Case

CASE

The case of a pronoun indicates whether the pronoun initiates the action (e.g., subjective case), receives the action (e.g., objective case) or conveys ownership (e.g., possessive case).

Subjective Objective Possessive

Singular I
she, he, it me
her, him, it my, mine
her, hers, his, its

Plural we
they us
them our, ours
their, theirs

Singular and Plural you
who you
whom your, yours
whose

	Subjective	Objective	Possessive
Singular	I she, he, it	me her, him, it	my, mine her, hers, his, its
Plural	we they	us them	our, ours their, theirs
Singular and Plural	you who	you whom	your, yours whose

We use the subjective case when a pronoun is:
- a subject of a verb
- a predicate nominative that follows a form of the linking verb to be.
We use the objective case when a pronoun is:
- a direct object of a verb
- an indirect object
- an object of a preposition
- an object of any verbal
We use the possessive case when a pronoun:
- denotes ownership
- attributes a characteristic to someone or something
In sentences with a compound joined by AND, we use the same case—subjective or objective—as you would with no compound:
- Bill and I cracked the window. (Subjective)
  - Bill cracked the window.
  - I cracked the window.
    - You would not write: Me cracked the window.
- They threw snowballs at Delores and me. (Objective)
  - They threw snowballs at Delores.
  - They threw snowballs at me.
    - You would not write: They threw snowballs at I.
A pronoun with an appositive following it uses the same case as it would without the appositive:
- We students need more time. (Subjective)
  - STUDENTS is an appositive to WE.
    - Remove the appositive to determine the proper case: We need more time.
- Will they give us reporters access to the president? (Objective)
  - REPORTERS is an appositive to US.
    - Remove the appositive to determine the proper case: Will they give us access to the president.
The case of a relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that) is determined by how the relative pronoun is used in the dependent clause.
- If the relative pronoun is the subject of a dependent clause, it must be in the nominative case
  - The witness WHO was to appear today is ill.
    - WHO is the subject of the verb WAS in the dependent clause.
- If the relative pronoun is the object of a dependent clause, it must be in the objective case
  - The witness WHOM they have indicted is ill.
    - WHOM is the object of the verb HAVE INDICTED in the dependent clause.

TO DETERMINE CASE:

1) Identify subject, verb and object in the sentence

2) Identify independent and dependent clauses

3) Identify prepositions

TYPES OF CASE:

There are three types of case: 1. Subjective case which indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of a given clause or as a predicate nominative following a linking verb. The subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, they, we, who and it. 2. Objective Case, which indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object. The object pronouns are: me, you, him, her, them, us, whom and it. 3. Possessive case, which indicates that the pronoun is showing ownership. The possessive pronouns are: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, their, theirs, our, ours, whose and its.

To begin studying subjective case, please go to the next page.