TEAS Ready🗣️ English and Language Usage · Knowledge of Language · Lesson 2 of 6 · 5 min
Pronouns: agreement, case and clear reference
🧩 "Maria told Jen that her shift was moved." Whose shift? A pronoun that points two ways leaves the reader guessing.
💡 Key idea
Choose case by the pronoun's job, and make sure every pronoun points to exactly one noun.
🧠 The idea
A pronoun replaces a noun called its ANTECEDENT, and it must agree with that noun in number: "The students left their books," "The student left her book." PRONOUN CASE depends on the job the pronoun does. Subject case (I, he, she, we, they, who) acts as the subject of a verb; object case (me, him, her, us, them, whom) receives the action or follows a preposition. To test a pair such as "Jordan and I" or "Jordan and me," drop the other person: "The coach praised me," so "praised Jordan and me." After between, use object case: between you and me. For who versus whom, answer the question with he or him: he means who, him means whom. Finally, every pronoun needs one CLEAR REFERENCE. If it could point to two nouns, or to no noun at all, replace it with the noun itself.
✏️ Worked example
"The instructor gave the practice exam to Devon and (I / me)." Step 1: remove "Devon and." Step 2: "gave the practice exam to me" sounds right, because me follows the preposition to. Answer: "to Devon and me." Next: "(Who / Whom) should I call about the schedule?" Answer with a pronoun: "I should call him." Him means whom, so "Whom should I call about the schedule?"
📌 Takeaways
- Drop the other person to test a compound pronoun: "Sam and I went" / "for Sam and me."
- He = who, him = whom.
- If a pronoun could mean two different nouns, name the noun instead.
📖 Terms in this lesson
Antecedent: The noun that a pronoun refers to; for example, in "Maria lost her badge," Maria is the antecedent of her.
✅ Check yourself
Question 1 of 3
Which sentence uses pronoun case correctly?
- Luis and me reviewed the cranial nerves.
- The tutor explained the nerves to Luis and I.
- Her and Luis studied the cranial nerves together.
- The tutor met with Luis and her after class.
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: D
Her follows the preposition with, so object case is correct: "met with her." Her and me cannot be subjects (it should be "She and Luis" and "Luis and I"), and I cannot follow the preposition to (it should be "to Luis and me").
Question 2 of 3
Which word correctly completes the sentence? "The nurse ___ you spoke with yesterday works nights."
- who
- whom
- which
- whose
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: B
Rearranged, the clause is "you spoke with her," so the pronoun is an object and whom is correct. Who is subject case. Whose shows possession, and which is used for things, not people.
Question 3 of 3
Which revision fixes the unclear pronoun in "When Amir called his brother, he said the car was fixed"?
- When Amir called his brother, he said that the car was fixed.
- When Amir called his brother, they said the car was fixed.
- When Amir called his brother, the brother said the car was fixed.
- When Amir called his brother, him said the car was fixed.
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: C
Naming the brother removes the doubt about who spoke. Adding that leaves he pointing to either man, they does not agree with one speaker and is still unclear, and him is object case used as a subject.
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