt doubles of grammar; they stand in for the
people (and perhaps animals) who star in our sentences. They allow us to
speak and write with economy because they enable us to avoid repeating
cumbersome proper nouns all the live-long day.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in South Africa and Bishop Desmond Tutu
rose to international fame in the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. The Nobel Peace
Prize was awarded to Bishop Desmond Tutu in 1984. Bishop Desmond Tutu has written
seven books and has cowritten or contributed to many others.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in South Africa and he rose to international
fame in the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded
to him in 1984. He has written seven books and has cowritten or contributed to many
others.
First singular I me
First plural we us
Mrs. Khan asked that the package be delivered to her at the office. (her = third person
singular objective)
We would like to invite Stacy to join us for dinner. (we = first person plural nominative;
us = first person plural objective)
From this sentence alone, we can’t determine whether one person, or two, or five
hundred people are being invited to share a meal. This is why in some parts of the world,
we hear additions to you when a plural is indicated, like you lot in the UK or you
all (or y’all) in America. It probably goes without saying that you should keep this out of
your formal writing.
While the second person has a number issue, the third person has a gender
solution for cases when the gender of the third-person singular pronoun is
indeterminate or neutral.
Independent Clause
An independent clause is a clause that can stand alone as a sentence (i.e., it
expresses a complete thought). A dependent clauses (or subordinate clause) is
one that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence (i.e., it does not express a
complete thought).
In all examples, the independent clauses are highlighted, and the dependent
clauses aren't. Also, in each clause, the subject is underlined and the verb is in
bold.
Notice how the shaded clauses could all stand alone as sentences. They are
independent clauses.
Type Example
There's only one reason to care about independent and dependent clauses:
comma placement.
There are three, well, four at a push, noteworthy points linked to comma
placement.
(This quotation has two compound sentences. In each one, there are
two independent clauses linked by and with a comma.)
I have a mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it.
(Groucho Marx)
(As the adverbial dependent clauses are at the front, they are offset
with commas.)
With the clause at the back, there's no comma.
Let's complicate the issue a bit. The rule that states "do not use a comma
when the adverbial clause follows the independent clause" is not really the
rule. In fact, the rule for post-positioned adverbial clauses is the same as for
post-positioned adjective clauses (see Point 2). In other words, use a comma if
the adverbial clause is nonessential. The problem is that it's way more difficult
to decide whether an adverbial clause is essential or nonessential than it is
with an adjective clause. As the vast majority of adverbial clauses are
essential, it's pretty safe, but not entirely safe, to declare that a post-
positioned adverbial clause isn't preceded by a comma.
This issue typically crops up with because that explains a negative.
Jack didn't win because he was the best player. He won because he
paid the referee.
(In this example, Jack lost, as you'd expect the worst player to.)
The comma distances the dependent clause from didn't win. In the two
examples above, the contexts make the meaning clear, but what about this
example:
Key Points
An and linking two independent clauses is preceded by a comma, and
this applies to but and or too.
If you'd happily put your relative clause, which will usually start
with which or who, in brackets or delete it, then it's nonessential and
should be offset with commas.
Relative pronouns are placed directly after the noun or pronoun they modify. For example:
The book, which is now out of print, has all the information you need.
In each example above, the subject of the sentence is described by a relative clause
(italicized). As these clauses describe a noun or a pronoun, they are also known as adjective
clauses, because they act like adjectives in the sentence. Each clause is introduced by a
relative pronoun (in bold). Relative pronouns connect the description to the rest of the
sentence in an orderly way.
Occasionally, the relative adverbs "when" and "where" are also used as relative pronouns.
For example:
In these cases, "when" and "where" introduce clauses that describe a noun the refers to a
time or place, making them work as relative pronouns in these sentences.
Defining vs. Non-Defining Relative Clauses
When relative pronouns are used to add descriptive information, that information is either
defining or non-defining. A defining clause - also known as a restrictive clause - gives
essential information about the noun in question. It is so important that it cannot be cut out
of the sentence and still convey the intended meaning. For example:
In both cases, the italicized clauses contain critical information. You can tell because if you
cut out the clause, the sentence's meaning is fundamentally different. For example, saying "I
don't like people" is very different from saying "I don't like people who interrupt me."
On the other hand, non-defining clauses add information that's nice to have but isn't
essential to the sentence's overall meaning. They could be deleted and the sentence would
convey basically the same information. For example:
In both cases, you could cut out the non-defining clause and still understand the point of the
sentence. The important part is that the paint is worth a million dollars; the fact that it is
adored is merely nice to know.
Note that non-defining clauses are set apart from the main sentence by commas, which help
to indicate its less important status in the sentence.
A Note About Who, That, and Which
One of the most common mistakes in writing is to use the wrong relative pronoun,
particularly when it comes to mixing up "who" and "that." "Who" is always used to set up a
relative clause that describes a person, while "that" is used to describe an object or another
non-human being. For example:
Another common error is to mix up that and which. When describing objects and non-human
beings, "that" is used to introduce a defining relative clause, while "which" is used to
introduce a non-defining clause. For example:
The relative pronoun "which" is used for non-essential information set off by commas; "that"
is used for essential information and requires no additional punctuation.
When it comes to people, however, you don't have to worry about confusing "which" or
"that." You always use "who:"
Knowing how relative pronouns work in a sentence will help you add important descriptive
information in the form of relative clauses. Once you understand how they work, you'll be
able to decide whether your information is defining or non-defining and choose the
appropriate relative pronouns and punctuation to lead your readers to a deeper
understanding of your meaning.
Compound personal pronouns are compounds made from a
personal pronoun and the suffix -self (singular) or -selves (plural).
Structure
Don’ts
Avoid the following common errors with compound personal pronouns.
o Don’t use a reflexive pronoun unless the noun or pronoun referred to
appears in the same sentence.
Correct: Megan bought tickets for John and herself.
BUT
Incorrect: Megan bought tickets for John and myself.
In the last example, the reflexive pronoun is wrong because it has no word to refer
to in the same sentence. It should be replaced with me: