Error Spotting: Pronouns and Modifiers

What is the task?

You read a sentence in four parts. One part may have a wrong pronoun or a wrong describing word.

Pronouns stand in for nouns: I, me, who, whom, its. Modifiers describe: less, fewer, good, well, elder.

Why do students miss them?

The wrong form often sounds natural in speech. Everyday habit hides the error.

Exams reward the formal rule, so learn the rule behind each pair.

Read across each row to see the test that separates the pair.

What is the rule?

After a preposition, use the object form: me, him, her, us, them.

This is just between you and me. People say ‘between you and I’, but this is wrong.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: between.

How do you check?

Drop the other person. Would you say ‘between I’? No. So say ‘between me’.

The same trick works for ‘with him and me’ or ‘for her and me’.

Can you fix the pronoun?

Wrong: Please send the files to Ravi and I.
Right: Please send the files to Ravi and me.

Wrong: The gift is for you and I.
Right: The gift is for you and me.

Why this works: To and for are prepositions. Drop the other person and you would say to me and for me.

When do we use myself?

Myself is the reflexive form of I. Use it when you are also the person affected by the action.

I cut myself on a knife.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: myself.

When is it wrong?

Do not use myself as a plain subject. ‘My brother and myself went’ is wrong.

Say ‘My brother and I went’.

Can you fix the reflexive?

Wrong: The principal and myself judged the contest.
Right: The principal and I judged the contest.

Wrong: Please send the report to myself.
Right: Please send the report to me.

Why this works: Myself fits only when the action returns to the same person, as in I taught myself.

Common mistakes with who and whom

Wrong: Whom wrote this letter?
Right: Who wrote this letter?

Wrong: The man who I met was kind.
Right: The man whom I met was kind.

Why this works: Who is the subject, like he. Whom is the object, like him.

What is the formal rule?

Whom is the object form. After a preposition, formal English uses whom.

To whom should I address the letter? He asked me with whom I had discussed it.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: whom.

What about everyday speech?

Who is usually used as the object in questions: Who did you invite?

Exams prefer whom after a preposition. Choose it there.

What does its mean?

Its shows belonging. The dog hurt its paw.

It’s is short for it is or it has. It’s ten past twelve.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: its; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: it_1.

How do you check?

Say it is in its place. If the sentence still works, write it’s.

If not, write its with no apostrophe.

Example: Which form of its fits?

Take: ___ raining, so the cat stays in ___ basket. The first gap means it is, so use it is as a short form.

The second gap shows belonging, so use its. Read it as: It is raining, so the cat stays in its basket.

Why this works: you test each gap by saying it is.

How do they differ?

Use less with uncountable nouns. Use fewer with countable nouns.

There was less traffic. There were fewer cars.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: less_1; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: few.

What is the common error?

Students say ‘less cars’. Cars can be counted, so fewer is right.

Count test: can you say one car, two cars? Then use fewer.

Example: Count test on two nouns

Take: There was ___ milk and ___ bottles. Milk cannot be counted, so use less.

Bottles can be counted, so use fewer. The sentence becomes: There was less milk and fewer bottles.

Why this works: the count test works on every noun without exceptions.

Common mistakes with good and well

Wrong: She sings very good.
Right: She sings very well.

Wrong: He is a well player.
Right: He is a good player.

Why this works: Good describes a noun. Well describes a verb, so it fits sings.

Good or well?

Good is an adjective. Well is the adverb. She sings well.

A good singer is a person. Sings well tells how she sings.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: good_1; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: well_1.

Elder or older?

Elder is used before a noun for family members: my elder brother.

Use the elder of the two. Elder does not take than.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: elder.

How do you solve one?

Take: ‘The secret is (A) just between (B) you and I (C) and no one else (D).’

First, find the preposition. It is between. Next, check the pronoun after it. I is the subject form. Part C should be you and me.

What if nothing looks wrong?

Check each pronoun and each describing word once more.

Pick No error only after every pair has passed.

How do you get fast at this?

Learn the pairs: me and I, who and whom, its and it’s, less and fewer, good and well.

Write one sentence for each pair in your own words.

How do you review?

Cover the answer and fix the sentence aloud.

Do the quiz below. Re-read the rule for every miss.