ACT English › Subjective and Objective Pronoun Errors
"Our Family Trip to Hawaii" by Jennifer Mings (2013)
Last summer, my mother, sister, brother, and me took a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. We were excited to see everything, and couldn’t wait to arrive. After our lengthy plane ride, we stepped off of the plane in a daze. There was two flight attendants who immediately greeted us, putting flower wreaths around our necks. We then met up with our tour guide; and he told us that we would be going straight to Pearl Harbor.
On our way to Pearl Harbor, there was a largely immense amount of traffic, something that aggravated my mother. Luckily, the tour guide was a native of the island, and he was able to calm my mother down.
When we finally arrived at Pearl Harbor, there was many tourists and natives of different nationalities. The first thing we did when we arrived was watching a movie about the history of Pearl Harbor, which included the story of the USS Arizona. During the movie, everyone had been excited to see the USS Arizona Memorial and wanted to get on the boat. After, we all got on a boat and we were driven to the USS Arizona Memorial. It was an amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, and great experience for everyone.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
NO CHANGE
Last summer, my mother sister brother and me
Last summer, my mother, sister, brother, and I
Last summer, my mother, sister, brother and I
The comma placement is correct in the passage, but “me” must be changed to “I” in order for the sentence to be grammatically correct.
She and him have been bitter enemies since they were children in Little League.
She and he have been
She and him have been
She and him has been
She and him having been
She and he having been
The use of the pronoun "him" is incorrect in the sentence, as it used as the subject, but can only be used as the object of the sentence. The pronoun needs to be changed to "he," but otherwise the sentence is absolutely correct. Therefore, the correct answer choice is "She and he have been."
Adapted from “Authority: The Unavoidable” in What’s Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton (1912)
The important point here is only that you cannot get rid of authority in education. It is not so much that parental authority ought to be preserved. The more, important truth, is that such authority cannot be destroyed. Mr. Bernard Shaw once said that he had hated the idea of forming a child's mind. In that case, Mr. Bernard Shaw had better hang himself, for he hates something inseparable from human life. I only mentioned \[earlier in the book\] the drawing out of the child’s abilities in order to point out that even this mental trick does not avoid the idea of parental or scholastic authority. The educator's drawing out is just as arbitrary and coercive as the instructor’s action, for he draws out what he chooses. He decides what in the child shall be developed and what shall not be developed.
The only result of all this pompous distinction between the “educator” and the “instructor” is who the instructor pokes where he likes and the educator pulls where he likes. Exactly the same intellectual violence is done to the creature whom is poked and pulled. We must all except the responsibility of this intellectual violence, whether from poking or from pulling.
Education is violent; because it is creative. It is such because it is human. It is as reckless as playing on the fiddle, as dogmatic as drawing a picture, as brutal as building a house. In short, it is what all human action is, it is an interference with life and growth. After that it is a trifling and even a jocular question whether we say of this tremendous tormentor, the artist Man, that he puts things into us like a pharmacist or draws things out of us.
Which of the following is the best form of the relative pronoun following “creature” in the bolded expression, “creature whom is poked and pulled” in the second paragraph?
who
NO CHANGE
whose
who's
The relative pronoun being used in this sentence functions as the subject of the clause. It might seem to be the direct object since the creature "is poked and pulled." However, this verb is in the passive voice. Therefore, the relative pronoun (standing in for "creature") is the subject of the action. This means that the pronoun should be "who" and not "whom." Certainly, it is not possessive, so the other two options should not be a temptation.
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
Him and me will always be on time for any event the group holds.
He and I will always be
Him and me will always be
Him and me will always being
Him and me will be always
Him and me going to always be
The use of the pronouns "me" and "him" is incorrect, as both are in their objective forms, but are used as the subjects. Both pronouns need to be changed to their appropriate subjective forms. "He and I will always be" is the only answer choice that uses the correct pronoun forms.
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
The book was probably only read in full by the author and I.
by the author and me.
by the author and I.
by its author and I.
for the author and I.
by I and the author.
The use of "I" as the object of the prepositional phrase "by the author and I" is incorrect, as "I" is the subjective form of the first person pronoun. To correct the sentence's error, "I" must be replaced by the objective form of the first person pronoun, "me." Therefore, the correct answer choice is "by the author and me."
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
It was her who ate the last cupcake.
It was she who ate
It was her whom ate
It was she whom ate
NO CHANGE
It was her that ate
The sentence requires the subject pronoun "she." Think of it as answering the question "who ate the last cupcake?" The answer is "she ate the last cupcake" not "her ate the last cupcake."
Adapted from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774; trans. Boylan 1854)
Wilhelm, what is the world to our hearts without love. What is a magic-lantern without light? You have but too kindle the flame within, and the brightest figures shine on the white wall; and, were love only to show us fleeting shadows, we are yet happy, when, like mere children, we behold it, and are transported with the splendid phantoms. I have not been able to see Charlotte today. I was prevented by company from which I could not disengage myself. What was to be done? I sent my servant to her house, that I might at least see somebody today whom had been near her. Oh, the impatience with which I waited for his return! Oh, the joy with which I welcomed him. I should certainly have caught him in my arms and kissed him, if I had not been ashamed.
It is said that the Bonona stone, when placed in the sun, attracts its rays and for a time appears luminous in the dark. So was it with me and this servant. The idea that Charlotte's eyes had dwelt on his countenance, his cheek, his very apparel, endeared it all inestimably to me so that, at that moment, I would not have parted from him for a thousand crowns. His presence made me so happy! Beware of laughing at me, Wilhelm. Can that be a delusion which makes us happy?
Which of the following is the best form of the underlined selection, "with me and this servant"?
with this servant and me
NO CHANGE
with I and this servant
with this servant and I
There are two things to note for this question. First, the appropriate personal pronoun to use is "me"—even though you might be tempted to use "I." If you are confused, remove everything else and keep only the preposition and the pronoun. You would never say "with I." Instead, you would say, "with me." Keep "me." The only thing that needs to change is the order. Generally speaking, you should place the first-person pronoun last when referring to yourself in a group. Therefore the better for is "this servant and me" not "me and this servant."
Adapted from Hard Times by Charles Dickens (1854)
A candle faintly burned in the window, to which the black ladder had often been raised for the sliding away of all that was most precious in this world to a striving wife and a brood of hungry babies. Stephen added to his other thoughts the stern reflection, that of all the casualties of this existence upon earth, not one was dealt out with so unequal a hand as death. The inequality of birth was nothing to it. For example, the child of a king and the child of a weaver were born tonight in the same moment. What would be the disparity between the death of any human creature who was serviceable to, or beloved by, another, while this abandoned woman lived on!
From the outside of his home he gloomily passed to the inside with suspended breath and with a slow footstep. He went up to his door opened it and so into the room.
Quiet and peace was there. Rachael was there, sitting by the bed.
She turned her head, and the light of her face shone in upon the midnight of his mind. She sat by the bed watching and tending his wife. That is to say, he saw that someone lay there and knew too good that it must be she. However, Rachael’s hands had put a curtain up, so that she was screened from his eyes. Her disgraceful garments were removed, and some of Rachael’s were in the room. Everything was in it’s place and order as he had always kept it. The little fire was newly trimmed, and the hearth was freshly swept. It appeared to him that he saw all this in Rachael’s face. While looking at it, it was shut out from his view by the softened tears that filled his eyes; however, this was not before he had seen how earnestly she looked at him, and how her own eyes were filled too.
Which of the following is the best form of the underlined selection "that it must be she"?
NO CHANGE
that it must be her
that it must to be her
that it must have been she
As written, the sentence has no punctuation errors. Indeed, it has no errors at all. Although the use of "she" likely looks strange to you at first glance, it is not wrong at all. This is a case of a predicate nominative. Since the verb is a form of "to be," the "object" really is not an object at all. Instead, it takes the same form that it would have if it were in the subject. For example, it is improper to say, "It is me." In this case, you would say, "It is I." The same holds here, though replacing "me" and "I" with "her" and "she."
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Between you and I, we could not send you to that private high school because the tuition was so expensive.
Between you and me, we could not send you to that private high school because the tuition was so expensive.
Between you and I, we couldn’t send you to that private high school because the tuition was so expensive.
Between you and I, we could not send you to that private high school for the tuition was so expensive.
Between you and I, we cannot send you to that private high school because the tuition was so expensive.
Between you and I, we could not send you to that private high school because the tuition was so expensive.
After the preposition "between," one uses the objects pronouns "you" and "me."
Over winter break, our AP Spanish class took a trip to South America to practice the language and learn more about different Spanish-speaking cultures. Before we left, every student had to get their vaccinations for yellow fever and typhoid. Our first stop was Bolivia. When we landed at El Alto airport the highest in the world, we could see the city of La Paz sprawling up the hillsides in the shadow of the Andes. The first day in La Paz, we went to the Witches’s Market,run by local yatiri. The yatiri are medical practitioners who perform healing rituals in they’re communities. At the market, we saw dried frogs, llama fetuses, herbs, and seeds, used in various rituals. After we visited La Paz, we traveled to Cochabamba. Cochabamba is Bolivia’s culinary capital, with delicious specialties such as salteñas and rellenos. In Cochabamba, we also climbed 1400 steps to see the Cristo de La Concordia statue, the tallest of it’s kind in South America. Next, we visited the salt flats of Uyuni. Several lagoons dotted the high desert landscape, some of who were full of flamingos!
On our way out of Bolivia, we stopped at Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian border. Because the lake’s elevation is over 12,000 feet, some of my classmates experienced a bit of altitude sickness. Despite the altitude sickness, everyone said they loved seeing the beautiful scenery and visiting the mysterious “floating islands” made of reeds. When we crossed the border into Peru, one of my classmates thought she had lost her passport. I would of had a panic attack! She ended up finding it buried in a pocket of her backpack and we were on our way.
My favorite part of Peru was our trek to the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. We spent four days hiking in the Andes on a trail to the ruins. Our guides, whom spoke Spanish, English, and Quechua, were very knowledgeable about the history, flora, and fauna in the region. Upon waking up the next morning, a beautiful sunrise greeted us and cast the mountains in its soft pink glow. After we explored the ruins, we took a train ride back to Cuzco. The next day, we flew to Lima and prepared to return home. I was sad to leave, but I know I would be back some day!
Select the answer choice that best corrects the bol d underlined portion of the passage. If the sentence is correct as written, select NO CHANGE.
some of which were full of flamingos!
NO CHANGE
some of who were full of flamingos!
some of that were full of flamingos!
some of them were full of flamingos!
The correct pronoun for "lagoons," which are inanimate (non-living) objects, is "which." Who and whom are for people. "Some of that" is not idiomatically correct, and "some of them" turns the fragment into an entirely new sentence that would need to be separated by a period instead of a comma. Additionally, "who" is a subject pronoun and in this sentence, we need an object pronoun.