American Grammar Checkup: Pronouns -- Yes, Again

Everyone who has seen my posts over the last two years knows I'm a nut about using language correctly, especially using pronouns correctly!

There is just so much misinformation being bandied about that I thought it was time to again remind my connections about a couple of important points on using pronouns, especially we and us.

Recently I saw a sentence, written by a very smart person, that started with:

Us cat lovers need to ...

It broke my heart.

But it's something a lot of folks think is correct, and it probably goes unnoticed many times.

How about this one?

Mom cooked a nice dinner for we kids.

Same issue: wrong pronoun.

How do you know? It's really simple: Remove the words "cat lovers" and "kids."

Would you ever write or say, "Us need to . . . "?

Would you ever write or say, "Mom cooked a nice dinner for we."?

No. You know you wouldn't. So just focus on the pronoun, choose it, and even if you add back a word or two after it, the pronoun stays the same.

And just to be clear . . .

YES:

We cat lovers need to . . .

We kids love our dogs!

We professional writers take great pride in our work.

We speakers need to be careful with our words.

Mom cooked a nice dinner for us kids.

The teachers held a conference for us parents.

Technology can be tough for us "Spunky Old Broads"!

The snow-covered roads felt slippery to us drivers!

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Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I hope you find it relevant, and if it has helped you in any way, I also hope you will ... 

Share it, so your connections can see it and perhaps learn too. Let me know what you liked best or learned; that will also help you be seen by my connections. You never know who would be interested in YOU (just ask Deb Helfrich how well it worked for her!). 

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My previous posts can be seen here, and they're easy to find because they're categorized. Or just type in a word in the search box on the topic you're looking for and see everything I wrote on it.  

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Are you a member of an association or other groupthat is looking for a speaker for one of its meetings? There are a lot of communication-based topics that could be perfect for a light-hearted and interesting presentation. 

I offer free generic Brush Up on Your Skills workbooks in a pdf format in American grammar, business writing, and interpersonal skills. They show what I teach in my three-hour corporate classes.

Want one? Let me know which one, and please send me your e-mail address.