The Basics on Subject and Object Pronouns

The basics on subject and object pronouns

Pronouns are an important part of the parts of speech. They represent nouns in the sentence and replaces nouns to make the sentence more clear and concise. In this article, we will talk about subjective and objective pronouns, specifically personal ones. Subjective and object are two cases in English grammar. Subject means nominative class.

In this article, you will learn about subject and object pronouns used in English. In addition, you will also learn how to use two pronouns at once in a sentence. 

What are Subject and Object Pronouns?

So, what are the subject and object pronouns in English grammar?

Subject and object are personal pronouns that replace a subject or object in a sentence. The subject is the one who acts, while the object is the one who receives the action. These pronouns are also know as subjective (nominative) and objective class in the grammar. First let’s talk about subject pronouns!

Subject Pronouns

As the name suggests, subject pronouns are used as a subject in the sentence and come at the start of the sentence because they are the ones who act in the sentence or perform an action. So subject pronouns are those pronouns that act in a sentence.

Subject pronouns include;

• I
• We
• You
• He
• She
• They
• Who

Any noun performing the main action in the sentence, like these pronouns, is a subject and is categorized as subjective case (nominative case). English grammar requires that the subject come before the verb in a sentence (except in questions)

I make cookies every Sunday for my co-workers.

In this sentence, “I” is the actor (subject pronoun) performing the action of making (verb).

Note: Subject pronouns are always the actors in sentences. If action is implied, you should use subject nouns.

Examples of Sentences Using Subjective Pronoun

• He works at a store.
• She cooks food.
• They play cricket.
• We went for shopping.
• You work hard.

Now, let talk about object pronouns which is also known as object class in grammar.

Object Pronouns

Object pronouns are pronouns that receive the action in the sentence. They include;

• me
• you
• him
• her
• us
• them
• whom

Example Sentences Objective Pronouns

Now take a look at the following sentences in which objective pronouns are used.

• He helped me.
• He invited them to the wedding ceremony.
• They cooked food for us.
• We met him on Saturday.

You may have noticed that some words are highlighted, these words are objective pronouns who receive action in the sentence.

Two Pronouns at once

Sometimes we use two pronouns at once in the same sentence. it becomes challenging which one is referring back to the noun. There two things to keep in mind in this scenario:

1. First, don’t mix cases. Both of the pronouns will be either the subjective or objective case.

• She and I went to the movies.
• If you have any questions, you can ask either her or me.

2. to decide whether to use subjective or objective case, try removing one of the pronouns from the sentence.

• I went to the movies.
• She and I went to the movies.

Final Thoughts

I hope this article helped you learn the basics on subject and object pronouns in English.

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