Pronouns · ProfeNórdico

Four pronouns in one sentence

A pronoun stands in for a noun so that you don’t repeat it: it lets you talk about people, things or places without naming them again.

Look how many fit into one short sentence:

“I gave her my keys myself.”

Four different kinds: subject (I), object (her), possessive (my) and reflexive (myself). And notice where her goes: after the verb, exactly where a name would go. That position is the whole difficulty of this page.

The key idea: the position never moves

In many languages, object pronouns jump in front of the verb. In English that never happens. The object always goes after the verb:

subjectverbobject

“I saw him.” · “I called you.” · “He gave it to me.”

It is the number one structural mistake, because it puts the pronoun where English has no room for it:

Common mistake

I him saw.

I saw him.

In English the order subject → verb → object is fixed. A pronoun changes nothing: it takes exactly the same place a full name would take (“I saw Oliver”).

Which one is right?

You saw a man.You will phone your friend tomorrow.A man handed you something.You have met a woman before.Some people helped you and your family.Offer someone a thing.

Subject and object

The same person has two forms depending on what they do in the sentence: whether they act (subject) or receive the action (object). “He called” — “I called him.”

Subject — acts	Example
I	I like cookies.
you	You read a lot.
he	He is at work.
she	She likes the park.
it	It is heavy.
we	We have to leave.
they	They went to the cinema.

Object — receives	Example
me	He called me yesterday.
you	I sent you a message.
him	I already told him.
her	I saw her at the party.
it	I like it a lot.
us	They gave it to us.
them	We gave it to them.

___ called me yesterday.I called ___ yesterday.Can you help ___?___ live near the beach.I don't know ___.___ is my brother.___ rains a lot in April.

Subject or object

If it acts, it goes before the verb in the subject form; if it receives the action, it goes after the verb in the object form.

You saw a man yesterday: saw yesterday.(I / me · he / him)
A woman phoned you: called .(she / her · I / me)
Some people phone you and your family: call .(they / them · we / us)
You and your family have met some women before: know .(we / us · they / them)
A man loves a woman: loves .(he / him · she / her)

Possessives: two similar families

There is a distinction here that gets mixed up a lot: the possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun.

Adjective — goes with the noun

my · your · his · her · its · our · their

It goes with the noun and never stands alone: “This is my car.”

Pronoun — replaces the noun

mine · yours · his · hers · ours · theirs

It stands alone, because it already replaces the noun: “This car is mine.”

Adjective	Pronoun	Example
my car	mine	That’s my car. → That car is mine.
your house	yours	Is this your house? → Is this yours?
his book	his	It’s his book. → It’s his.
her idea	hers	It was her idea. → It was hers.
our turn	ours	It’s our turn. → It’s ours.
their dog	theirs	Their dog is big. → Theirs is big.

Is this ___ bag?The red bag is ___.Emma and ___ brother.Daniel and ___ mother.This isn't my coat. It's ___.My parents and ___ house.The dog ate ___ food.

Reflexives: when the subject and the object are the same

myself · yourself · himself · herself · itself · ourselves · yourselves · themselves

They are used when the person doing the action also receives it, or for emphasis:

1an action on yourself

I cut myself while cooking.

Icutmyself

2emphasis — me and nobody else

I did it myself.

Ididmyself

Notice the plural: -self in the singular, -selves in the plural (ourselves, themselves). And notice that you has two forms: yourself (one person) and yourselves (several) — here English gets back the difference in number that it lost in you.

Most everyday verbs take no reflexive

In English the reflexive appears only when the action really falls on yourself (I cut myself), or for emphasis. A lot of everyday verbs take no reflexive, even though they are about you:

Verb	Example
get up	I get up at six.
shower	I shower at night.
get dressed	I get dressed quickly.
go to bed	I go to bed late.
feel	I feel tired.
remember	I remember her.

And for your name, English uses a possessive, not a verb about yourself: “My name is Laura.”

Common mistake

I feel myself tired.

I feel tired.

feel doesn’t need an object here: nobody is feeling you.

And when there are two: each other

They love themselves.

They love each other.

When two people do something to one another, it is each other: each one loves the other. “They love themselves” says that each one loves himself or herself.

Your alarm goes off and you leave the bed at seven.Ouch! I burned ___.You were ill, and today you are not so bad.Nobody helped you and your friends.Grace writes to Lucas every week, and Lucas writes to Grace.You haven't forgotten him.

After a preposition, always the object

A short rule that pays off a lot: after any preposition comes the object form, never the subject form.

“I’m talking to her.” · “This is for me.” · “Come with us.” · “between them”

Common mistake

Between you and I, this is a secret.

Between you and me, this is a secret.

Native speakers make this mistake too, precisely because they want to sound educated — but between is a preposition, so it needs the object: me.

A trick that never fails: take away the other person. Nobody would say “between I”, so the answer is me. It always works: “He gave it to Thomas and me”, not “and I”.

After a preposition

After the preposition, always the object form.

This is for .(I / me)
Come with .(we / us)
I'm sitting next to .(he / him)
Can you send it to Hannah and ?(I / me)

Check you understood

Don’t look back up:

Where does the object pronoun go in “I saw ___ yesterday”, and why can’t it go before the verb?
In “Today is her birthday”, is her an object or a possessive? How do you check?
Change it to a possessive pronoun: “This is my book.”
Why is “between you and I” wrong?
Why does English say “It’s raining” when there is no real it?

Practice

Out loud

Turn each note into a full sentence. The notes give every pronoun in its subject form: decide where it goes and which form it takes.

Iseeheyesterday
shecallI (past)
Iwritetoyoutomorrow
theyhelpwea lot (past)
Inotknowshe
hegiveittoI (past)
raina lothere
Chloeand(whose?) brotherlivein London
this carbeI (it belongs to me)
?itbeyouorshe (whose is it?)
thisbeforI
come (an order)withwe
Iget upat six
IcutIwhile cooking (past)

Show answers

I saw him yesterday.
She called me.
I'll write to you tomorrow.
They helped us a lot.
I don't know her.
He gave it to me.
It rains a lot here.
Chloe and her brother live in London.
This car is mine.
Is it yours or hers?
This is for me.
Come with us.
I get up at six.
I cut myself while cooking.

In writing

Choose the right form and write it.

works in a hospital.(She / Her)
I see every day.(they / them)
Is this book or mine?(your / yours)
Marco and wife live in Dublin.(his / her)
Between you and , I don't like it.(I / me)
We painted the house .(ourself / ourselves)

And now with no help — write the whole sentence:

Write it

A full sentence for each situation, with no hints. Think about where the pronoun goes and who owns each thing.

Answer first, then tap "Show answer".

You phoned a woman last night. →
Show answer
I called her last night.
Your sister has a boyfriend, and the two of them live in Paris. →
Show answer
My sister and her boyfriend live in Paris.
Someone thinks the phone is yours, but it belongs to your brother. →
Show answer
That phone isn't mine, it's his.
Say what the weather is like today: very cold. →
Show answer
It's very cold today.
On Fridays you get into bed late. →
Show answer
I go to bed late on Fridays.
Two friends meet up every Sunday. →
Show answer
They see each other every Sunday.

The final check:

“I him saw” — what's wrong?“Olivia and his brother” — what's wrong?“I feel myself tired” — what's wrong?