Education and proper behavior put all upon a level, the education is the most effectual which commences earliest.

Using Pronouns: Nouns name people, places, things, and ideas—such as students, school, computers, and cyberspace. Pronouns take the place of nouns to avoid repetition and to clarify meaning. A Pronoun is a word that is used to replace a noun. For example, instead of saying “Ryan likes pizza” we can use “He” as a substitute for Ryan. Writers need to be careful with pronoun use, as pronouns should only be used after a noun has been used first, and it must be clear which noun the pronoun is replacing. To further illustrate this point, I cannot just go to work and say, “He is so nice” because I have not established who I am talking about. However, I could use a noun first and then use the pronoun. For instance, “Ryan (noun) like pizza, he (pronoun) gets really happy when we order one.” 

Look at the following two sentences. Nouns are needlessly repeated in the first sentence, but the second uses pronouns.

The boy’s mother felt that the children at the party were too loud, so the boy’s mother told the children that the party would have to end if the children did not calm down.

The boy’s mother felt that the children at the party were too loud, so she told them that it would have to end if they did not calm down.

In the second sentence, she replaces mother, they and them replace children, and it takes the place of party.

Of the many kinds of pronouns, the following cause the most difficulty because they include two ways of identifying the same person (or people), but only one form is correct in a given situation.

Subject Group                           Object Group

I                                                     me

he                                                  him

she                                                her

we                                                 us

they                                              them

Use a pronoun from the Subject Group in two instances.

1. Before a verb as a subject (remember verbs are doing words. A verb can express a physical action, a mental action, or a state of being. A physical action: to swim, to write, to climb. A mental action: to think, to guess, to consider. A state of being: to be, to exist, to appear).

He is my cousin. (He is the subject of the verb is.)

He is taller than I. (The sentence is not written out in full. It means, “He is taller than I am.” I is the subject of the verb am.)

Whenever you see than in a sentence, ask yourself whether a verb has been left off then end of the sentence. Add the verb, and then you will automatically use the correct pronoun. In both speaking and writing, always add the verb. Instead of saying, “She is smarter than (I, me)” say, “She is smarter than I am.” Then you will use the correct pronoun.

2. After a linking verb (is, am, are, was, were) as a pronoun that renames the subject:

The one who should apologize is he. (He is the one who should apologize. Therefore, the pronoun from the Subject Group is used.)

The winner of the lottery was she. (She was the winner of the lottery. Therefore the pronoun from the Subject Group is used.)

Modern usage allows some exceptions to this rule, however. For example, It’s me or It is her (instead of the grammatically correct It is I and It is she) may be common in spoken English.

Use pronouns from the Object Group for all other purposes. In the following sentence, me is not the subject, nor does it rename the subject. It follows a preposition; therefore, it comes from the Object Group.

My boss went to lunch with Ryan and me.

A good way to tell whether to use a pronouns from the Subject Group or the Object Group is to love out any extra name (and the word and). By leaving out Ryan and you will say, My boss went to lunch with me. You would never say, My boss went to lunch with I.

My father and I play chess on Sundays. (I play chess on Sundays.)

She and her friends rented a video. (She rented a video.)

We saw Ryan and them last night. (We saw them last night.)

The teacher gave us students certificates. (Teacher gave us certificates.)

The coach asked Craig and me to wash the benches. (Coach asked me to wash the benches.)

Pronoun Agreement

Just as subjects and verbs must agree, pronouns should agree with the words that refer to. If the word referred to is singular, the pronoun should be singular. If the noun referred to is plural, the pronoun should be plural.

Each classroom has its own chalkboard.

The pronoun its refers to the singular classroom and therefore is singular.

Both classrooms have their own chalkboards.

The pronoun their refers to the plural noun classroom and therefore is singular.

The same rule applies that we use to maintain the agreement of the subjects and verbs also apply to pronoun agreement. For instance, ignore any prepositional phrases that come between the word and the pronoun that takes its place.

The box of chocolates has lost its label.

Boxes of chocolates often lose their labels.

A player with the best concentration usually beats her or his opponent.

Players with the best concentration usually beat their opponents.

When a pronoun refers to more than one word joined by and, the pronoun is plural:

The teacher and the tutors ear their lunch at noon.

The salt and pepper were in their usual spots at noon.

However, when a pronoun refers to more than one word joined by or, then the word closet to the pronoun determines its form.

Either the teacher or the tutors eat their lunches in the classroom.

Either the tutors or the teacher eats her lunch in the classroom.

Today many people try to avoid gender bias by writing sentences like the following:

If anyone wants help with the assignment, he or she can visit me in my office.

If anybody calls, tell him or her that I’ll be back soon.

Somebody has left his or her pager in the classroom.

However those sentences are wordy and awkward. Therefore some people, especially in conversation, turn them into sentences that are not grammatically correct.

If anyone wants help with the assignment, they can visit me in my office.

If anybody calls, tell them that I’ll be back soon.

Somebody has left their pager in the classroom.

Such ungrammatical sentences, however, are not necessary. It takes just a little though to revise each sentence so that it avoids gender bias and also is grammatically correct:

Anyone who wants help with the assignment can visit me in my office.

Tell anybody who calls that I’ll be back soon.

Somebody has left a pager in the classroom.

Probably the best way to avoid the awkward he or she and him or her is to make the words plural. Instead of writing, “Each actor was in his or her proper place on stage,” write, “All the actors were in their proper places on stage,” thus avoiding gender bias and still having a grammatically correct sentence.

Pronoun Reference

A pronoun replaces a noun to avoid repetition, but sometime the pronoun sounds as if it refers to the wrong word in a sentence, causing confusion. Be aware that when you write a sentence, you know what it means, but your reader may not. What does this sentence mean?

The students tried to use the school’s computers to access the Internet, but they were too slow, so they decided to go home.

Who or what was too slow, and who or what decided to go home? We do not know whether the two pronouns (both they) refer to the students or to the computers. One way to correct such a faulty reference is to us singular and plural nouns:

The students tried to use a school computer to access the Internet, but it was too slow, so they decided to go home.

Here is another sentence with a faulty reference:

Sharon told her mother that she needed a haircut.

Who needed the haircut—Sharon or her mother? One way to correct such a faulty reference is to use a direct quotation:

Sharon told her mother, “You need a haircut.”

Sharon said, “Mom, I need a haircut.”

Or you could always rephrase the sentence completely:

Sharon noticed her mother’s hair was extra-long and luxurious, so she told her mother to get a haircut.

Another kind of faulty reference is which that appears to refer to a specific word, but it does not really.

I was not able to finish all the problems on the exam, which makes me worried.

The word which seems to replace exam, but it is not the exam that makes me worried. The sentence should read

I am worried that I was not able to finish all the problems on the exam.

The pronoun it causes its own reference problems. Look at this sentence, for example:

When replacing the ink cartridge in my printer, it broke, and I had to call the technician to come and fix it.

Did the printer or the cartridge break? Here is the one possible correction:

The new ink cartridge broke when I was putting it in my printer, and I had to call the technician for help.

The person that undertakes the education of a child undertakes the most important duty in society, and is severely answerable for every voluntary omission.