Category: ENGLISH GRAMMAR MADE EASY

BLOG 10d: USING PRONOUNS CORRECTLY (v. 2.0)

Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D.
Research Professor
University of New Mexico, USA

Some examples of pronouns include: I/me, he/him and she/her.

The fact that grammar is rarely taught in schools has created an appalling level of illiteracy in both the spoken and written word. Such illiteracy has been further promoted by scriptwriters in movies, TV programs, and in novels, and today most people are clueless as to how to speak and write correctly. Let me give you some examples of INCORRECT usage of the pronouns I, HE and SHE:

THESE EXAMPLES ARE GRAMMATICALLY INCORRECT

1. John gave the books to Sally and I (should be me)
   2.  The book is for John and he (should be him)
   3. The book is for SHE and I (should be her and me)
   4. Give the book to John and I (should be me)
   5. It’s for HE and I to decide (should be him and me)

Some Background

Many people just don’t know how to speak or write because the rules of grammar governing the use of pronouns are rarely taught. Yet, there is a surprisingly simple fix to this problem and it has to do with prepositions.

Prepositions are words that introduce information to the reader and include such terms as “for”, “after”,  “to” and “with”, among others. Here are a few common examples showing the CORRECT use of prepositions and pronouns. The prepositions are *asterisked*.

1. The book is *for* ME (not I)
2. He is *after* HER (not she)
3. He gave the books *to* ME (not I)
4. John is *with* HER (not she)
5. Give it *to* HIM (not he)

So what is the rule? Have you figured it out yet? Well, it’s this. If a pronoun (I, he, she) follows (comes after) a preposition, then the correct form is always “me, him or her”, as indicated in the above examples.

So when do we use the pronouns I, HE or SHE? Again, there is a simple rule for this. If the above pronouns come BEFORE a preposition, then it is correct to use the forms I, HE or SHE, as in the examples below. Prepositions are *asterisked*:

1. John and I went *to* the movies
2. He and she have been friends *for* years
3. She and I had lunch *on* the beach

YOU MAY SKIP THIS PART

For those who may have a deeper interest in how grammatical rules drive both the spoken and written word, here is a bit more for you. I know you are chomping at the bit to hear it!

The original rules of grammar that pertain to the use of pronouns actually come from Greek and Latin, and refer to pronouns that are either the SUBJECT or the OBJECT of a sentence (and their most common respective forms in Greek and Latin which include the Nominative, Dative and Accusative cases, among several others). For example, “John and I went to the beach”. In this example John and I are the subject of this sentence and that’s why John and I (not me) is the correct form. In Latin or Greek this form indicates the Nominative case.

In this next example, “James gave the book to John and me”, James is the subject of the sentence, and John and me are the object (the Dative case). Therefore, John and me is the correct form.

In the original Latin or Greek this distinction was indicated by changing either the ending of the pronouns or by introducing a different word.  Since English does not possess this facility, we accomplish the same thing by using different forms of a pronoun. That is “I or Me, He or Him, and She or Her”. Also we use prepositions to determine whether the pronoun in question is the subject or the object of a sentence, and, that is how we know when to say “I or Me, He or Him and She or Her”, and so on.

In summary, if the pronouns (I, He or She) come BEFORE a preposition (to, for, on, after, with) in a sentence, then we use “I, He or She”. If the pronoun is AFTER the preposition then the correct form is “Me, Him or Her”.

The ability to write and speak correctly, eloquently, or persuasively is the mark of a well educated person and, this being so, then the word can indeed be “mightier than the sword”!

BLOG SERIES: English Grammar Made Easy

by Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of New Mexico

BLOG #10a: Regime, Regimen or Regiment? Do they have the same meaning? (v2.0)

In this blog I explain the differences in meaning between “regime”, “regimen” and “regiment”.

(i) Regime refers to a political entity as in “Castro’s regime in Cuba”. We may also speak to regime change when one political entity is toppled or removed. This term is often erroneously confused with regimen.

(ii) Regimen refers to a plan or a method as in a “training regimen” or a “diet regimen”. Clearly this doesn’t mean the same as regime. This term is ofte.

(iii) Regiment refers to a large body of men or women in the military. The unit is made up of several battalions, but in size it’s smaller than a division.

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BLOG SERIES “English Grammar Made Easy”

by Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of New Mexico

BLOG 10c: To LAY or To LIE? (v2.0)

Today I discuss the near constant misuse of the verbs to “lie” and to “lay”.

To “lie”, as in…”to lie down” simply means to recline. To “lay” does NOT mean the same, and the two verbs are NOT interchangeable. To “lay” means to put or place an object somewhere as in… “to lay the book on the table”.

As well as being different in meaning, the two verbs are also governed by different grammatical rules. To “lie” is an intransitive verb, and as such it may not take a direct object. Thus, it is correct to say…”lie down” but NOT “lay down”. On the other hand, to “lay” is a transitive verb and, as such, it must be accompanied by a direct object as in…. “lay the book down on the table”, with the book being the direct object.

The two verbs are frequently misused and, for example, when you visit your doctor the nurse will often ask you to “lay down”. This is totally wrong on two counts because to lay means to put or place, and also requires the addition of a direct object. A possible way around this for those who insist on misusing the verb to “lay” is to say something like “lay yourself down on the bed”, with “yourself” being the required object. This now means “put/place yourself down on the bed”, which is correct in both meaning and grammar, but is a rather archaic and awkward way to speak.

Every language has a rule structure called grammar that develops over long periods of time. That is, both language and grammar evolve based on long term usage. However, we should not assume that change, as far as language is concerned, happens overnight, over several years, or decades. While new terms enter our current vocabulary every ten to 15 years, or so, grammatical rules and word meanings are much more stable and persistent and it may take fifty to a hundred years before we begin to see substantive changes in both grammar and word meaning.

Best advice: Learn the grammatical rules of your generation if you want to speak and write persuasively and effectively.

Latin Phrases Commonly Used in the English Language

Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of New Mexico

V3.1

Andrew Yiannakis,  Ph.D.
Research Professor
University of New Mexico

Linda Yiannakis,  MS., CCC-SLP

The English language contains nine key building blocks that are referred to as Parts of Speech. Knowing what they are, and how they are used, are essential foundational knowledge blocks that make up the skill set of an educated person.

1. ARTICLES

There are are two types of articles.  Think of them as noun identifiers.

(i) Definite Article: The word “THE” in English is a form of a definite article. The form THE is more specific because it’s used to refer to a clearly defined item as in “give me THE book”.
Clearly,  the person demanding the book isn’t asking for just any book!

(ii) Indefinite Article:  For example,  the words “A” and “AN”.

Examples:  There is A book I really want to find;  and,  we had tea in AN English country garden.

It is called an indefinite article because “a” or “an” don’t specify which book,  or English country garden.

In other languages such as Greek,  French or Spanish articles reflect the gender and number (e.g., singular or plural) of the noun they identify. In Greek,  for example,  we have “O Anthropos” (man-male);  “H Thea Athina” (the goddess Athina-female), and “TA Spitia Mou” (my houses-neuter). However,  such changes to the articles are not found in English.

2. NOUNS

A word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality.

Examples:  Teacher,  house,  beauty,  car, mountain,  computer

3. PRONOUNS

A word that is used instead of a noun.  Examples:   she,  it,  who,  me,  I, her,  them,  etc.

Example:  Linda loaned the book to ME (ME is the pronoun which is used in lieu of my name)

4. ADJECTIVES

A word that describes or qualifies a noun,  or pronoun.

Examples:   The house is BIG;  she has a SHARP brain;   his car is FAST.  BIG,  SHARP and FAST are all adjectives that say something more about the nouns in the examples above.  That is, the nouns house,  brain and car.

5. VERBS (verbs refer to action or experience)

A word or phrase that describes an action, condition, state of being, or experience.

Examples:  “To Run”;  “to KEEP”; “to FEEL”, “to SHOUT”, “to WORK”, “to LEARN” and “to BE” are all verbs.

6. ADVERBS (think of adverbs as modifiers)

A word that describes or gives more information about another word.  It modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Examples:  She ran QUICKLY;  he smiled CHEERFULLY;  she arrived EARLY;  he works HARD,  are all adverbs that modify words they are paired with (e.g., verbs,  nouns,  etc.)

7. PREPOSITIONS (mostly referring to direction,  location or time)

A word used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time.

Examples:

The preposition “ON” in “The keys are ON the table” shows location. “We are staying FOR one month” shows time. And,  “he went TOWARD the light” shows direction.

NOTE:  Prepositions take an object.  Therefore you must use object pronouns such as me,  him,  her,  us,  and them,  after a preposition.

Examples:  Between you and ME (NOT between you and I);  he waited for US and the girls;  give the books to HIM and his sister.

8. CONJUNCTIONS (connectors)

A word that joins together sentences, clauses or phrases,  such as “AND”, “OR”, “BUT”, “BECAUSE”, or “ALTHOUGH”.

Example:  I enjoy science fiction movies “BECAUSE” they stimulate and entertain me.

9. INTERJECTIONS

Short words or outbursts expressing emotion such as “HEY!”,  “OW!”,  “UGH!”,  among others.

PARTS OF SPEECH,  the basic building blocks of language.

1. ARTICLES

There are are two types of articles.  Think of them as noun identifiers.

 (i) Definite Articles:

The word “THE” in English is a form of a definite article. The form THE is more specific because it’s used to refer to a clearly defined item as in “give me THE book”.

Clearly,  the person demanding the book isn’t asking for just any book!

(ii) Indefinite Articles:  For example,  the words “A” and “AN”.

It is called an indefinite article because “a” or “an” don’t specify which book, or English country garden.

2. NOUNS

3. PRONOUNS

4. ADJECTIVES

5. VERBS (verbs refer to action or experience)

NOTE:  Prepositions take an object.  Therefore you must use object pronouns such as me,  him,  her,  us,  and them,  after a preposition.

Short words or outbursts expressing emotion such as “HEY!”,  “OW!”,  “UGH!”,  among others.

English Grammar Made Easy by Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of New Mexico

LATIN /FRENCH BLOG #13: Ars Gratia Artis;  Noblesse Oblige;  Gratis

*ARS GRATIA ARTIS
(art for art’s sake).

Appears on the crest of the movie company MGM to designate art that is independent of political and social considerations.

*NOBLESSE OBLIGE (French)

The moral obligation of those of high birth,  high social position or power to act with honor, kindness and generosity toward those less fortunate.

Origin:  Early 19th century France
Literally, “nobility obliges”

*GRATIS (Adjective)

Costing nothing • gratis tickets
=complimentary, courtesy, free.

Adverb: Gratis

Without payment. Example:  I’ll do the job for you gratis,  that is,  for free (or free of charge).