3.5 Pronouns and Reference

Pronoun Case: Subject, Object, Possessive

A pronoun stands in for a noun, and its case must match the role it plays in the clause. English has three main cases. Subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) perform the verb. Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) receive the verb's action or follow a preposition. Possessive forms (my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours, their/theirs) show ownership.

The trickiest items involve compound subjects/objects and comparisons. After a preposition or as an object, use the object form: "between you and me," not "between you and I." In a comparison with than or as, the implied verb tells you the case: "He is taller than I (am)," and informal "than me" is avoided in standard written English on the test.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

The antecedent is the noun a pronoun refers back to, and the pronoun must agree with it in number (singular/plural) and person. This is the single most tested pronoun error on the TOEFL ITP, and it overlaps with the agreement rules from earlier in this chapter.

The trap: singular indefinite words such as each, every, everyone, someone, a person, a student, neither are singular, so a pronoun referring to them must also be singular — his, her, or his or her — not the plural their. While singular they is increasingly accepted in everyday writing, the TOEFL ITP tests the traditional rule, so on the test choose the singular form.

Worked Example: "Each of the candidates must submit ________ application by the deadline." The antecedent is Each (singular), so the agreeing pronoun is the singular his or her (or his/her), not the plural their. The finished sentence is "Each of the candidates must submit his or her application by the deadline." On a Written Expression item, an underlined their pointing back to each would be the error.

Also watch person consistency: do not shift from one to you or from a student to they mid-sentence. "When one studies regularly, one (not you) retains more" keeps the person consistent.

Relative Pronouns: Who, Whom, Which, That

Relative pronouns introduce clauses that describe a noun, and the right choice depends on what the noun is and the pronoun's role.

• who — refers to people and acts as the subject of its clause: "the scientist who discovered the vaccine."
• whom — refers to people and acts as the object: "the scientist whom the committee honored." (A quick test: if you could answer with him/her, use whom; if he/she, use who.)
• which — refers to things or animals: "the theory which changed physics."
• that — refers to people or things in defining (essential) clauses: "the data that support the model." Use which, set off by commas, for nonessential information.
• whose — shows possession for people or things: "the author whose book won the prize."

A common Written Expression error uses which for a person ("the man which called" should be who) or omits the needed pronoun.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) are used only when the subject and object are the same: "The students taught themselves the material." Do not use a reflexive as a plain subject or object: "My partner and myself wrote it" is wrong — it should be "My partner and I." Note the standard forms are himself and themselves, never hisself or theirselves.

Clear Reference: It, They, This

Every pronoun must point to one obvious antecedent. Two reference faults are tested. Ambiguous reference occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one noun: "When the manager met the client, she was nervous" — who was nervous? Rewrite to name the person. Vague reference occurs when it, this, or which points to a whole idea rather than a specific noun. Finally, recall that the it in "It is raining" and the there in "There are reasons" are dummy subjects that fill the slot without referring to anything — these are correct and not reference errors.