"He can swim better than me." The complete sentence would be, "He can swim better than I can swim." The omission of the verb can swim affords no reason for changing I to me.

"He is no better than me." Say, "He is no better than I," meaning, I am.

"They are common people, such as you and me." Such people "as you and I are." The pronoun should be I, not me.

Parenthetical Expressions

When a parenthetical expression comes between a pronoun in the nominative case and its verb, the objective is often incorrectly used instead of the nominative.

"She sang for the benefit of those whom she thought might be interested." The explanatory parenthesis "she thought" comes between the pronominal subject and its verb might be interested. Omit the explanatory clause and the case of the pronoun becomes clear. "She sang for the benefit of those who might be interested."

Agreement with Antecedent

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender, person, and number. The gender and person usually take care of themselves, but the number of pronouns is a serious obstacle to correct speech.

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"One tells the quality of their minds when they try to talk well"-- George Eliot, in Middlemarch. The pronouns their and they should be singular.

"Everybody has something to say which they think is worthy of being heard." Everybody refers to persons singly, and not collectively. They think should be he thinks, he being the proper pronoun to employ when the gender is not indicated.

"Every nation has laws and customs of their own." The use of the word every necessitates a pronoun in the singular, hence their should be its.

"Every one is accountable for their own acts." Use his.

"She studied his countenance like an inscription, and deciphered each rapt expression that crossed it, and stored them in her memory."

Change them to it.

"Each of them, in their turn, received the reward to which they were entitled." This should be "Each of them in his turn received the reward to which he was entitled."

No and not, like each and every, when they qualify a plural antecedent, or one consisting of two or more nouns, require a pronoun in the singular.

"No policeman, no employee, no citizen dared to lift their hand" Say, his hand.

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Or, Nor

When the antecedent consists of two or more nouns separated by or, nor, as well as, or any other disjunctive, the pronoun must be singular.

"Neither spelling nor parsing receive the attention they once received." Verb and pronoun should be singular, receives and it.

Collective Noun

When a noun of multitude or collective noun is the antecedent, the pronoun, like the verb, must be plural or singular according to the sense intended to be conveyed.

Ambiguity

Never leave the antecedent of your pronoun in doubt.

"John tried to see his father in the crowd, but could not, because he was so short." If the father was short, repeat the noun and omit the pronoun, as "John tried to see his father in the crowd but could not because his father was so short." If John was short, recast the sentence: "John, being short of stature, tried in vain to see his father in the crowd."

"He said to his friend that, if he did not feel better soon, he thought he had better go home." This sentence is susceptible of four interpretations. We shall omit the first part of the sentence in the last

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three interpretations, as it is the same in all. "He said to his friend: 'If I do not feel better soon, I think I had better go home.'"

"If I do not feel better soon, I think you had better go home." "If you do not feel better soon, I think I had better go home." "If you do not feel better soon, I think you had better go home."

"The lad cannot leave his father; for, if he should leave him, he would die." To avoid ambiguity substitute his father for the italicised pronouns. The repetition is not pleasant, but it is the lesser of two evils.

Needless Pronouns

Avoid all pronouns and other words that are not essential to the meaning.

"The father he died, the mother she soon followed after, and the children they were all taken down sick."

"Let every one turn from his or her evil ways." Unless there is special reason for emphasizing the feminine pronoun, avoid the awkward expression his or her. The pronoun his includes the other.

Mixed Pronouns

Do not use two styles of the pronoun in the same Sentence. "Enter thou into the joy of your Lord." "Love thyself last, and others will love you."

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Them, Those

It should not be necessary to caution the reader against the use of them for those.

"Fetch me them books." "Did you see them, fat oxen?" "Them's good; I'll take another dish."

Which, Who

"Those which say so are mistaken." Who is applied to persons; which, to the lower animals and to inanimate things.

"He has some friends which I know." Whom, the objective case form of the pronoun who, should here be used.

"The dog, who was called Rover, went mad." Use which.

What, That

That is applied to persons, animals, and things. What is applied to things. The antecedent of what should not be expressed. What is both antecedent and relative.

"All what he saw he described." Say, "What he saw," or "All that he saw," etc.