1. Here is my hat; there is yours. 2. This is not their property; it is ours. Pronouns of the Second Person. The forms of you are now the only forms regularly employed; thou, thy, thine, thee are heard only in prayer, in poetry, and sometimes among the Quakers. All the forms of thou, both singular and plural, are consistently employed in the Bible; ye is there always nominative plural, and you always objective plural: 1. Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. -Numbers 18: 1. 2. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? 3. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. - John 14: 20. 4. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Uses of "It." The pronoun it has three peculiar uses: - Matthew 5:46. (1) As an expletive. We call It an expletive when it comes first in the sentence and takes the place of the real subject which comes later. In these two sentences, It is sad to think of that. It was not true that he confessed. the real subject of each sentence is the italicized part. Begin each sentence with the italicized words, and It will drop out. In such sentences - and they are very common - It is a mere space-filler or expletive. (2) As the subject of a few intransitive verbs which relate chiefly to the weather. These verbs cannot have a person for their subject, and are therefore called impersonal verbs: It rains one minute and it sleets the next. It is snowing fast. You will find it a trifle hard to answer the questions, What rains? What snows? This proves that it does not always represent a noun, or even a clearly defined idea. (3) As a vague indefinable object after a few verbs that usually take no object at all: We footed it over the ice. You can't come it over me in that style. The Person of Nouns. Nouns are said to be in the first, second, or third person for the same reason that pronouns are. If a noun represents the name of the speaker - that is, if it is in apposition with it is in the first person: I or we 1. I, Alexandre Manette, write this paper in my cell. 2. We, Tom and Jack, saw these things. If the noun names the person spoken to, it is in the second person. Every nominative of address (Chapter LXIII), therefore, is in the second person: 3. Help me carry this, Henry. If the noun names a person, animal, or thing spoken of, it is in the third person. In other words, whenever you would refer to a noun by he, she, it, or they, that noun is in the third person. It is evident, therefore, that nouns are used in the third person far oftener than in the first or second: 4. James knows this boy. 5. The lion injured the giraffe. 6. Tables are heavier than chairs. Personal Pronouns in the Nominative and Objective Cases. Every writer and speaker needs to be especially careful in his use of the nominative and objective cases of pronouns. Nouns have the same form for these two cases; but all of the personal pronouns, except you and it, have one form for the nominative and an entirely different form for the objective. A mistake, therefore, in the cases of pronouns will show itself at once. We found that five principles (Chapter LXIII) govern the use of the nominative case of nouns. The same principles, of course, hold good for pronouns. Review these principles, and remember (1) that I, we, he, she, they are nominative forms, and (2) that me, us, him, her, them are objective forms. Courtesy demands that in every series of nouns or pronouns the forms of the first personal pronoun should come last: 1. Henry, Thomas, and I were there. 2. He spent the night with my two brothers and me. EXERCISES I Name the person and number of the nouns and personal pronouns in the following sentences: 1. I knew that they were following me. 2. "Do you want me to go?" asked Godfrey, looking straight into Nancy's face as he spoke. 3. "Well, then, Master Marner," said Dolly, "I'll ask Mr. Macey to speak to the parson about it." 4. We, the undersigned subscribers, promise to pay the amounts opposite our names. 5. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. II Tell what case each of the following personal pronouns is in, and why: 1. He spoke to me about it. 2. They may use my book. 3. Did you see him or her? 6. It is impolite to do that. 7. You and I were mistaken. 8. Will you walk home with Susan and me? 9. Have you heard what father and I did? 10. She not being in, we left our cards. II. I thought it was they. 12. She is taller than he. 13. He is not so heavy as I. (Chapter LV, Note 1.) 14. Just between you and me, I don't believe what he says. 15. All the pupils have gone but me. 16. He sits between Robert and me. 17. There's nobody here but me. 18. We boys like games. 19. They were not thinking of us girls. 20. That is not she. 21. It is I. III Use I or me in each of the following blanks; give a reason for your choice: I. It is 2. not liking the prospect, the invitation was declined. 3. My mother and 4. have had a long walk. wish you had been with mother and 5. That's a secret between sister and 6. He told John and not to wait; but John and did not hear him. 10. He blamed both of us, you for talking and for listening. 1 1 Notice that you and — are in apposition with the us of Let's |