1. It is I (predicate nominative, § 158; not 'me'). It is we. It is she. It is they. It wasn't I. Etc.

Is it I? Is it we? Is it he? Wasn't it they? Etc.

2. This is between you and me (not ' you and I'); between him and me; between him and her; between her and me; between you and her; between you and them; between them and me; between you and him; between you and us.

They will not let you and me go with them.

3. You are as tall as he (is; § 347).

He likes her as well as I (like her; § 347). He likes her as well as (he likes) me (§ 347). 4. You are taller than he (is; § 309).

He likes her better than I (like her; § 309). He likes her better than (he likes) me (§ 309). 5. There is nobody else here but I (am; § 314). 6. I should like to be he (§ 219).

7. She took me to be him (§ 219).

NOTE. The sentence Fare thee well' means ' may it fare (go) well for thee' (see dative, § 606). Among the Quakers (Friends) and some others thee is used as a nominative, with its verb in the third person: 'Does thee want anything, father?'

64. Them for those. The word them is a personal pronoun, and may not be used as an adjective for those in such expressions as those apples, those chairs, those people (§ 70). (Exercise IX, § 554)

65. Repetition of noun, etc. A pronoun is used for the sake of euphony, to avoid the unpleasant repetition of a noun; but if the pronoun does not suggest at once the noun to which it refers, the noun should be repeated. A noun or a pronoun should be repeated whenever its repetition will add clearness or force. The second and third examples are ambiguous in form only, the sense being brought out by the context; but ambiguity of any kind should be avoided, that the attention of the reader may not be diverted from the thought:

1. Faulty: When his father punished him, he was angry. (Say 'The father was angry when he punished his son' or 'The boy was angry when his father punished him', according to the sense.)

2. Faulty: The first formal attempt at an account of Shakespeare's life was made by Nicholas Rowe, ninety-three years after his death. (Say Shakespeare's.)

3. Faulty: The father of Mithridates was murdered when he was a child, and for some years he led a wandering life. — FROUDE. (He refers to Mithridates. Use the noun in both places, or recast the sentence: While Mithridates was still a child, his father was murdered, and for some years the boy led a wandering life.)

4. Observe the unpleasant and faulty repetition of it in the following quotation: The Chicago team has not scored a run in the world-series games at the Polo Grounds. It will be necessary for it to do it today to win. (The three it's mean different things; say 'It must do so today to win'.)

5. He was naturally a man of great sensibility; he had been ill educated; his feelings had been early exposed to sharp trials; he had been crossed in his boyish love; he had been mortified by the failure of his first literary efforts; he was straitened in pecuniary circumstances; he was unfortunate in his domestic relations; the public treated him with cruel injustice; his health and spirits suffered from his dissipated habits of life; he was, on the whole, an unhappy man. MACAULAY (on Moore's life of Lord Byron. This illustrates Macaulay's mastery of the pronoun).

66. Substitute for noun, etc. To avoid unpleasant repetition, it is sometimes necessary to use a substitute for a noun or a pronoun; but such a substitute should be an appropriate equivalent; it should not degenerate into a hackneyed epithet (the first seven of the following examples have appropriate equivalents; the last three are faulty):

1. Mr. Pickwick paused, and looked steadily on Mr. Winkle, who quailed beneath his leader's (= Pickwick's) searching glance. - DICKENS.

2. The ancient seat of Lidcote Hall was situated near the village of the same name. - SCOTT.

3. The astrologer sat down to his repast, while Varney shut two doors with great precaution, examined the tapestry, lest any listener lurked behind it, and then sitting down opposite to the sage (= the astrologer), began to question him. SCOTT.

4. "Now, Joe, knives and forks." The knives and forks were handed in, and the ladies and gentlemen inside, and Mr. Winkle on the box, were each furnished with those useful instruments. - DICKENS.

5. According to the manners of the times, the master and his attendant sat at the same table, and the latter (= his attendant) observed, with regret, how little attention Tressilian (= the master) paid to his meal.

SCOTT.

6. Lawrence and Lambourne gazed a little while after Wayland, and then turned to go back to their tower, when the former (= Lawrence) thus addressed his companion (= Lambourne). — SCOTT.

7. Mr. Weller was standing at the door of the Angel, ready to receive them, and by that gentleman they were ushered to the apartment of Mr. Pickwick. DICKENS. (The epithet that gentleman is proper here, being a humorous reference to Mr. Pickwick's man, Sam Weller.)

8. Faulty: The ceremony was performed by the Reverend Doctor Thayer. When the officiating clergyman (say he) addressed the bride, etc.

9. Faulty: Next week we shall attend the lecture of Professor Miller. This distinguished scientist (say He) will explain, etc. 10. Faulty: The Old Bay State (say Massachusetts) was well represented. After the games newspaper men of the Hub (say Boston) gathered at the gymnasium in the city of elms (say Cambridge) to interview the captain of the Harvard team, and were received by the famous runner and broad jumper (say by him, or simply omit) most courteously. (Here the multiplicity of epithets is the chief objection.)

THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN

67. Possessive pronoun. A possessive pronoun denotes ownership, or possession:

1. Polly's hat is in the hall. Yours (= Your hat) is upstairs. (Yours is a pronoun because it is used instead of the phrase your hat; it is a possessive pronoun because it tells who owns the hat.) 2. This boat is different from theirs.

3. The house next to mine is Emily's.

4. He thinks that my friends and yours will help him.

68. Possessive pronouns. The possessive pronouns are mine, ours, thine, yours, his, hers, theirs (see § 59, N.). They have no variation in form, and do not take an apostrophe. (It's means it is.)

A possessive pronoun may be preceded by of in the same manner as a noun in the possessive case (§ 45):

1. I am a friend of his. (= I am one of his friends.)

2. They are reading a story of yours.

3. This remark of mine rather amused Rose.

69. Possessive adjectives. The possessives mine, thine, and his often modify nouns (§ 56); they are then possessive adjectives (§ 118; see § 59, N.):

1. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice.

2. His letter came this morning.

THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN

70. Demonstrative pronoun. A demonstrative pronoun points out a person or thing:

1. This is the best inn of the neighborhood.

2. Those (not Them', § 64) were the happy days.

71. Demonstrative pronouns. The demonstrative pronouns are this (plural these) and that (plural those). They have no variation in form except for number (§ 23).

72. Demonstrative adjectives; this kind, etc. The demonstratives in § 71 often modify nouns (§ 56), and are then demonstrative adjectives (§ 116); the plural form these or those with the singular kind or sort is incorrect (do not say 'kind of a' or 'sort of a'; for kind of rather, see rather, § 417):

=

1. This kind of apple bears well.

2. People of that sort are lovable. (Not Those sort of people'.) 3. Those kinds of fruit do not thrive here.

4. Fruit of this kind does well here.

5. What kind of trees are these? (These is the subject; § 196.) 6. What kind of tree is this? (Not 'kind of a '.)

7. This sort of men are hard to please. (§ 197.)

73. Peculiar uses. This and that have some peculiar uses:

1. What has brought you to this? (= this condition.)

2. We expected him before this. (= this time.)

3. He has been gone this three years. (The three years are thought of as a single period of time. We generally say 'these three years', in which these is plural, agreeing with years.)

4. I will come next week; that is, if I can. (Introducing an explanation or modification of a statement.)

74. Misuse of this. In beginning an address or a composition, introduce your subject by naming it; do not begin by saying This or This subject (see § 366, B, 2, b):

1. The subject of grammar is important. (Not 'This is an important subject'; nor 'This subject is important '.)

2. The study of rhetoric is important. (Not This study is important.) (Exercise X, § 555.)

THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN

75. Interrogative pronoun. An interrogative pronoun is used in asking a question:

1. Who was here today? Whom did you see?

2. What is the matter? What does he want?