34. SOME MISCELLANEOUS CAUTIONS IN THE USE OF PRONOUNS:
1. The pronoun _I_ should always be capitalized, and should, when used as part of a compound subject, be placed second; as, _James and I were present, not I and James were present_.
2. Do not use the common and grave forms of the personal pronouns in the same sentence; as, _THOU wilt do this whether YOU wish or not_.
3. Avoid the use of personal pronouns where they are unnecessary; as, _John, HE did it, or Mary, SHE said_. This is a frequent error in speech.
4. Let the antecedent of each pronoun be clearly apparent. Note the uncertainty in the following sentence; _He sent a box of cheese, and IT was made of wood_. The antecedent of _it_ is not clear. Again, _A man told his son to take HIS coat home_. The antecedent of _his_ is very uncertain. Such errors are frequent.
In relative clauses this error may sometimes be avoided by placing the relative clause as near as possible to the noun it limits. Note the following sentence: _A cat was found in the YARD WHICH wore a blue ribbon_. The grammatical inference would be that the yard wore the blue ribbon. The sentence might be changed to, _A CAT, WHICH wore a blue ribbon, was found in the yard_.
5. Relative clauses referring to the same thing require the same relative pronoun to introduce them; as, _The book THAT we found and the book THAT he lost are the same_.
6. Use _but that_ when _BUT_ is a conjunction and _that_ introduces a noun clause; as, _There is no doubt BUT THAT he will go_. Use _but what_ when _but_ is a preposition in the sense of _except_; as, _He has no money but (except) WHAT I gave him_.
7. _Them_ is a pronoun and should never be used as an adjective. _Those_ is the adjective which should be used in its place; as, _Those people_, not, _Them people_.
8. Avoid using _you_ and _they_ indefinitely; as, _YOU seldom hear of such things, THEY make chairs there_. Instead, say, _ONE seldom hears of such things, Chairs are made there_.
9. _Which_ should not be used with a clause or phrase as its antecedent. Both the following sentences are wrong: _He sent me to see John, WHICH I did. Their whispering became very loud, which annoyed the preacher_.
10. Never use an apostrophe with the possessive pronouns, _its, yours, theirs, ours_ and _hers_.