Start here · the first lesson of Pronoun agreement / ambiguity / case
Pronoun agreement / ambiguity / case
Grammar: Voice, Narration, Tenses + Rule Bank · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT
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The idea
A pronoun stands for a noun, so it must (1) take the right case for its job (subject I/he/she/we/they/who; object me/him/her/us/them/whom), (2) agree in number and gender with the noun it stands for, and (3) point clearly to one noun. Exams also test reflexives (myself), relative pronouns (who for people, which for things) and reciprocal pronouns (each other). Indore 2019 Q29, 2021 Q17 and 2023 Q29 were pronoun items.
Textbook vs exam method
Textbook method
| Rule | Right | Wrong |
|---|---|---|
Object form after a verb or preposition, also in pairs (pronoun-case-object) | Between you and me; she invited Ravi and me. | Between you and I |
Subject form as a subject (pronoun-case-subject) | Ravi and I went to the market. | Ravi and me went… |
Reflexive only when the doer acts on itself or for emphasis (reflexive-misuse) | Priya and I will attend; he hurt himself. | Priya and myself will attend. |
Who = subject, whom = object of its own clause (who-whom) | The man whom we met; give it to whoever asks. | The man who we met (formal) |
Agreement with the noun (pronoun-antecedent-number) | The city is proud of its parks. | …of their parks. |
Who for people, which for things (pronoun-relative-which-who) | The doctor who treated me. | The doctor which treated me. |
Each other = two-way action; themselves = acting on oneself (pronoun-reciprocal) | The two captains shook hands with each other. | …with themselves. |
Clear reference (pronoun-ambiguity) | When Raj met Amit, Raj was nervous. | When Raj met Amit, he was nervous. |
One… one's (pronoun-one-ones) | One should keep one's promises. | One should keep his promises. |
Contested (never the only tested point): "taller than me" (formal: than I am), "one… his" (American usage accepts it), singular "they" for a person of unknown gender, and "each other" vs "one another" by number.
Exam method
- Spot every pronoun. in the sentence or the options.
- Case. subject of a verb → I/he/who; after a verb or preposition → me/him/whom. Use the pair test.
- Myself/himself. is the same person both doer and receiver? If not, use I/me.
- Who/whom. cut out the clause, remove "do you think / they said", answer with he/him.
- Agreement. find the noun the pronoun replaces; singular company/city → its.
- Ambiguity. two possible nouns of the same gender → the noun must be repeated.