Pronouns: Subject, Object, Possessive & Reflexive

Basic · Pronouns

Pronouns are substitute words that stop us repeating names: instead of "Maria called Maria's mother", we say "She called her mother." The catch is that a pronoun changes its form depending on its job in the sentence.

The same person is "I" when doing the action, "me" when receiving it, "my/mine" when owning something, and "myself" when the action bounces back.

How to build it

Subject (I) → Object (me) → Possessive adj. (my) → Possessive pronoun (mine) → Reflexive (myself)

Rules & examples

1. Subject pronouns do the action: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

   They go before the verb — they are the "doer".

   • They live here.
   • She works hard.
2. Object pronouns receive the action: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.

   They come after the verb or a preposition — the "receiver".

   • Call me later.
   • I saw them.
   • Give it to her.
3. Possessive adjectives come before a noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.

   They always need a noun after them.

   • This is my book.
   • Their car is new.
4. Possessive pronouns stand alone (no noun after): mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

   They replace "adjective + noun" completely.

   • This book is mine.
   • The choice is yours.
5. Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself...) point back to the subject.

   Use them when the subject and object are the same person.

   • I taught myself English.
   • They enjoyed themselves.

Tips to remember

• For "he and I" vs "him and me": remove the other person and test it. "Me went out" is wrong → so "He and I went out" is correct.
• There is no word "hisself" or "theirselves" — the correct forms are himself and themselves.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Me and him went out. → ✓ He and I went out. — The subject needs subject pronouns, and politely you put yourself last.
• ✗ Its a nice day. → ✓ It's a nice day. — "It's" = it is; "its" = belonging to it. They are different words.