Pronouns : Common Errors - 1

1. (W) One should love his country.

(R) One should love one's country.

Note:- One must be followed by one, one's, oneself, not by he, his, himself, if the reference to the same person. One is an Indefinite Pronoun. It does not refer to any person or thing in particular but is used in a general way. The genitive case of "one" is "one's".

(W) One should be careful how he selects his books.

(R) One should be careful how one selects one's books.

2. (W) Between you and I, I don't trust him.

(R) Between you and me, I don't trust him.

Note:- The correct expression is "between you and me". Between is a preposition and any pronoun that follows it must be in the accusative case (me, him, her, them, etc).

3. (W) You are stronger than him.

(R) You are stronger than he.

Note:- The pronoun following than must be in the same case as the Noun or Pronoun preceding it.

4. (W) They who have finished their work may leave the place.

(R) Those who have finished their work may leave the place.

Note:- "They" should not be used as an antecedent of who or that.

5. (W) I, You and he can expect promotion next year.

(R) You, he and I can expect promotion next year.

Note:- Good manners require that I should come last in such expressions. The rule is : the person addressed should come first, the person spoken of second, and the speaker himself last.