4.4 Pronouns and Reference

4.4 Pronouns and Reference

Quick Answer: Decide the pronoun’s job in the clause (subject, object, possessor, reflexive), then lock agreement and clear antecedent. iTEP loves who/whom, wrong case after prepositions, reflexive misuse, and vague it/this/they.

Pronoun map for Structure items

Relative / interrogative set: who, whom, whose, which, that, what

Case: subject vs object

Use subject forms for subjects and subject complements in careful test English; use object forms for objects of verbs and prepositions.

• She and I reviewed the transcript. (compound subject → I, not me)
• The advisor called her and me. (compound object → me, not I)
• Between you and me, the rubric is unclear. (object of preposition)

Quick test: Drop the other noun. The advisor called I is clearly wrong → me. Me reviewed the transcript is wrong → I.

After be, traditional academic English prefers subject forms (It was she who objected), though informal speech uses object forms. iTEP academic stems often favor the standard written pattern when options contrast she/her after be in formal focus constructions.

Possessive forms

• Determiners need a following noun: her results, their hypothesis, its limit (note its has no apostrophe).
• Independent possessives stand alone: The idea was hers. That notebook is mine.
• Trap: it’s = it is/has; its = possessive. Error-ID loves apostrophe confusion.
• whose = possessive for people (and sometimes things): a student whose ID expired; a theory whose predictions failed.

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexives need an antecedent in the same clause performing the action on itself, or appear in emphasizing apposition:

• She prepared herself for the oral interview.
• The students taught themselves the software.
• I myself submitted the form. (emphasis)

Wrong (common trap): Please contact myself with questions. → me or the coordinator
Wrong: My colleague and myself will present. → My colleague and I
Reciprocal (not reflexive): each other / one another for mutual actions: They helped each other, not themselves, when the meaning is mutual.

Who / whom / whose

Examples:

• The researcher who designed the study will speak. (who designed → she designed)
• The researcher whom the dean invited will speak. (the dean invited her → whom)
• The researcher to whom we sent the data replied. (object of preposition)
• Students whose scores improved attended tutoring.

In speech, who often replaces whom; on a structure exam, if both appear as options, apply the replace-with-he/him test. Preposition + relative almost always wants whom for people: for whom, with whom, to whom.

Which / that / who in relative clauses

Examples:

• The module that covers aspect is required. (essential—identifies which module)
• Module 4, which covers aspect, is required. (extra info about a known module)
• Students who finish early may leave.

Traps:

• which for people: the advisors which… → who
• comma + that in careful nonrestrictive style: prefer which with commas for things
• deleting needed relative object pronouns can create fragments—less common in MC but appears in clause-building items

Agreement with antecedent

A pronoun must match its antecedent’s number (and gender where marked):

• Each student must bring his or her ID. / singular they is increasingly accepted in modern usage, but many standardized structure keys still prefer singular consistency with each/everyone or rewrite to plural Students… their. If options force a choice, prefer the form that is internally consistent and standard for formal tests: often his or her with each, or plural rewrite.
• The committee published its decision. (unit)
• The results were surprising; they changed the model.
• Everyone submitted their form. — widely used; if a trap option is clearly wrong (Everyone submitted her forms while mixed genders are intended without context), pick the least broken form among options.

Indefinite antecedents: everyone, somebody, nobody are grammatically singular for verb agreement; pronoun choice in options should not create clear plural verb + singular clash elsewhere in the sentence.

Unclear and faulty reference

Error-identification and careful completion both punish ambiguous or missing antecedents.

1. Ambiguous: When Ana told Mei the score, she was delighted. (who is she?)
2. Broad reference: The lab flooded, which delayed the trial, and this upset the sponsor. Prefer a clear noun: this delay.
3. No antecedent: In the article, they claim… (who?) → the authors
4. Wrong number: The university updated their portal may be accepted as institutional they, but if options contrast its/their, university as singular institution often takes its on tests.
5. Shift: starting with a student then jumping to they inconsistently when a singular option set is forced.

Compound and comparative patterns

• Taller than I (am) vs informal taller than me—if a full clause is possible, subject form is safer on tests.
• as well as she vs as well as her—same logic.
• Emphatic we students / us students: subject slot we, object slot us.

Fill-in vs error-ID checklist

Part 1 blank is a pronoun:

1. Subject or object slot?
2. Person/number of antecedent?
3. Relative: people vs things; restrictive vs nonrestrictive?
4. Reflexive only if same-clause self-reference or clear emphasis pattern.

Part 2 underlined pronouns: flag wrong case after prepositions, who/whom swaps, it’s/its, reflexive for plain object, which for people, and vague this/that/they with no noun anchor.

Mini drills

1. The dean offered the internship to ___ → her / him / them (object), not she.
2. ___ did the panel select? → Whom (object of select).
3. A theory ___ predictions fail will be revised. → whose.
4. The sensors calibrated ___ → themselves (if automatic self-calibration) vs them (if technicians calibrated the sensors).
5. Replace every vague this in a paragraph with a noun (this result, this delay) during review practice.

Study routine

1. Master the he/him replacement test for who/whom.
2. Write five sentences with preposition + whom.
3. Edit a short academic paragraph for clear antecedents only.
4. Make an error log labeled case / relative / reflexive / agreement / ambiguity.
5. On test day, never choose a pronoun because it “sounds polite” (myself); choose the form that matches function.

Pronoun control closes the core noun-phrase skill set for Grammar: verbs and agreement handle the clause’s spine; articles mark the noun; pronouns keep reference precise under multiple-choice pressure.