What Is The Objective Case?
What Is The Objective Case?
What Is The Objective Case?
Objective Pronouns
An objective pronoun acts as the object of a sentence?it receives the
action of the verb. The objective pronouns are her, him, it, me, them,
us, and you.
Possessive Pronouns
A possessive pronoun tells you who owns something. The possessive
pronouns are hers, his, its, mine, ours, theirs, and yours.
Examples:
He told Sarah a lie.
Subject: He
Transitive verb: told
Direct object: a lie
Indirect object: Sarah (noun)
Shannon sent me a message.
Subject: Shannon
Transitive verb: sent
Direct object: a message
Indirect object: me (personal pronoun in objective case)
Indirect Object. The indirect object of a sentence is the
recipient of the direct object. For example:
I wrote him a letter.
("Him" is the indirect object of the verb "wrote", i.e., the
recipient of "a letter," which is the direct object. "Him" is
the objective-case version of "he.")
Summary: What is the English Objective
Case?
Define objective case: the definition of objective case is the case
denoting the person or thing acted upon. This is contrasted with the
person of thing “doing” the action.
In summary,
The objective case refers to nouns that are objects.
Those objects may be direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of
prepositions.
In English, personal pronouns change when in the objective case.
Subject of an Infinitive
While the word subject in grammar normally applies to a sentence, it is
possible for an infinitive to have a subject.
When an infinitive or an infinitive phrase follows certain verbs, the action of
the infinitive may be done by a different person or thing than the subject of the
sentence. This doer of the infinitive's action follows the verb and comes before
the infinitive. This is known as the subject of the infinitive.
Keep in mind that when an infinitive follows a verb, sometimes the word to is
dropped from the infinitive.
A personal pronoun is in the objective case when it is a subject of the infinitive.
Examples: We wanted Bill to go to the airport.
Simon helped me to record the data.
No one saw the prisoner escape.
Simon helped me record the data.
When a pronoun is the subject of an infinitive (the basic verb with to: to swim, to drive,
etc.), use the objective case for the pronoun. Your ear will tell you the objective case
(not the subjective case) is correct.
Reciprocal Pronouns
We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is
acting in the same way towards the other. For example, A is talking to
B, and B is talking to A. So we say:
One of the most common mistakes in writing is to use the wrong relative pronoun, particularly
when it comes to mixing up who and that. Who is always used to set up a relative clause that
describes a person, while that is used to describe an object or non-human things.
Another common error is to mix up that and which. When describing objects and non-human
beings, that is used to introduce a defining relative clause (essential information and requires no
additional punctuation), while which is used to introduce a non-defining clause (non-essential
information set off by commas). See a few different examples.
Be careful!
whose and whom