Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are words that take the place of a person's name or a noun. Some pronouns do the action in a sentence, and some receive the action. Knowing which one to use is important!

What You'll Learn

How to tell the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns
How to choose the correct pronoun depending on where it appears in a sentence
How to fix common pronoun mistakes in sentences

When to Use

Subject pronouns do the action: "She is reading a book." (She does the reading)
Object pronouns receive the action: "Mum called him for dinner." (Him receives the call)
Object pronouns come after words like to, for, with: "Dad bought a present for her." (Her comes after "for")
Subject pronouns start the sentence or come before the verb: "They are playing at the playground." (They comes before "are playing")

How to Form

You already know the subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they) and object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them). The trick is choosing the right one in a sentence.

Subject and Object Pronoun Pairs

Subject Pronoun	Object Pronoun	Subject Example	Object Example
I	me	I eat my lunch.	Mum called me.
he	him	He runs every morning.	The teacher praised him.
she	her	She sings well.	Dad helped her.
we	us	We play at the park.	The coach trained us.
they	them	They read books.	Grandma hugged them.

Note: "you" and "it" stay the same for both subject and object.

Key Rules

Subject pronouns come before the verb: If the pronoun is doing the action, use I, he, she, we, or they. "She gave me a sweet." Remember: always say "I went to school", never "Me went to school."
Object pronouns come after the verb: If the pronoun is receiving the action, use me, him, her, us, or them. "The dog followed us home."
Object pronouns come after little words like to, for, with, at: "Please give the book to me." "Ali went to the park with them."
Put yourself last when talking about yourself and someone else: Say "Ali and I" or "Ali and me", not "I and Ali" or "me and Ali".

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
Me and Sarah went to school.	Sarah and I went to school.	"I" is the subject pronoun; put yourself last
Mum gave he a cookie.	Mum gave him a cookie.	"Him" is the object pronoun (after the verb)
The teacher called I.	The teacher called me.	"Me" is the object pronoun (after the verb)
Please sit with they.	Please sit with them.	"Them" is the object pronoun (after "with")

Clue Words

Use subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they) when:

The pronoun is before the verb, at the start of the sentence, or doing the action

Use object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them) when:

The pronoun is after the verb, or after words like: to, for, with, at, by, from

Tip: Remove the other person and try the sentence with just the pronoun. "Sarah and [I/me] went to the shop." Take away "Sarah and" -- would you say "I went to the shop" or "Me went to the shop"? You would say "I went", so "I" is correct!

Practice Tips

The remove-and-test trick: When a sentence has two people (like "Ali and I" or "Ali and me"), take away the other person's name. Read the sentence with just the pronoun. Your ear will tell you which one sounds right.
Before or after the verb?: Find the action word (verb) first. Is the pronoun before it or after it? Before = subject pronoun. After = object pronoun.
The little-word check: See a small word like "to", "for", "with", or "at" right before the pronoun? Then you need an object pronoun (me, him, her, us, them).

Quick Reference

Position in Sentence	Type	Pronouns	Example
Before the verb (does the action)	Subject	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	He eats rice.
After the verb (receives the action)	Object	me, you, him, her, it, us, them	Grandma hugged me.
After to, for, with, at, by, from	Object	me, you, him, her, it, us, them	This is for her.

Subject	Object	Quick Test Sentence
I	me	I play. / Play with me.
he	him	He reads. / Read to him.
she	her	She cooks. / Help her.
we	us	We sing. / Sing with us.
they	them	They run. / Run after them.

Personal Pronouns (P2) (Primary 2)