Personal pronouns change their form depending on how they are used in a sentence.  These changes refer to the case of the pronoun.

A pronoun that is used as the subject is in the nominative case.  The nominative case personal pronouns are:  I, you (singular), he, she, it, we, you (plural), and they.

A pronoun that is used as the object (direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition) is in the objective case.  The objective case personal pronouns are:  me, you (singular), him, her, it, us, you (plural), and them.

A pronoun that is used to designate possession is in the possessive case.*  The possessive case pronouns are:  my or mine, your or yours (singular), his, her or hers, its, our or ours, your or yours, and their or theirs.
[It is worth noting that the possessive forms of personal pronouns do not use an apostrophe; the apostrophe is used in the possessive case of nouns.]
*In some older textbooks, the possessive case is called the genitive case, from its designation in Latin.

EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF PRONOUN CASE

He and his brother are both college graduates.
The pronoun he is part of the compound subject ("He and his brother").  Since the pronoun functions as a subject, it is in the nominative case.  (The pronoun his, of course, is possessive.)  We would not say or write Him and his brother are because him is objective case.  His brother and him are would be equally incorrect.
> Think!  Would we ever say, "Him is a college graduate"?

When Mary and I were younger, we teased boys mercilessly.
The pronoun I in "Mary and I" is correct because it is part of the compound subject.  Mary and me were and Me and Mary were are incorrect because me is objective case.
> Think!  Would we ever say, "When me was younger"?

Somebody has been spreading rumors about Margaret and me.
The correct pronoun is me (not I) because it is the object of the preposition about.  Thus, the pronoun is in the objective case.  We do not use myself here either because pronouns ending in -self have a special use (described below).
> Think!  Would we ever say, "Somebody has been spreading rumors about I"?

Please send me or my secretary a letter of confirmation.
The pronoun me (objective case) is used because it is the indirect object.  "To" is implied:  "Please send [to] me or my secretary a letter of confirmation."  We would also use the objective case in a sentence in which me is the object of a preposition:  "Please sent a letter of confirmation to me or my secretary."
> Think!  Would we ever say, "Please send I a letter of confirmation" or "Please send a letter of confirmation to I"?

Fred's parents sent his sister and him to private schools.
Him is correct because the pronoun is part of the direct object (the compound "his sister and him").  Or look at it this way:  Fred's parents sent them (objective case) to private schools.  Even if we switch the two parts of the compound object, him is still an object:  "Fred's parents sent him and his sister to private schools."
> Think!  Would we ever say, "Fred's parents sent he to a private school"?

THE -SELF PRONOUNS

Pronouns that use the suffix -self (or the plural -selves, as in ourselves, yourselves, and themselves) are known as reflexive or intensive pronouns.  They always refer to another noun or pronoun in the sentence that denotes the same individual or individuals.  It is relatively unimportant to know the difference between reflexive and intensive pronouns,** but it is important to recognize that these pronouns must always refer to another noun or pronoun in the same sentence that designates the same person or persons as the -self or -selves pronoun designates.

I will do it myself.  Myself refers to I – the same person.
Don't worry.  These children know how to take care of themselves.  Themselves refers to children – the same people.
She doesn't want any help and insists on solving the problem herself.  Herself refers to she – the same person.
Henry likes to go to the movies by himself.  Himself refers to Henry – the same person.

We do not use the intensive or reflexive pronoun when no other noun or pronoun designating the person or persons exists in the sentence.  All of these are incorrect:  Address your reply to myself.  Address your reply to my assistant or myself.  Myself will do it.  Fred and myself will do it.   

**Intensive pronouns are used for emphasis, as in, I myself do not believe that this is true or The Smiths themselves have always paid their taxes on time.

[RETURN TO TOP]