In sentences of this kind, the personal pronoun (he, his, him) must be in the singular to agree with its antecedent (everybody, anybody, etc.) (see [§ 113]).
Note. When the antecedent is of common gender (as in the last example), the personal pronouns (he, his, him) may be regarded as of common gender also. In very precise or formal language, one may say he or she, his or her: as,—“Each of us must lead his or her own life”; but this form of expression is to be avoided unless the distinction is clearly necessary.
142. When used as adjectives, none of the indefinites have any forms of inflection. The same is true when they are pronouns, except as follows:—
Others is used as the plural of another. The possessive forms are:—singular, another’s; plural, others’. The other (possessive, the other’s) has in the plural the others (possessive, the others’). Each other and one another add ’s in the possessive. One has a possessive one’s; the one becomes the ones in the plural.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
143. Relative pronouns have a peculiar function in the sentence, since they serve both as pronouns and as connectives. Their use may be seen by comparing the two sentences that follow:—
- 1. This is the sailor, and he saved my life.
- 2. This is the sailor who saved my life.
Each consists of two parts or clauses ([§ 44]). In No. 1, the two clauses are connected by the conjunction and, which belongs to neither; the pronoun he, which stands for sailor, is the subject of the second clause. In No. 2, there is no conjunction; instead, we find the word who, which replaces and he. This who is a pronoun, since it stands for sailor (precisely as he does in No. 1) and (like he) is the subject of the verb saved. But who is also a connective, since it joins the two parts of the sentence as and does in No. 1. Such words (which serve both as pronouns and as connectives) are called relative pronouns.
In No. 1, the two clauses are coördinate. Neither serves as a modifier, and each might stand alone as a complete sentence (“This is the sailor.” “He saved my life”). The sentence is compound ([§ 44]). In No. 2, on the contrary, the clause who saved my life is a subordinate or dependent clause, for it is used as an adjective modifier of the noun sailor, which it limits by showing what particular sailor is meant. The sentence is complex ([§ 44]). The dependent clause (who saved my life) is connected with the main clause (this is the sailor) by the pronoun who, which refers to sailor.
144. Relative pronouns connect dependent clauses with main clauses by referring directly to a substantive in the main clause.[21]