A pronoun is a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase.
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Possessive for a third person and a first person
Bob and I are working on a project. I want to refer to "Bob's work" and "my work" collectively, without referring to Bob and myself collectively. (This will be the first reference to Bob and myself in ...
10
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3answers
337 views
Is there any common context for “enoughs”?
I noticed today that ENOUGHS is valid in Scrabble(tm), and I realize "enough" can be used as a noun ("I've had enough!"), but I'm unaware of any context where one might use its plural. Perhaps it's ...
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6answers
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‘With me being one of them’—grammatically correct?
Would the phrase 'With me being one of them' be grammatically correct? Sounds a bit odd in my head and I triple-checked mentally but couldn't tell if it was correct or not.
'With I being one of them' ...
17
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3answers
4k views
Is it recommended to use “we” in research papers?
Is it recommended to use "we" in research papers? If not, should I always use passive voice?
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2answers
1k views
Is “either you or [third-person]” followed by a singular verb or a plural verb?
Or, put in examples: which of the following is grammatically correct?
Either you or your sister is going to have to do the chores.
Either you or your sister are going to have to do the ...
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3answers
236 views
Use of they as singular [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it correct to use “their” instead of “his or her”?
I, and many people I have heard, occasionally use 'they' and 'their' in the singular when ...
6
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3answers
3k views
“like I” or “like me”?
In high school we learned to say "than I" and "as I" because you could potentially add an "am" to the end of the sentence. Examples:
"She is smarter than I." (Think: "...than I am.")
"He is as tall ...
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2answers
244 views
Subject vs. Object marking for whoever?
I know similar questions have been asked before, but I'm having trouble reconciling the following sentence, received in an email:
Can we ask whomever is your contact there to email us a job so we ...
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5answers
808 views
Somewhere where
"Place the pot somewhere where it is 20-22 degrees warm."
The double where sounds a bit silly. Is there a better way to word this sentence? "Someplace 20-22 degrees warm" sounds too informal.
5
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3answers
2k views
“My another account” vs. “my other account”
A little debate going on here so I just want to know which one it is; I'm saying it's my other account since my another would be my one other account.
The other person insists they both can be used; ...
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1answer
320 views
“Let's”: similar contractions
First, I'm aware of this question.
What I want to know is if there are other similar constructs, done by contracting a verb with "us".
6
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2answers
260 views
Why are “he”, “she”, and “it” distinct in the singular, but all “they” in the plural?
Other languages have gender-specific third-person plural pronouns (e.g., ellos and ellas in Spanish). English does not, despite the masculine/feminine/neuter distinction being obligatory in the ...
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1answer
581 views
Using 'they' for person of unknown sex [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Gender neutral pronoun.
In everyday use, I often use the pronoun "they" to refer to a unknown person if I do not know their sex. As in:
Bob: Who was it that emailed ...
9
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2answers
312 views
Is it ever appropriate to mix up “I” and “one” in the same sentence?
In my last question on English L & U SE, I was strongly tempted to write the following:
Every so often I've thought I've chanced across most of them [literary Biblical phrases], but as one ...
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
...
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3answers
6k views
How to use “who” vs. “that”
I often get confused when trying to use who vs that.
Some examples that often confuse me:
That
The person that went to the store.
The people that went shopping.
The persons that went ...
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6answers
6k views
Which one is correct to say: “It's me” or “It's I”?
I was taught at school that the following expression is not grammatically correct:
Who is there? It's me.
The correct one is:
Who is there? It's I.
Can you let me know which one is ...
5
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4answers
143 views
Using “that” in place of “it” as an object is not always correct. How can I explain why?
A student wrote to me
I'm sorry I was absent for class on Monday. What is the homework? I want to do that before the next class.
I prefer using it to that but am not sure what explanation I ...
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6answers
23k views
Which is correct, “neither is” or “neither are”?
Bob: "Can I set the font color? Can I customize the text?"
Frank: "Neither of these options is available. Sorry!"
Is "neither is" always correct or should one use "neither are" in some cases and ...
144
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
240 views
Is this usage of “whose” correct?
Is the following phrase (grammatically) correct?
Bill Gates, whose company is very rich, is famous.
(I couldn't come up with a better context-free sample)
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1answer
832 views
Origins of possessive pronouns
If apostrophe + s is the acceptable way of denoting a genitive in English, is it possible that possessive pronouns, such as hers, ours and yours, started life as possessive adjectives with apostrophe ...
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3answers
232 views
Is the “us” in “all that will be left is us” correct usage?
In this sentence taken from the movie AI is 'us' the correct form of the pronoun? It certainly sounds better than if it were written with 'we' instead of 'us'. Also, I can sort of see why 'is' is ...
2
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3answers
732 views
Can “his/her” be replaced by “his”?
Yesterday, I asked this question on Web Apps:
If a Facebook user dies, what happens
to the account?
Actually, I wanted to ask it this way:
If a Facebook user dies, what happens
to ...
4
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0answers
392 views
What is the possessive form of “what”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
'Which', 'whose' or something else?
First of all, I'm not a native speaker so I can't rely on my intuition in this specific case.
For a very long time I ...
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4answers
1k views
Why use “his” in association with the word “mankind”?
I have a doubt. The economist Keynes in a book wrote:
The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind.
I would have used "its" instead but since English ...
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3answers
371 views
“it's” vs “its”: what happened lately?
During the course of the last 6-12 months (approx.) online I've seen more and more the mistake of using "it's" in place of "its" and the other way around.
While my habits might have slightly changed, ...
2
votes
1answer
177 views
Which goal is whose?
Here is the situation:
Kids in a small yard are about to play soccer. There are no goalposts in that yard (or "goals" or whatever you call it, I mean those metal frames on each side of the soccer ...
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?
4
votes
3answers
3k views
With who vs. With whom
Is this correct?
The person with whom I'm doing the project should be here soon.
If it is, is "with" always a dative preposition? (like "mit" in German)
0
votes
1answer
186 views
Question on usage on 'Rating Yourself'
Assuming you are the interviewer and would you ask the candidate:
How would you rate yourself on the scale from 1 to 10?
What would you rate yourself on the scale of 1 to 10?
Which ...
4
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2answers
360 views
What do you call “that” or “where”?
For words that sit as placeholders for other words (and introduce subordinate clauses), is there a name?
For example,
The quick brown fox that jumped over the lazy dog.
The man who killed ...
10
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1answer
8k views
Which is correct: “you and I” or “you and me”?
I was told the correct usage is for example:
"My wife and me" but I hear often "I and my wife" or "my wife and I".
Google gives 34M results for "My wife and I" and 909K results for "My wife and me"
...
8
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3answers
803 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 ...
10
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3answers
560 views
“Can I help who's next?”
This seems to happen every time I go to my local bagel shop. Everyone is waiting in a line, and when the cashier is ready to help the next person, he/she asks, "Can I help who's next?" or "May I help ...
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2answers
264 views
What is the word “who”?
Is the word "who" an adverb? If not, what is it? If it is an adverb, what type of adverb is it?
2
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2answers
140 views
Is it correct to say “which is Jay”?
I've been watching the movie "King Arthur", and I heard Arthur asking "Which is X?"
Is it correct to say "Which is Jay?" instead of "Who is Jay?"?
4
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3answers
904 views
These ones/those ones/the other ones
I came across the following sentence:
This is the only type of command that requires us to complete by a certain time - all of the other ones aren't governed by exclusion logic.
I am intrigued ...
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10answers
4k views
What does “it” refer to in “it's raining”?
I wanted to leave the question title as is so as not to take away from my amusement :).
Anyway,
It's raining.
What is raining? Is it the sky? The clouds? The weather? The rain? What is "it"? ...
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
868 views
“You” or “your” when using two subjects with a possession?
I came across your and Mr X's publication
or
I came across you and Mr X's publication
0
votes
0answers
203 views
“You and I” versus “you and me” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Which is correct, “you and I” or “you and me”?
When I was in primary school, I was advised by my English teacher to use "you and I" instead of ...
5
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4answers
12k views
Correct usage of pronoun: “their” vs “its” [closed]
Which word goes in the blank (their or its)?
The stones are small, but ___ value is great.
I think it is their but my child's paper says it is its. Which is correct and why?
8
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2answers
414 views
*all of us's friend
There's this funny gap I tried to write a paper once upon a time when I studied linguistics, and I'd like to know if anyone has insight into it. The construction in question is the possessive ...
4
votes
1answer
771 views
Using “who” for things (nonliving beings)
On an online typing tutor site I came across the following phrase:
We're now going to move on to words who's first letter originates on the top row.
Can "who" normally be used in this way (to ...
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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.
4
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2answers
3k views
Is it correct to use “me too” and “I too”?
I'm a bit confused. Is it correct to use "me too" and "I too"? (Also with other pronouns.)
For example, if I want to say that Juan gives a present to Ana and I give a present to Ana:
Juan gives a ...
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6answers
6k views
“Who wants ice-cream?” — Should I say “(not) I” or “(not) me”?
With the enthusiastic question of "Who wants ice-cream?", what is the more correct response?
(Not) I.
(Not) me.
Neither response is a sentence. The first response of "(not) I" sounds ...
5
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4answers
625 views
“Till death do us part”
Every time I see this expression, I can't help thinking it's grammatically wrong. Is it grammatically acceptable? Why is it used extensively in this form?
2
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2answers
6k views
Usage of “he himself”
The boy's innate goodness will withstand the challenges because unless he himself wants to turn evil, [...].
My teacher thinks that commas should set off the word "himself", but I disagree. Who ...
