By: Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 01:33:01 +0000

This is a wonderful description of the proper use of objective pronouns – as long as one already understands the difference between subject and object. The brief definition offered, “An object pronoun replaces a noun that is in the object position of a sentence. This means that it receives rather than performs the action of the sentence.” only works when that definition makes sense to the reader. I’m still trying to explain to my three otherwise-intelligent adult children that “give it to Joe and I” is not correct, and never will be. I’ve tried the suggestion that one would not say “give it to I”, nor should such a construction sound normal to a native English speaker. Thus, adding Joe to the sentence eliminates “I” as a possibility, leaving “me” as a reasonable alternative, which would also be the correct (objective) choice. Then again, I’m not entirely sure that the average native English speaker, these days, is capable of determining what sounds “normal” as possibly correct. I blame parents who fail to correct their children’s grammar; I blame the public school system for a multitude of sins, including failure to teach students correct grammar; I blame students who think grammar doesn’t matter “in real life”; I blame college and university instructors for failing to provide consequences for students who fail to respect the importance of proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling in written assignments; and I blame employers for failing to demand correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling in written communications (such as emails). My goodness, there’s enough blame to go all the way around, isn’t there?

Comments on: Object Pronouns

By: Brenda Russell