Tagged Questions

0
votes
4answers
121 views

When are you 'You', and when 'you'?

When is it in spelling that the personal pronoun 'you' should be written with capital Y?
0
votes
2answers
290 views

Should a company be referred to as “he/she” or as “it”?

When a customer represents a company, not a person, and a pronoun is needed to refer back to that customer, should one use he/she, or should one use it?
-2
votes
1answer
129 views

Which is correct, I or me? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: When do I use “I” instead of “me?” Which is correct? The photo shows my kids and me at the party. The photo shows my kids and I at the party Another one: ...
0
votes
1answer
419 views

“He and I”, “Him and me” [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: “My friends and I” vs. “My friends and me” vs. “Me and my friends” Somebody taught me a rule of thumb how to discern if I should use "I" or "Me" when adding self to the ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views

Proper usage of pronouns

As an ESL student, sometimes I wonder whether I use too many pronouns. For example: She grabbed her purse, she took some money and then she went to buy some groceries. After that she returned ...
13
votes
5answers
849 views

Why 'a friend of mine' is not 'my friend's friend'?

I have some questions about the expression "a friend of mine" and I'm quite confused with it. Actually I have found some threads about this topic but they don't hit my point. I'm not a native English ...
9
votes
9answers
484 views

T-V distinction

In many languages, there is such thing as T-V distinction. Basically, it's when you use different pronouns in "formal" (or "polite") speech, and in informal speech. Now, I do realize there is no ...
5
votes
2answers
229 views

“Nobody will help you but me” vs. “Nobody will help you but I”

As has been shown in another question, in comparisons with than both the accusative and the nominative are possible and grammatical: He loves you more than I. He loves you more than me. ...
0
votes
2answers
102 views

Which pronoun to to replace single antecedent?

This is my all-time question. This time, I was writing specifications of my application and came up with this question. Which one of the following is more commonly used than the others? Note that I'm ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views

“I am I”, “I am myself”, or “I am me”? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)? According to Google Ngram, "I am myself" is more common that "I am I", but which is correct? ...
5
votes
1answer
687 views

It is I who am at fault? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: “It is they who lied” or “it is them who lied?” What rules make “Remember me, who am your friend” grammatical? Which one of these is correct? It is I who am at ...
0
votes
1answer
134 views

Why is the accusative case used for a “topic”?

If I were to write a book about myself, Me would be a more natural-sounding title than I. Also, we say the us-vs.-them mentality instead of the we-vs.-they mentality.
3
votes
1answer
246 views

What's the right possessive pronoun for “nobody”? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is there a correct gender-neutral, singular pronoun (“his” versus “her” versus “their”)? None as plural indefinite pronoun Should ...
6
votes
1answer
517 views

Why do we say “of mine/of his” instead of “of me/of him”?

He's a friend of mine. That's a car of his. Why do we use the possessive when the meaning would be the same while not using it (e.g. a friend of me and a car of him)? I thought maybe it is ...
2
votes
3answers
279 views

“The great I” vs “The great me”

Are both sentences below grammatically correct? The great I. The great me. What is the grammatical breakdown in each case?
0
votes
1answer
281 views

What is the answer to the question “Who came yesterday?” — “I” or “Me”? [duplicate]

Duplicate of: Who wants ice-cream? What is the answer to the question: Who came yesterday? Is it "I" or "Me"?
1
vote
0answers
164 views

How to take the gender of an anonymous person into consideration? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Gender neutral pronoun Very often, I find myself writing about a user, an anonymous person whose gender I don't know. Right after mentioning this abstract user, I need ...
3
votes
2answers
830 views

In a business proposal, which personal pronoun should be used?

Which personal pronoun would you use in a business proposal? Most people either go with first or third person, e.g., We propose this marketing plan. or Company x proposes this marketing ...
2
votes
4answers
3k views

“He” / “she” vs. “it” regarding beloved objects

Is that normal to regard a beloved object (an animal, a car, a book) as he/she? If yes, what gender should be used in this case? One comment in this question touched the tendency to humanize things ...
4
votes
4answers
9k views

When to use “me” or “myself”?

Which one is correct: Someone like me... or Someone like myself... Is "like myself" ever correct?
1
vote
0answers
241 views

Is “ship” a feminine word? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is it a good practice to refer to countries, ships etc using the feminine form? My English teacher asked me which third-person personal pronoun is used for the word ...
3
votes
1answer
163 views

What's the proper pronoun when performing an action in IRC?

In IRC chats you can "perform an action" with the /me command. It changes the way the text looks so that it's a little more third person and narrative. Here's an example: chmullig: I'm really hungry ...
143
votes
5answers
12k views

Did English ever have a formal version of “you”?

From the top of my head, Danish "de" (practically never used), German "Sie", Chinese "您", French "vous", Spanish "usted" are a formal way of addressing someone, especially if one isn't familiar with ...
47
votes
2answers
6k views

Why should the first person pronoun 'I' always be capitalized?

Why should we capitalize first person pronoun 'I' even if it does not appear in the beginning of a sentence? Why it is not the case for other pronouns?
8
votes
3answers
799 views

How are pronouns resolved?

Are pronouns in English resolved syntactically or semantically? Do they always refer to the closest matching noun? A wikipedia article has these examples: We gave the bananas to the monkeys because ...
5
votes
0answers
503 views

When do I use “me” and when “I”? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Should I put myself last? I get this mixed up so often. Should I say: Me and Rob are going swimming. or I and Rob are going swimming. I know the latter ...
10
votes
7answers
6k views

Which is correct: “If it were I” or “If it were me”?

I'm fairly sure it's the former, but it sounds even more stilted than the usual cases in which "I" is less common, but more correct.
3
votes
2answers
1k views

Is naming the first person last proper grammar or just proper manners? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: “My friends and I” vs. “My friends and me” vs. “Me and my friends” I cringe when someone does not follow the rule of naming the first person last: Who went to the ...
13
votes
3answers
10k views

Which is correct: “This is her” or “This is she”?

Upon answering the telephone, the person calling asks if Joan is available. If Joan is the person who answered the phone, should she say "This is her" or "This is she"?
13
votes
4answers
3k views

Referring to objects as “she”

Sometimes people are referring to mechanical objects as "she": I love my car. She always gets the best service. Are there any rules when it is appropriate to use "she" instead of it, and is "he" ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views

Use of “myself” in business-speak

Occasionally, I will hear or read coworkers using "myself" in place of "me," as in: If you have any questions, you can contact Gimli or myself. I have sent the list to Legolas, Glorfindel, ...
26
votes
6answers
19k views

Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”?

Is this sentence grammatically correct? Anyone who loves the English language should have a copy of this book in their bookcase. or should it be: Anyone who loves the English language should ...