Writing in Style: Grammar Tip #2

Grammar: everyone hates it, but everyone needs it. Fiction writing allows authors a lot more freedom with how they craft sentences and meaning, but that doesn't mean you can ignore the basics entirely. Here's a series of quick grammar tips to help your writing sparkle.

Today, let's talk about cases.

2. All your pronoun problems are a matter of case. Confused by why we say "This is she" instead of "this is her" on the phone? Wondering why 'who' and 'whom' are different? Need to know why your teacher is always correcting 'I' to 'me' on your quizzes? The form of nouns and pronouns is determined by grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. These forms are called cases, and in English, there are three. They have funny names, but we'll call them subjective, objective, and possessive.

In order for you to use the right case, you need to know if the noun or pronoun is serving as a subject, object, or possessive in that instance. A subject is performing an action or is being described. An object is receiving an action. A possessive is showing...well, possession. Simple, right?

Subjective (nominative) pronouns: I, he, she, we

Objective (accusative) pronouns: Me, him, her, us

Possessive (genitive) pronouns: My/mine, his, hers, ours

• You and I are going to the store. (You and I are the subjects)
• Between you and me, I think she's lying. ('Between you and me' is an introductory clause, so neither pronouns are acting as subjects)
• She didn't want him to see the broken window. (She = subject, him = object)
• That car is ours. (Showing who owns the car)

Who, Whom, Myself

These pronouns often cause problems, even for native speakers. 

Who: Subjective
Whom: Objective

When you're trying to decide whether to use who or whom, ask yourself if the answer to the question would be he or him. (or she and her)

This is probably the easiest way to tell when to use who and whom. Who corresponds to the subjective pronouns she and he, while whom corresponds to her and him.  

Who is this? (Who is the subject: "It is HE.")
Whom should I give this to? (Whom is the object: "Give it to HIM.") 
Sarah, who is a veterinarian, cared for the guinea pig. (Sarah is the subject, and who is referring to her: "Who  is a veterinarian?" "SHE is a veterinarian.")

Myself: Reflexive, used as emphasis. ONLY use this when 'I' has been used (or is implied) earlier in the sentence. 

• I can't eat seafood myself. (Used after 'I', used to emphasize that you can't eat seafood)
• You and myself will go to the concert. NO ('I' has not been used or implied, so the correct form is 'I')

The same goes for yourself, himself, herself, itself, etc....  Reflexive pronouns are objective and cannot be used as subjects.

Please note, though, that language is constantly in flux and so traditional grammar rules can be altered or ignored in order to keep up with modern conventions.

In the case of dialogue or narratives in fiction, sticking to what sounds right is usually a good rule.