English Language Discussion Forums

Pikarow · #1 11-Oct-2009, 11:40

I would like to ask you a question related to a pronoun.

When you answer the question "Where did Ken meet Tom?",
What do you answer?

Except for "At the station.（Just answering the place）",
I think there are some ways to answer.

He met him at the station.
He met Tom at the station.
Ken met him at the station.
Ken met Tom at the station.

Which answer is grammatically correct?
Which answer is generally used?

nedira · #2 11-Oct-2009, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikarow

I would like to ask you a question related to a pronoun.

When you answer the question "Where did Ken meet Tom?",
What do you answer?

Except for "At the station.（Just answering the place）",
I think there are some ways to answer.

He met him at the station.
He met Tom at the station.
Ken met him at the station.
Ken met Tom at the station.

Which answer is grammatically correct?
Which answer is generally used?

The correct answers are:

1-He met him at the station.

2-Ken met Tom at the station.

Pikarow · #3 11-Oct-2009, 12:39

Thank you very much for answering my question.

nedira · #4 11-Oct-2009, 14:54

[QUOTE=Pikarow;523529]Thank you very much for answering my question.[/QUO

You' r welcome.

**Barb_D** · #5 11-Oct-2009, 14:54

They are all fine, all correct, and all may be used.

Since you have identified Ken and Tom and the roles they played, you can say "he" and "him" as you wish.

I think it's misleading to say that only two are correct, as though the others were not.

Pikarow · #6 11-Oct-2009, 22:04

Thank you for answering my question.
I can choose using a noun or a pronoun as I like.

Pronouns can indicate another person even thought they are in the same sentence , right?
In this sentence:He=Ken,him=Tom

**Barb_D** · #7 11-Oct-2009, 22:15

Yes, and in this case, there is no ambiguity. You know which person did the meeting (Ken, he) and which person was met (Tom, him).

Ann1977 · #8 11-Oct-2009, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikarow

Thank you for answering my question.
I can choose using a noun or a pronoun as I like.

Pronouns can indicate another person even thought they are in the same sentence , right?
In this sentence:He=Ken,him=Tom

In this case, using two pronouns is harmless, because only one person is going to meet someone, and only one person is waiting at the station. So in this case, there can't be any confusion about who the people are.

But in other situations, the syntax is such that you can't tell which of two people the pronoun is supposed to refer to.

"John told Henry that his jacket had a stain."
WHOSE jacket???

"When he hit the wooden box with his hand, he broke it."
Broke WHAT? His hand? Or the box?