Pronouns
Dahlia Bartley, Contributor

In our last lesson, we revised the use of the apostrophe to show ownership. Let me check the answers to your homework.

You should have used the apostrophe with Marcia, Mr Jones, Spain, Charles and Mary. The correct forms would then be Marcia's, Mr Jones', Spain's, Charles and Mary's (joint ownership). Be sure to review the rules given last time if you are still not clear about the correct position of the apostrophe.

Now, let us examine the following sentences and recognise, in each, those words which indicate ownership:

• This book is his.
• Our invitation is on your desk.
• The dog lost its bone.
• The best essay is yours.
• Her poem was the winning entry.

In the order of the sentences, you would be correct in identifying his, our, your, its, yours, her. What part of speech are these words? They are pronouns! They are possessive pronouns and by now, you should realise why this is so! What else do you notice about these pronouns? You should realise that where a noun uses the apostrophe to show possession/ownership, the pronoun DOES NOT, since it has its own possessive case.

So be warned, those of you who write, for example, 'Your's truly' at the end of a letter - you are making a serious mistake. Another common mistake occurs when the following is written - 'The dog lost it's bone'. Remember, now, possessive pronouns will never ever need the help of the apostrophe to show ownership. Incidentally, what is observed in the use of 'it's' is another use of the apostrophe - to indicate a contraction by showing us where a letter or letters are missing. Examples of contractions are won't, shan't, you'll, I've. 'It's' then, means 'it is'. Substitute this in the sentence above, 'The dog lost it's bone', and you will see just how absurd your sentence will be.

We are still working with pronouns. I used the word 'case' in the preceding paragraph. 'Case' denotes the relation of nouns and pronouns to other words in the sentence. There are three relationships or cases and we have already discussed one - the possessive.

Here is another. A pronoun that is used as the subject of a sentence is said to be in the nominative case. Consider the following sentences:

• You are wonderful students who are working diligently to pass your CSEC exams this year.
• She is taking her daughter to the library.
• Will we be joining the study group?
• They, the students, will find this topic interesting.

The pronouns 'you', 'she', 'we', 'they' are the subjects of the sentence and are, therefore, in the nominative case.

The final 'case' is the objective case and here, the pronoun is used as an object, as in the following:

• I would like to be like her.
• We asked him to represent us at the function.
• Find them and give it to them.

What a lot for today, you say? Alright, I will summarise the section on pronouns for you. (See figure A)

Now here is an interesting sentence - 'It was she who found my ring'. Sounds 'wrong', doesn't it? But believe me, it is correct. The pronoun which follows any form of the verb 'to be' must be in the nominative case. I will illustrate this in two more sentences.

• It might have been he who scored the winning goal.
• Was it she who wrote the article?

There is so much more to pronouns and we will have to re-examine the topic some time in the future. Please note carefully all we have discussed today, for once you master this topic, you will be on your way to eliminating some grammatical errors. I will close, as usual, with a brief exercise.

Add the apostrophe where it is needed

• The girls room will have to be painted before she returns home.
• I will tell Mr James children about his success.
• Someones history book was left on the table.
• That book is not yours.
• The ladies meeting will begin at three.
• He got the biscuit from his brother-in-laws house.
• The cat is now sitting on its favourite couch.
• The childrens room is nicely decorated.
• Ours is the task to unearth good talent.
• The house belongs to John and Marva Brown.

There is so much more to pronouns. Please note carefully all we have discussed today, for once you master this topic, you will be on your way to eliminating some grammatical errors. See you next week, God's willing.

TIED SOULS: An Asccot High School group perform a moving dance entitled: 'Tied Souls', in which they are trying to break free with their hands bound. The group was performing at the seventh staging of the Portmore Health care Black History Month Concert at the Portmore HEART Academy this year. -Photo by Anthony Minott

Dahlia Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.