MODERN BUSINESS ENGLISH

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MODERN BUSINESS ENGLISH
Tamara A.Susetyo-Salim

• Manjemen Informasi Dokumentasi
• FAKULTAS ILMU PENGETAHUAN BUDAYA
• UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

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Personal Pronouns NominativeAnd objective Case
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PRONOUNS

• Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.
  The use of pronouns eliminates the monotonous
  repetition of nouns and creates greater fluency
  of expression.
• When Phyllis called Martin, Phyllis asked
  Martin to review the marketing plans of Phyllis
  and to share with Phyllis the suggestions of
  Martin for improving the marketing plans.
• When Phyllis called Martin, she asked him to
  review her marketing plans and to share with her
  his suggestions for improving them.

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CHARACTERISTIC OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• A personal pronoun refers to a particular person
  or thing. Unlike other kinds of pronouns that
  will be presented in subsequent units, personal
  pronouns have different forms to indicate person,
  number, gender, and case. The following chart
  summarizes the forms and characteristics of
  personal pronouns covered in this unit.

NOMINATIVE CASE NOMINATIVE CASE OBJECTIVE CASE OBJECTIVE CASE
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural
First Second Third I you she, he, it we you they me you her, him, it us you them
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• Person. The term person is used to indicate
  whether a particular personal pronoun refers to
  the person speaking, to the person spoken to, or
  to the person or thing spoken about.
• If the pronoun refers to the person speaking,
  as in the following sentences, it is first
  person.
• I plan to apply for the job.
• The company may hire me.

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• In each sentence below, the italicized pronoun
  refers to the person spoken to and is second
  person.
• You may want to apply for the job too.
• The company may decide to hire you.
• Finally, if a pronoun refers to a person or to a
  thing about which something is said, it is third
  person.
• Fred is in Chicago today, but he will be back
  in the office next Monday.
• Ann wanted to leave earlier, but she had to
  attend a staff meeting.
• Mr. McManus received the letter yesterday and
  answered it immediately.

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• Number. First person and third person personal
  pronouns have singular and plural forms. The
  second person pronoun you may refer to one person
  or to two or more persons however, whether the
  reference is singular or plural, vow requires a
  plural verb when it is the subject.
• When I offer suggestions, the manager thanks
  me. (The first person pronouns / and me are
  singular.)
• When we offer suggestions, the manager thanks
  us. (The first person pronouns we and us are
  plural.)
• You are a highly valued customer. (In this
  sentence, the second person pronoun you refers
  to one person but, as the subject, requires the
  plural verb are.)

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• You are highly valued customers. (In this
  sentence, the second person pronoun you refers to
  two or more people and, as the subject, requires
  the plural verb are.)
• Joan said she referred the inquiry to Alvin and
  asked him if he would respond to it for her.
  (Each of these third person pronouns is
  singular.)
• Mr. Baker asked the managers to suggest topics
  for the sales conference and to submit them as
  quickly as they could. (They and them are third
  person plural personal pronouns.)

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• Gender. The third person singular personal
  pronouns have different forms to indicate
  gender, or sex masculine, feminine, or neuter.
• masculine gender He asked the manager to
  advise him.
• feminine gender She asked the manager to
  advise her.
• neuter gender The check has no date on it.

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• In some instances, the pronoun it refers to a
  person or to an animal whose sex is not
  indicated. In such cases, the pronoun it is
  common genderas are all first and second person
  personal pronouns and all third person plural
  personal pronouns. Note the pronouns of common
  gender in these sentences
• Perhaps the baby is crying because it is
  hungry.
• / almost forgot that the Wilsons asked me to
  tell you that they would like for us to have
  dinner with them next Saturday if we possibly
  can.
• Three cashiers were hired yesterday, hut they
  won't start working until next Monday.

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• In many instances, of course, they and them
  refer to things rather than to people or to
  animals for example
• Power took may cause injuries if they are
  misused or have short circuits in them.
• Case. The term case refers to the form of a
  pronoun or a noun that indicates the relation of
  the noun or pronoun to one or more other words in
  a sentence. For example, as discussed in Unit 3,
  the possessive case of a noun indicates
  ownership, authorship, or a similar relationship
  between the possessive noun and whatever is
  identified by another noun (Mike's address or
  Dorothy's supervisor, for example).
• Personal pronouns have three cases. The
  nominative case and the objective case forms are
  listed in the preceding chart and discussed in
  this unit. The possessive case is presented in
  Unit 5.

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USES OF THE NOMINATIVE CASE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• The nominative case of a personal pronoun is
  used when the pronoun is the subject of a verb or
  functions as a predicate nominative. As
  indicated in the chart, these are the nominative
  case forms of personal pronouns
• I we you he she
  it they

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• 1. Subject of a Verb. If the pronoun is the
  subject of a verb in a sentence or clause, use
  the nominative case of the pronoun. Note the
  italicized pronouns and verbs in the following
  sentences.
• / write two or three memos almost every day.
• We offer quality merchandise at reasonable
  prices.
• We salesclerks try to be helpful and courteous
  at all times. (We, not salesclerks, is the
  subject of the verb try. Salesclerks functions as
  an appositive, which is a noun that explains or
  clarifies a preceding noun or pronoun.)
• You have a very heavy workload.
• Jack said that he has an extra copy of the
  manual.
• Shirley ignores whatever gossip she hears.
• The car is five years old, but it is still in
  excellent condition.
• The Paleys stayed with friends while they were
  in Richmond last month.

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• 2. Predicate Nominative. If the pronoun following
  a verb explains the subject of the verb, use the
  nominative case of the pronoun. A pronoun (or a
  noun) that functions in this way is often called
  a predicate nominative, but it may be referred to
  as a subject complement or as a predicate
  complement.
• As illustrated below, a form of the verb be links
  the predicate nominative to the subject.
• The receptionist on duty yesterday was /.
• Burton Associates' first clients were we.
• Perhaps the next successful entrepreneur will be
  you.
• The winner is she.
• The most gracious loser may have been be.
• The company's main competitors are they, Klein
  Corporation and Reynolds Company. (Note that
  Klein Corporation and Reynolds Company explain
  who they are and therefore function as
  appositives.)

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OBJECTIVE CASE OF PBBONAL PRONOUNS

• The objective case of personal pronouns has a
  number of different uses, as indicated in the
  following discussion. These are objective case
  forms of personal pronouns
• me us you her him
  it them

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• 3. Direct Object of a Verb. The direct object of
  a verb identifies who or what is the direct
  receiver of the action expressed by the verb. It
  may be a noun or, as illustrated below, a pronoun
  in the objective case.
• The storm caught us by surprise.
• Dr. Thomas interviewed Jan and immediately
  hired her.
• If a verb has two or more direct objects and one
  or more of them is a pronoun, mentally repeating
  the verb with each pronoun object may help you
  ensure that you have used the objective case of
  the pronoun. In such sentences as the one below,
  some writers and speakers incorrectly use the
  nominative case instead of the objective case of
  a pronoun.
• Because all seats in the coach section were
  occupied, the (light attendant sealed Kirn,
  Ralph, and me in the first class section. (not
  Kim, Ralph, and /.)

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• 4. Indirect Object of a Verb. The indirect object
  of a verb is a pronoun or a noun that tells to
  whom something is given or for whom something is
  done.
• During a meeting with Ralph, Ms. Tremain gave
  him an important assignment. (The pronoun him is
  the indirect object and the noun assignment is
  the direct object of the verb gave.)
• Please send her an invitation. (Her is the
  indirect object and invitation is the direct
  object of the verb send

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• A sentence containing an indirect object may be
  reworded so that the indirect object becomes the
  object of a preposition for example
• Alicia sent me a copy of the article.
• Alicia sent a copy of the article to me.
• Thus mentally inserting the word to before a
  pronoun used as an indirect object may help you
  choose the correct form of the pronoun.

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• 5. Object of a Preposition. The objective case of
  a pronoun may be used as the object of a
  preposition. A preposition is a joining word (for
  example, of, to, from, between, or except which
  shows the relation of a noun or pronoun following
  it (the object of the preposition) to some other
  word in the sentence.
• Several of us have not seen the new machines.
• Two orders from them were received late
  yesterday afternoon.
• The work should be divided between you and me.
  (not you and I.)

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Spot Check 1In the following sentences, decide
which of the pronoun forms shown in parentheses
is correct and then circle it.

• 1. Ms. West asked (he, him) what (he, him) would
  like to do next.
• 2. (Us, We) secretaries thought the new computers
  were intended for (us,
• we).
• 3. You must have given (her, she) an excellent
  recommendation(her,
• she) got the job!
• 4. James and (I, me) thought you were (her, she).
• 5. The visitors said (them, they) would like to
  meet with Mr. Crews
• however, (he, him) was unable to see (them,
  they).
• 6. The managers invited (us, we) administrative
  assistants to have lunch
• with (they, them).
• 7. Bryan, the receptionist, said (he, him)
  thought (them, they) should have
• invited (he, him) too.
• 8. Perhaps the managers will invite (he, him) and
  (I, me) the next time.
• 9. If (you, yous) find any errors, please inform
  (us, we) of (it, them, they).
• 10. (Her, She) and (he, him) are eligible for
  promotions, aren't they?

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• 6. Subject of an Infinitive. When a pronoun is
  used as the subject of an infinitive, it must be
  in the objective case. An infinitive usually
  consists of the word to plus a verb, such as to
  request, to draft, to call, or to send.
• Miss Olson advised him to request a transfer.
• Kurt asked me to draft the reply.
• When the infinitive appears after the verb make
  or let, the word to is generally omitted for
  example
• The children's parents sometimes make them
  perform various household chores.
• Ken thinks Ms. Osman will let Roberta and him
  transfer to the San Francisco office. (Note
  that the infinitive has a compound subject the
  noun Roberta and the pronoun him.)

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• 7. Object of an Infinitive. A pronoun used as
  either the direct or the indirect object of an
  infinitive must be in the objective case.
• Mr. Williams asked Pam to give him a revised
  report. (Him is the indirect object and report
  is the direct object of the infinitive to
  give.)
• First National Bank seems eager to interview
  us. (Us is the direct object of the infinitive
  to interview.)
• 8. Pronouns With the Infinitive To Be. When the
  infinitive to be has a pronoun as its subject,
  the pronoun must be in the objective case.
• The owners want us to be more productive.
• We expect them to be more understanding.

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• Also, since to be requires the same case after
  it as before it, a pronoun that follows to be
  must be in objective case.
• Rita mistook me to be him. (Note that both
  pronouns are objective case.)
• I mistook her to be the manager. (Note that to
  be is preceded by the objective case pronoun her
  and followed by the noun manager.)
• I mistook the manager to be her. (Whether to be
  has a pronoun subject or, as here, a noun
  subject such as manager, the pronoun following
  it must be in the objective case.)

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• In each of the preceding sentences, notice that
  the subject of the infinitive to be is different
  from the subject of the verb mistook and that
  both the subject and the complement of to be are
  in the objective case. If the infinitive to be is
  not immediately preceded by a pronoun or a noun,
  however, a pronoun that follows to be must agree
  with the subject of the verb in the sentence or
  clause and be in the nominative case, as
  illustrated below.
• I was mistaken to be she. (Both /, the subject
  of the verb was mistaken, and she are nominative
  case.)
• The owner was thought to be he. (Remember that
  a noun has the same form for the nominative case
  as it has for the objective case. When used as
  the subject of a verb, a noun is in the
  nominative case.)

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Spot Check 2In each of the sentences below,
decide which of the pronoun forms shown in
parentheses is correct and then circle it.

• Creditors expect (us, we) to make payments on
  time.
• Henry wants you and (her, she) to help (he, him).
• The attorney asked (I, me) to be a witness.
• I doubt that you would want to be
  either (he, him) or (her, she).
• The directors may question (he and she, him and
  her) about the proposal.
• The next governor is expected to be (her, she).
• A few customers wanted (us, we) to grant (them,
  they) larger discounts.
• Would you want (them, they) to serve on the
  committee?
• They advised (us, we) consumers to be wary of
  offers that seem too good to be true.
• Mr. McCoy may ask you or (I, me) to serve on the
  committee.

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AGREEMENT OF PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

• The antecedent of a pronoun identifies the
  person or thing to which the pronoun refers. The
  antecedent of a personal pronoun may be another
  pronoun or a noun.
• Although /, we, and you do not require stated
  antecedents, he, it, they, and other third
  person personal pronouns must have stated
  antecedents. As you have noticed, the example
  sentences in this unit and elsewhere in this
  book often contain third person pronouns without
  stated antecedents. The reason is that the
  sentences are intended to be viewed as excerpts
  of written and oral messages containing sentences
  in which the antecedents were stated previously
  and therefore properly omitted in the sentences
  here.

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• 9. The Principle of Agreement. The basic
  principle of pronoun and antecedent agreement is
  that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in
  person, number, and gender. As the following
  examples illustrate, applying this principle to
  first and second person personal pronouns is
  usually easy.
• / thought Rose left a message for me, (I refers
  to the speaker and never has a stated
  antecedent. The pronoun me agrees with /, its
  antecedent.)
• Darlene asked Bob and me whether we had
  consulted you. (We refers to Bob and the
  speaker me refers to the speaker only. You
  refers to the person spoken to and has no stated
  antecedent.)

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• Using third person pronouns requires careful
  attention, however. The lack of antecedents or
  the improper placement of antecedents results in
  ambiguity.
• He said be paid him yesterday. (No definite
  antecedent for any pronoun makes the meaning
  unclear.)
• Willis said Harry paid him yesterday. (The
  meaning is clearthe antecedent of him is
  Willis.)
• When a pronoun might refer to either of two
  nouns, reword the sentence so that the pronoun
  clearly refers to the correct noun.
• While Peggy was talking with Maureen, she
  received several telephone calls. (Did Peggy
  receive the telephone callsor did Maureen?)
• While she was talking with Maureen, Peggy
  received several telephone calls. (She clearly
  refers to Peggy.)

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• Third person singular pronouns must agree with
  their antecedents in gender, person, and number.
• Ms. Belov wanted to know whether she should
  take an extra copy with her.
• Lloyd mistakenly thought he had the tickets
  with him. Leslie endorsed the check and cashed
  it.
• They and them are of common gender and may be
  used to refer to any third person plural
  antecedent.
• Tickets for the concert are still available,
  but they are very expensive,
• Otis and Hilda are in Mobile today however,
  they will be here tomorrow.
• The Harrises made reservations at the Plaza but
  had to cancel them.
• Oliver and Olivia thought the bouquets were for
  them.

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• When the antecedent of a pronoun is a singular
  noun of common gender (supervisor, doctor, owner,
  or executive, for example), use be or she, him or
  her, or a similar combination of third person
  singular pronouns. To avoid the excessive
  repetition of such combinations of pronouns in
  your own writing and speech, change the
  antecedents to their plural forms and use plural
  pronouns.
• If an employer makes too many demands, be or
  she may have disgruntled employees.
• If employers make too many demands, they may
  have disgruntled employees.
• An experienced accountant may consider a
  refresher course to be too elementary for him or
  her
• Experienced accountants may consider a
  refresher course to be too elementary for them.

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INDEFINITE USE OF IT AND THEY

• 10. The Pronoun It. The pronoun it generally must
  have a definite antecedent. In certain idiomatic
  expressions, especially those that relate to
  weather and time, it does not have a stated
  antecedent.
• Dean read the memo and sent it to Shirley.
• It is raining. (It relates to weather and has no
  stated antecedent.)
• It is 230 a.m. (// refers to time and does not
  have a stated antecedent.)
• 11. The Pronoun They. The pronoun they must have
  a definite antecedent.
• It should not be used to refer to people in
  general.
• not They still say the economy will continue to
  improve.
• but Some government officials say the economy
  will continue to improve.
• Remember, however, that the antecedent of a third
  person personal pronoun
• may appear in a sentence preceding the one in
  which the pronoun appears. For
• example, the following use is correct.
• We attended a meeting conducted by some
  government officials last week. They said, and
  probably still say, that the economy will
  continue to improve.

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Spot Check 3In each of the sentences below,
decide which of the pronoun forms shown in
parentheses is correct and then circle it.

1. Paula thinks Mr. Wilkinson wants (her, she) to
   help (he, him).
2. If you were (her, she), what would you do?
3. Olivia said the instructor considered (her, she)
   a good student.
4. Lewis was waiting for Ted and (I, me) to help
   (he, him).
5. Bob and Ellen checked the reports and found (it,
   them) to be accurate.
6. We give every customer the personal attention
   (he, she, he or she) wants and deserves.
7. The package arrived this morning, but I have not
   opened (it, them).
8. The best-qualified candidate is considered to be
   (her, she).
9. Every investor knows (he, she, he or she, they)
   may gainor lose.
10. Please check the merchandise carefully before you
    accept (it, them).

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Study Guide 4A. As you read the following
sentences, refer to the rules indicated
if you are unsure why the italicized pronouns
are in the nominative case.

• 1. Perhaps you and I1 should reconsider the
  offers we1 received.
• 2. We1 employees need better equipment.
• 3. The company has indicated it1 may relocate.
• 4. Some stockholders said they1 would support the
  plan.
• 5. J M's top representatives are he2 and she2.
• 6. Two potential victims of the scheme are you2
  and /2.
• 7. The leading contender is thought to be she8.
• 8. He1 or she1 is likely to be a winner.
• 9. The biggest losers are likely to be we8
  consumers.
• 10. They1, Sheldon and Catherine, own and operate
  a successful bakery.
• 11. The price of Model 20 went up last year, but
  it1 is likely to go down this year.
• 12. The letters were written yesterday, but
  they1 were not mailed until this morning.

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B. In the following sentences, the
italicizedpronouns are in the objective caseand
the rules indicated explain why.

1. Wesley told me3 about the meeting.
2. Please send her4 a photocopy of the invoice.
3. Maybe Ms. Wolfson will divide the work between
   you5 and me5.
4. We should ask him6 to find a different supplier.
5. The Nelsons hired a new attorney to represent
   them7.
6. The secretaries consider him8 and her8 to be good
   supervisors.
7. Edgar thought the judge to be her8.
8. Did you mistake her to be me8?
9. I placed the order and then canceled it1.
10. Miss Romero glanced at the pamphlets and then
    threw them1 in the wastebasket.

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C. Refer to the rules indicated at the end of
each sentence if you cannot explain the choice of
pronouns in the following sentences.

1. A sales representative knows that he or she must
   be aware of customers' needs.1,9
2. The customer, Mrs. Benton, said she would like to
   open an account.1,9
3. A baby may cry if it is hungry.1,9
4. Any new employee may rely on coworkers to help
   him or her at the outset.7, 9
5. The attorneys, Mildred Rodriguez and Walter
   Var-gas, said they thought the contract was
   invalid.1, 9
6. It is unusually warm today.1, 10
7. Many executives say they work far more than 40
   hours a week.1,9,11
8. It is nearly midnight.1,10

ASSIGNMENT Complete the Unit 4 Worksheet on
pages 33 34.