The phrase under par means “disappointing because it is below the expected standard” (e.g., “Although somewhat under par for a movie from this director, it’s still definitely worth seeing”). It’s interchangeable with “subpar,” which means the same thing.
“Feeling under par” means feeling slightly unwell (e.g., “I was feeling a bit under par this morning, but I’m full of energy now”).
“Under par” comes from the golf term “par,” but it’s not an accurate analogy. In the game of golf, a score that is under par is below zero, which is a desirable outcome because the lowest score wins.
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The phrase under no circumstances means “never” or “in no situations” (e.g., “Under no circumstances should fire extinguishers be used to hold open doors”).
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The correct use of dative case or objective case depends on what language you’re studying. In English, the three grammatical cases are nominative, genitive, and objective (which includes dative and accusative).
In some languages (e.g., German, Latin, and Russian), dative case is one of four or more total cases, including nominative, genitive, accusative, and dative.
Dative case applies to an indirect object that receives the direct object. For example, in “Mom bought him ice cream,” “him” is an indirect object, and “ice cream” is a direct object.
Dative case and accusative case in English both use object pronouns (e.g., “me”) or reflexive pronouns (e.g., “myself”) rather than subject pronouns (e.g., “I”). In other languages, the accusative and dative cases have different sets of rules.
When you’re writing sentences with indirect objects and direct objects, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you choose the correct object pronouns.
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If a newspaper article is above the fold, it means that it is on the top half of the front page and therefore in the most important place (e.g., “The editor wants to run the article above the fold”).
The term “above the fold” is also used to refer to the upper part of a webpage or email that is visible without the user having to scroll down (e.g., “The most important links on the homepage should all be above the fold”).
If you’re ever writing something that’s above the fold, the QuillBot Grammar Checker will help you ensure that it’s error free.
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If something is above reproach, it means that there is no reason to criticize it, especially in terms of moral correctness (e.g., “A judge’s conduct must be above reproach,” “The journal stated that the peer-reviewed article is above reproach and will not be retracted”).
QuillBot’s Paraphraser will help you to find alternatives for “above reproach” that fit that context of your text.
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“Her and I” is not correct, but you can use “she and I” because they’re both nominative case pronouns that can be part of a compound subject (e.g., “She and I lived together during college”).
“Her” is not a nominative case pronoun but rather, an object pronoun. You can say “her and me” when you need the objective case (which includes the dative case and the accusative case).
- Dative case: The teacher gave her and me extra credit.
- Accusative case: Mom took her and me out to dinner.
When you combine two pronouns with “and,” they need to be in the same case.
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can instantly find and fix errors—such as “her and I”—in your writing.
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“Him and I” is incorrect, but you can use “him and me.” “Him” and “me” are both object pronouns, so they can be used together when you need the objective case (which includes the dative case and the accusative case).
- Dative case: The neighbors play volleyball with him and me every Saturday.
- Accusative case: They asked him and me to water their garden during their vacation.
The subject pronoun “I,” which is one of the nominative case pronouns, cannot be combined with the object pronoun “him.” “I” can only be a subject or a predicate nominative.
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly find and fix errors—such as “him and I”—in your writing.
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It can be you and me or you and I depending on the sentence. “You and I” is correct for a sentence subject because it’s in the nominative case (e.g., “You and I should have lunch”).
“You and me” is correct when you need the accusative case for a direct object or the dative case for an indirect object or object of a preposition (e.g., “The restaurant reserved a special table just for you and me”).
Use the subject pronoun “I” for nominative case and the object pronoun “me” for the accusative/dative case (aka the objective case).
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker for help with pronouns? It can show you which pronouns are correct in any piece of writing.
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It can be “this is she” or “this is her” depending on the context. In formal contexts—such as answering the phone at work—use a nominative case pronoun for a predicate nominative after “is.”
- Caller: “Hi, I’m returning a call from Dr. Jones.”
- Sarah: “This is she.”
In everyday situations, though, “this is her” is perfectly fine (“My grandmother sent me this photograph, and this is her next to the tree”).
The QuillBot paraphrasing tool is an excellent resource when you’re exploring formal and informal ways to use pronouns.
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The choice of you’ll or y’all depends on the meaning of your sentence.
- You’ll is a contraction that means “you will” (e.g., “You’ll love the new restaurant”).
- Y’all is a contraction that means “you all” (e.g., “Y’all are welcome anytime“).
QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you avoid mistakes with “you’ll” and “y’all” in your writing.
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