Table of Contents
Introduction
Pronouns are used to replace nouns within sentences, making them less repetitive and mechanic.
Example
Mary didn’t go to school because Mary was sick.
Mary didn’t go to school because she was sick.
The second example uses pronouns to make the sentence flow much better. Pronouns that appear commonly on the GMAT are: subjective pronouns, objective pronouns, and possessive pronouns.
Subjective Pronouns
Subjective pronouns: As the name implies, subjective pronouns act as subjects within sentences. Examples – I, you, he, she, we, they, and it.
Example
I am going to the bank while he is going to the market.
Objective Pronouns
Objective pronouns. These pronouns act as the object of verbs within sentences. They are: me, you, him, her, us, them and it.
Example
The ball was going to hit me in the face.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns. These pronouns are used to indicate possession, and they are placed after the object in question (as opposed to possessive adjectives like my and your, which are placed before the object). They are: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs and its.
Example
This car is mine.
Always make sure that the pronouns are consistent and in the same tense as the antecedent that they refer to.
How to Find the Correct Pronoun
Example
Joel ran away from home because his stepfather and he/him had quarreled.
“His stepfather and he” is the subject of the verb had quarreled. If you strip away the extra words, the correct pronoun becomes clear: “he” had quarreled.
Example
Meg is older than I/me.
If you add the silent verb, you will hear the correct pronoun: Meg is older than I [am] (not Meg is older than me [am]).
Example
Anybody who wants to bring their/his or her family may do so.
Anybody is singular and demands a singular pronoun.
Golden Pronoun Rule
The Golden Pronoun rule is – pronouns can only reference one antecedent. It should always be obvious which noun the pronoun is referencing to.
Example
Kate and Francie were in the office when she heard the phone ring. Incorrect
Kate and Francie were in the office when Kate heard the phone ring. Correct
Example
Katie’s book was left in the classroom, so she ran back to get it. Incorrect
Katie’s book was left in the classroom, so Katie ran back to get it. Correct
Who vs. Whom
Tricky sentence corrections will ask you to distinguish between who (subjective) and whom (objective). One way to remember the difference is: whom ends with the letter m, as do other objective case pronouns: him and them. If you are having trouble “hearing” the correct case, rephrase the who/whom clause as a question (or if the sentence is already a question, rephrase it as a sentence). Use a personal pronoun for the missing information. You should hear which case is correct.
Example
Paul is a student who/whom studies hard.
Who is the subject of the verb “studies.” Ask yourself: Who studies hard? He studies hard, not him studies hard.
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