Case refers to the form of a noun or pronoun. Remember, a noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing—either concrete (Josephine, Alabama, spinach) or abstract (fear, integrity, attitude). A pronoun is a word that stands in for/refers to a noun (she, he, it, they).
Nouns
Nouns don’t change form when they serve as subjects and objects. Josephine, for example, remains Josephine, no matter where she shows up:
Josephine eats anything that isn’t nailed down.
Food is irresistible to Josephine.
In the first sentence Josephine is a subject; in the second sentence Josephine is an object. In both roles she remains Josephine, because she’s a noun.
The only time that nouns change form is when they become possessive, to show ownership. The possessive form of a noun always involves an apostrophe, and it often (not always) involves an s. To determine where to place the apostrophe and whether to add an s, first type the noun. It may be singular or plural—that doesn’t matter. Just type it:
child
children
class
classes
You’ll notice that child and class are singular, while children and classes are plural. Again, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the last letter of the word. Ask yourself, “Does this word end in the letter s?” If it does not, you make the word possessive by adding an apostrophe and an s:
child’s
children’s
If the word does end in an s, then you add only an apostrophe (no s) at the end:
class’
classes’
If you follow this guideline all the time, you’ll never be wrong.
There is an alternative, however, when the noun in question is a person’s name ending in the letter s. Some writers choose to add an apostrophe and an s to make a noun like that possessive. The name Charles, for example, can be made possessive in two ways:
Charles’
Charles’s
That’s all you need to know when you’re making one noun possessive.
What do you do when two nouns own something? If you’ve written two nouns and each of them owns something separately, you need to make each noun possessive:
Josephine’s and Charles’ opinions often conflict.
If two nouns own something jointly, you make only the second noun possessive:
Josephine and Charles’ friendship has weathered many differences of opinion.
Pronouns
Unlike nouns, pronouns do change form according to the roles they play—subject, object, and possessive. For examples, let’s return to Charles and Josephine:
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Subjects: |
He eats to live, while she lives to eat. |
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Objects: |
To him, food points to life; to her, life points to food. |
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Possessives: |
His approach to food is practical; her approach is passionate. |
Here’s a full list of pronouns in subject form:
I
you
he
she
it
they
we
who
Here’s how pronouns look in object form:
me
you
him
her
it
them
us
whom
Note: You and it remain the same, in subject and object form; all others change.
Usually, when you have to choose between the subject and object form of a pronoun, the sentence contains all the words you need, to help you make your decision. Inside comparative statements, however, words are often missing (they are understood). Consider these examples:
I am shorter than he.
There’s no one I look up to more than him.
Why is he correct in the first sentence and him correct in the second? Because of what’s understood. The first sentence is an abbreviated version of “I am shorter than he is.” The second sentence is an abbreviated version of “There’s no one I look up to more than I look up to him.”
A comparative statement can convey different meanings, depending on the case of a pronoun. For example,
I like hummus more than he.
I like hummus more than him.
The first sentence means “I like hummus more than he likes hummus.” The second sentence means “I like hummus more than I like him.” You see the importance of using the right case?
The last part of this pronoun story concerns possessive case. When pronouns become possessive, here’s how they look:
my
your
his
her
its
their
our
whose
Note: Possessive pronouns do not contain apostrophes.
Your and You’re • Its and It’s • Whose and Who’s
Your, its, and whose are possessive. You’re, it’s, and who’s are contractions for you are, it is, and who is. If you typed you’re, it’s, or who’s, ask yourself whether you mean you are, it is, or who is. If not, drop the apostrophe and check the spelling.
The following sentences are correct:
You’re not thinking of adopting a cat, are you?
Your action may have repercussions.
It’s not a good idea to own a cat if you have allergies.
Its fur will make you sneeze.
Who’s responsible for the allergy attack—you or the cat?
Whose fault is it that you are sneezing?
Who and Whom
When you need to choose between who and whom, you’re usually at the beginning of a clause—that is, you’re about to write a group of words that includes a subject and verb. Go ahead and write the clause. Then, identify the verb (the action). Next, look to the left of the verb, to see what the subject is (ask yourself “Who or what, to the left of the verb, is connected to the verb action?”). If there’s no word, other than who, doing the job of the subject, then keep who. That’s what who does—it serves as a subject. If another word serves as the subject, use whom.
In sum, use who when an upcoming verb needs a subject; use whom when an upcoming verb already has a subject (a noun or pronoun other than who). This guideline holds true for any situation calling for who or whom. It doesn’t matter whether the sentence ends in a period or a question mark. (It also doesn’t matter when the group of words coming up contains no verb, which happens occasionally. If there’s no verb, you can’t have a subject, which means that who is out of a job and whom is in order.)
The following sentences are correct:
Josephine, who usually has strong opinions about everything, gets confused at election time.
She never knows whom she should vote for.
Who will do the best job?
Whom do most people trust?
How does anyone know whom to believe?
A confusing situation can arise if a who or whom clause contains another clause within it. The embedded clause can be seen as an interruption of the who or whom clause. Here are two examples:
Josephine is the one who I think should run for office.
She is someone whom most people feel they can trust.
Although neither of those sample sentences requires punctuation, it’s easier to see the grammar involved if commas are inserted around the embedded clauses:
Josephine is the one who, I think, should run for office.
She is someone whom, most people feel, they can trust.
If you ignore the interruptions for a moment, you’ll see clearly that who is the subject of should run and they is the subject of can trust.
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns—pronouns ending in self—are correct only when they reflect the subject of the clause they are in. For example, myself is correct only in a clause whose subject is I; yourself is correct only in a clause whose subject is you; itself is correct only in a clause whose subject is it (or a noun representing a thing).
The following sentences are correct:
I told myself that I would begin my project well before its due date.
You must work on your project by yourself.
The project itself is not the problem; getting started is what’s so difficult.
The typical mistake that people make is to use a reflexive pronoun where a regular pronoun belongs. This error often occurs in clauses that involve more than one person; it also occurs in phrases that begin with like. For example,
Josephine and myself have been talking about this project for a long time.
The task was originally assigned to Josephine and myself.
A seasoned analyst like myself should have no problem with the work.
A newcomer like herself may need assistance.
Do you see the errors?
Case before Gerunds
Most often when an action word ends in ing, it is part of a verb package (am writing, were revising, has been studying, will be graduating, etc.) and there’s no reason to think about case (case doesn’t pertain to verb packages). But action words ending in ing can show up in other roles, one of which is the role of a noun. When an action word ending in ing serves as a noun, it’s called a gerund. Take a look at the gerunds in these sentences:
Writing can be gruesome.
Revising requires patience and stamina.
My grades do not reflect the studying I did.
I look forward to graduating.
Can you see that writing, revising, studying, and graduating are serving as nouns? In the first two sentences, writing and revising are subjects; in the third and fourth sentences, studying and graduating are objects. Subjects and objects are roles filled by nouns, right? It’s important that you recognize a gerund as a noun because sometimes you’ll need to use a possessive word to the left of it, and that won’t make sense unless you understand that you’re dealing with a noun. Here are some examples:
Josephine’s name has been in the tabloids lately, mostly for her going on dates with a popular screen star.
Josephine’s cavorting with a star could lead to her moving to Hollywood.
It could also lead to his moving out of Hollywood.
Another way to understand why you need the possessive case before these gerunds is to replace each gerund with the word action:
Josephine’s name has been in the tabloids lately, mostly for her action.
Josephine’s action with a star could lead to her action.
It could also lead to his action.
You may be thinking, “I don’t need to know this—I don’t write sentences like those.” You don’t? How about these:
We will appreciate your returning the completed application to us as soon as possible.
The work will not proceed without management’s signing the contract.
I am fascinated by the company’s earning significant profits four years in a row.
Surely, these contexts are familiar to you. Now, you’ll know how to handle them.
QUIZ ON CASE
Below is a letter to Josephine, written by someone who just read this chapter but didn’t quite understand all the material. Your job is to edit the letter for case only. That is, look at all the nouns and pronouns to see what form they are in. If they are correct, leave them alone; if they’re not, fix them.
Dear Josephine:
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1 |
I just finished reading a chapter whose focus is largely on you. I feel I should know you well by now but, between you and I, you’re still pretty much of a mystery. |
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2 |
I have several questions for you: |
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3 |
What exactly is your relation to Charles? Is he just some guy who you like to eat and argue with? You say your shorter than him but it’s not clear how tall he is. Is the movie star you’re cavorting with taller than him? |
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4 |
Did you actually adopt a cat, despite everyone knowing how allergic you are? Is it’s hair short? Shorter than Charles’? |
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5 |
The project your working on—what’s its title? And whom, may I ask, is your assistant? If you and your assistant’s efforts pay off, will you take all the credit for yourself? |
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6 |
Finally, what are Charles’ feelings about hummus? The chapter leaves my fellow readers and I in the dark. |
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7 |
I will very much appreciate you answering my questions. |
Ms. Led
P.S. I think your running for office is a good idea. You won’t have to wonder whom to vote for.
ANSWERS TO CASE QUIZ