Personal pronouns: rules and examples

Subject pronouns name the person or thing performing the action in a sentence. They usually sit before the main verb. The primary subject pronouns in English are I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. When you want to state who completes a task or initiates an event, select one of these forms rather than an object pronoun.

Object pronouns receive the action of a verb. They typically follow the main verb in a clause. The standard English object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. When an action happens to someone or something, choose an object pronoun instead of a subject pronoun to ensure your sentence remains grammatically clear and natural.

In Indefinite Pronouns: Rules and Examples und Reflexive Pronouns: Rules and Examples kannst du das weiterüben.

Prepositions show relationships in time, space, and direction. Words like to, for, with, from, about, between, and after require object pronouns when a pronoun follows them. Learners sometimes mistakenly use subject pronouns after prepositions, especially in expressions such as between you and me. Always use me, him, her, us, or them following any preposition.

Combining a name with a pronoun often causes hesitation. To decide between expressions like Sarah and I versus Sarah and me, temporarily remove the other person from the sentence. You would say I wrote the email, so you should write Sarah and I wrote the email. Similarly, you say invited me, which means the client invited Sarah and me.

Possessive determiners come directly before nouns to show who owns, uses, or relates to something. The English possessive determiners are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Unlike subject or object pronouns, which stand alone in place of a noun, these possessive words always accompany a following noun phrase to indicate clear possession in the sentence.

One frequent spelling mistake is adding an apostrophe to the possessive word its. The possessive determiner its never takes an apostrophe, just like his, hers, or theirs. When you write it's with an apostrophe, you are creating a contraction for it is or it has. Replace the word with it is in your head to verify whether an apostrophe belongs there.

Singular they has a long, established history in English. Use they, them, their, or theirs when referring to a single person whose gender is unknown, unstated, or nonbinary. Notice that while the pronoun refers to one individual, the accompanying verb retains its standard plural agreement. You write they are or they were, never they is or they was.

Pronouns should always point to one unmistakable noun. When a sentence contains two people of the same gender or two separate objects, using a pronoun like he, she, or it can create ambiguity. In such cases, repeating the specific name or noun makes your meaning instantly clear. Do not sacrifice clarity merely to avoid writing a person's name twice.