I'm going to begin the week with a rant. Why not? It seems to be what we see on television and in the newspapers today, mostly political. My gripe today is grammatical. No, don't hit the delete button; hear me out.
There is a trend today to use the he/him and she/her pronouns incorrectly. There are even some people who have college educations who use the wrong form to begin a sentence. Examples below:
Her and Jim are dating now.
Him and Don went hunting early one morning.
Her and her teammates practiced hard every day.
Him and his dog like to jog together.
All of the sentences above are incorrect. They should read:
She and Jim are dating now.
He and Don went hunting early one morning.
She and her teammates practiced hard every day.
He and his dog like to jog together.
She and he are used as subjects--telling who did what. Her and him are objects--telling who it was done to.
John gave the ring to her on Valentine's Day.
She handed the paddle to him later that day.
Here's the big thing--never, ever begin a sentence with her or him.
Twice this week I noted newscasters on television beginning a sentence with her. Both were college interns. It appears to be rampant with young adolescents. Teachers must hear them do this in class. Do they correct the students? If not them, then who is going to do it?
If you want to be a writer or a tv journalist, you'd better learn and use the proper form. Contrary to the opinion of some, grammar IS important. And no, I am not chastising those people who did not have the privilege of a good education. They are a victim of circumstance. It's those who went to proper schools, have college degrees and even graduate degrees who use these words incorrectly--they are the ones to whom I am directing my rant.
It may be a little thing, but it is something that will stand out in a job interview, in a paper for a class, in a piece of writing submitted for publication. Work on developing the right way to use these pronouns and you'll do yourself and everyone else a favor.
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