Pronoun Cases
Pronoun cases indicate a pronoun's grammatical function in a sentence. The three main cases are:
1. Nominative Case: Used for the subject of a verb or for a predicate nominative (a word that renames the subject).
* Examples:
* I love to read. (Subject of the verb "love")
* The winner was she. (Predicate nominative, renames "winner")
* We went to the park. (Subject of the verb "went")
2. Objective Case: Used for the object of a verb or a preposition.
* Examples:
* The teacher gave me a book. (Object of the verb "gave")
* He sat next to her. (Object of the preposition "next to")
* John talked to them. (Object of the preposition "to")
3. Possessive Case: Used to show ownership or possession.
* Examples:
* This is my car. (Shows ownership of "car")
* Their house is beautiful. (Shows ownership of "house")
* I borrowed his book. (Shows ownership of "book")
Important Notes
* Personal Pronouns: These pronouns change form based on their case (e.g., I, me, mine).
* Indefinite Pronouns: These pronouns often don't change form based on case (e.g., anyone, everything, somebody). They usually function in the nominative case.
* Relative Pronouns: These pronouns connect clauses (e.g., who, whom, which, that). Their case depends on their role in the dependent clause.
Example Sentences with Different Cases
* Nominative: They went to the store. (Subject)
* Objective: The dog chased them. (Object of the verb)
* Possessive: This is their dog. (Possessive pronoun)
* Nominative: It was he who called. (Predicate nominative)
* Objective: I gave the present to him. (Object of the preposition)
Practice
To test your understanding, try to identify the pronoun cases in these sentences:
1. She gave the flowers to them.
2. It was she who won the prize.
3. The book is theirs.
4. We went to the library with them.
Let me know if you'd like more examples or have any questions!