Let's start at the very beginning ... (nouns and pronouns)

One of my very favorite musicals has a song:

Let's start at the very beginning,
a very good place to start.
When you read, you begin with ABC ...

Just as we start reading by learning our ABCs, writing begins with a complete understanding of the parts of speech. Now, many of you are beyond the basics, but sometimes it's good to be reminded.

So today, we're going to "start at the very beginning ..."

NOUNS ...

Nouns are words that represent people, places, or things.

People, like my husband
Places, like the top of the aerial tram at Palm Springs, California.
Things, like this tree

So I could write a sentence like:

My husband is above Palm Springs looking at a tree.

These are all nouns.

No problem with nouns, right?

PRONOUNS ...

Let's move on to pronouns. I think you all know that pronouns substitute for nouns in a sentence. Instead of "my husband," for example, I could write:

He is above Palm Springs looking at a tree. ["He" substitutes for "husband."]

The issues comes when we begin to talk about subjective versus objective pronouns.

Subjective pronouns function as subjects in a sentence:

I sing.
She sings.
He sings.
You sing.
They sing.
We sing.

Even when you have compound subjects, you still use the subjective form of the pronoun.

Sharon and I sing.
He and she sing.

Objective pronouns function as objects in a sentence:

Call me.
Call her.
Call him.
Call you.
Call them.
Call us.

NOTE: When we're talking about objects, we're usually referring to "objects of the verb" (I'll call you) or "objects of the preposition" (Give the present to her).

The issue comes when we have compound objects. For example, if you had the following sentence, which pronoun would you use?

Would you please call _______ and _______ before you leave?

In the first blank, would you write "he" or "him"? Most of you would rightly choose "him." The logical answer is "Would you please call him?"

In the second blank, would you write "I" or "me"?

This is where is gets confusing for some of us. We've been raised to say "Sharon and I ..." or "Susie and I ..."

So when we see a sentence like:

Would you please call _______ and _______ before you leave?

we think it should be

Would you please call him and I before you leave?

However, if you take the sentence apart, would you really say

Would you please call I before you leave?

No!!

So, the correct answer would be

Would you please call him and me before you leave?

I know some of you think that doesn't sound correct, but it is. (You can blame your moms for this because every time you said, "Mom, can me and Joey go to the park?" She'd reply, "You should say, 'May Joey and I go to the park.'")

So ... we've started at the very beginning.

Next Friday, we'll build on the foundation and talk about verbs and participles ... exciting, isn't it?!

Keep pen to paper!