[46] "Foundations," p. 60.
EXERCISE XXVI.
Write from dictation—
1. John's hat is old, yours is new.
2. The bear was lying on its side, dead.
3. The Browns' house is larger than ours, but ours is more convenient thantheirs.
4. Yours very respectfully, John Smith.
5. See the yacht! it's coining into the harbor under full sail.
6. Show Mary your doll; it should not grieve you that yours is not sopretty as hers.
7. That fault was not yours.
8. Helen's eyes followed the direction of hers.
Nominative or Objective Case.[47]—There are only seven words in the English language that now have different forms for the nominative and objective cases; therefore it is only in the use of these words that we need to observe any rules about "nominative" or "objective." Since, however, these seven words are more frequently used than any other words, the possibilities of error in choosing between the nominative and the objective are many. Mistakes of this kind are common, and produce a very unpleasant effect on cultivated people. The seven words that have different forms for the nominative and objective cases are the following pronouns[48]:—
| Nominative. | Objective. |
| I | me |
| we | us |
| thou | thee |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| they | them |
| who | whom |
It is taken for granted that the student has already learned the following
principles of syntax:—
1. Words used absolutely and the subjects of finite verbs should in English be put in the NOMINATIVE form.
2. The subjects of infinitives and the objects of verbs and prepositions should be in the OBJECTIVE form.
3. Words in apposition should be in the same case.
4. The verb "to be," or any of its forms (am, is, are, were, etc.), does not take an object, but, being equivalent in meaning to the symbol "=," takes the same case after it as before it: the nominative, if the form is "finite"; the objective, if the form is "infinitive" and has a subject of its own. "I know it is he," "I know it to be him," and "The stranger is thought to be he" are grammatically correct.
Sentences like "She invited Mrs. R. and I to go driving" are common, even among people generally well-informed. Such mistakes will be avoided if the speaker stops to think what the form would be if the pronoun were not coupled with a noun. No one would think of saying, "She invited I to go driving."
Persons who are in doubt as to which form of the pronoun to use often try to avoid the difficulty by using one of the pronouns ending in "-self"—pronouns which have the same form for both the nominative and the objective case. Thus many persons, uncertain whether to use "I" or "me" in the sentence quoted above, would say instead, "She invited Mrs. R. and myself to go driving." This is no better than "Mrs. R. and I," or "her and I." The pronouns in "-self" are properly used only for emphasis or in a reflexive sense.[49] It is right to say: "I will go myself"; "Carrie herself went to the door "; "God helps those who help themselves." It would be wrong to say, "Harry and myself have bought a horse together."
When a pronoun in "-self" is used reflexively, it refers to the subject of the clause in which it stands.
In sentences like "This advice is free to whoever will take it," the word ending in "-ever" is the subject of the verb "will take," not the object of the preposition "to." The right form, therefore, is "whoever," not "whomever." The object or, better, the "base" of the preposition "to" is the whole clause, "whoever will take it."