Practice
Personal pronouns: rules and examples
You are writing an email about two coworkers. Do you write Sam and I, Sam and me, or their report? The noun's job in the sentence tells you which personal pronoun you need.
Choose a personal pronoun by checking who the word refers to and whether it is the subject, object, or owner in the sentence.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
I, me, we, us, they, and them /aɪ, miː, wiː, ʌs, ðeɪ, ənd ðem/
The short answer
Use a subject pronoun before the main verb, such as I, you, he, she, it, we, or they. Use an object pronoun after a verb or preposition, such as me, him, her, us, or them. Use my, your, his, her, its, our, or their before a noun to show possession.
They sent us their notes after the meeting.
Why it works: They is the subject, us receives the action, and their tells us who owns the notes.
5 more examples
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I take the bus to work every day.
I is the subject because the speaker does the action take.
Not this:The driver sees
meevery day. What changes: Me is the object because the action happens to the speaker. -
She invited him to the workshop.
She is the subject because she does the inviting.
Not this:He thanked
herafter the workshop. What changes: Her is the object because he thanked her. -
We finished our project before lunch.
Our comes before project and shows that the project belongs to us.
Not this:The manager reviewed
itafter lunch. What changes: It is an object pronoun that replaces the project. -
Can you send them the address?
Them is the indirect object. It names the people who will receive the address.
Not this:
Theyalready know the address. What changes: They is the subject because the group has the knowledge. -
Jordan said they would arrive at six.
They can refer to one person when that person's gender is unknown or when that is the person's chosen pronoun.
Not this:I left
theirbadge at the front desk. What changes: Their is a possessive determiner before badge, even when it refers to one person.
Read the full guide
Find the noun that the pronoun replaces, then look at the pronoun's job. If it does the action, choose a subject form. If the action happens to it, choose an object form. If it comes before a noun and shows ownership, choose a possessive determiner.
Choose a subject pronoun for the doer
A subject pronoun usually comes before the main verb. It names the person, group, animal, or thing that does the action. The common subject forms are I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.
We start the training at nine.
We does the action start. It is a subject pronoun.
Which word fits before called in this sentence: Maya and I or Maya and me?
Use Maya and I called the client. I is a subject pronoun because Maya and the speaker do the calling.
Use an object pronoun after the action
An object pronoun receives the action or follows a preposition. The common object forms are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. A quick check is to remove the other name from a pair. You would say The client called me, not The client called I.
The client called Maya and me.
Me is correct after called because the call happened to Maya and the speaker.
Which form follows with: she or her?
Use with her. A pronoun after a preposition takes the object form.
Show ownership before a noun
My, your, his, her, its, our, and their are possessive determiners. They come before a noun and answer the question whose. Do not use an apostrophe in its when you mean belonging to it. It's means it is or it has.
Their apartment is near the station.
Their comes before apartment and shows who owns or lives in the apartment.
Which word fits before schedule: our or us?
Use our schedule because the word comes before the noun schedule and shows possession.
Keep the reference clear
A pronoun should point clearly to the noun it replaces. If a sentence mentions several people, the reader may not know who he, she, or they means. Repeat a name when that removes confusion.
Ana called Priya because Priya had the keys.
Using Priya again is clearer than using she, because either person could be she.
Why can a repeated name be useful in a long sentence?
A repeated name can show exactly who the next action or description refers to.
Use singular they when it fits
They, them, their, and theirs can refer to one person. Use singular they when you do not know a person's gender, when the person does not want a gendered pronoun, or when that is the person's chosen pronoun. The verb is still plural in form: They are, not They is.
Every applicant should bring their identification.
Their refers to one applicant here. The possessive form does not change.
Which verb form follows singular they: are or is?
Use are. Singular they takes the same verb form as plural they.
Before you go
Remember this
Use subject pronouns for the person or thing doing the action, and object pronouns for the person or thing receiving it. Use possessive determiners before nouns to show ownership. Check the pronoun's job each time, especially after a verb or preposition.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Personal pronouns: rules and examples"
What are personal pronouns?
Personal pronouns replace a person, group, animal, or thing that is already known from the situation or sentence. English uses different forms for different jobs. For example, I and she are common subject forms, while me and her are common object forms. Possessive forms such as my and their show ownership before a noun.
I take the bus to work every day.
When should I use I and when should I use me?
Use I when the speaker is the subject and does the action. Use me when the action happens to the speaker or when the pronoun follows a preposition. Compare I called the office with The office called me. In a pair, test the sentence without the other name: Maya and I called, but the office called Maya and me.
The driver sees me every day.
What is the difference between subject and object pronouns?
A subject pronoun does the action in a clause. An object pronoun receives the action or follows a preposition. The subject forms include I, he, she, we, and they. The matching object forms include me, him, her, us, and them. The pronoun's place and job, rather than the person's identity alone, decide the form.
She invited him to the workshop.
When do I use my, our, and their?
Use my, our, and their before a noun to show who owns, made, has, or is connected with that noun. Say my phone, our room, or their decision. These are possessive determiners. They are different from object pronouns, so use our schedule rather than us schedule and their plans rather than them plans.
He thanked her after the workshop.
Can they refer to one person?
Yes. Singular they can refer to one person when the person's gender is unknown, when a gendered pronoun is not needed, or when that is the person's chosen pronoun. Use they, them, their, and theirs in the same roles as other personal pronouns. With singular they, English normally uses the verb form are.
We finished our project before lunch.