Summary
In-depth Explanation
Personal pronouns usually refer to people, animals or things that have already been mentioned by name. For example:
Ana and Marc are good friends. They met when she was working at a restaurant and he had lunch there. She brought him his food and they started talking.
The personal pronouns used in this paragraph allow us to avoid repeating the names Ana and Marc over and over again.
Types of Personal Pronouns
There are two types of personal pronouns based on their roles in a sentence: subject pronouns and object pronouns. Personal pronouns are also divided based on person:
First-person pronouns refer to the speaker (I/me, we/us).
Second-person pronouns refer to the person being spoken to (you).
Third-person pronouns refer to the person, animal or thing being spoken about (he/him, she/her, it, they/them).
Subject Pronouns
These pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence (the “doer” of the action).
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | I | we |
2nd person | you | you |
3rd person | he, she, it | they |
Here are some important things to remember about these subject pronouns:
“I” is used to refer to the speaker, and “we” is used to refer to the speaker and one or more other people. For example:
Mary and I are old friends. We met in college.
We both like pizza, but I prefer sushi.
“You” is used when talking to one or more people. Context often helps determine if “you” refers to a singular or plural audience. For example:
You are welcome to join us.
You two can sleep in the bed, and you can sleep on the sofa.
“He” is used for males and “she” is used for females:
John is my brother. He is 15 years old.
Isabela is my sister. She is tall and has brown hair.
“It” is used for non-living things, animals (when gender is unknown), abstract ideas or as a placeholder:
I found a lost dog. It looks hungry.
It is raining outside.
“They” is used for groups (males, females or mixed-gender groups) or individuals when the gender is not specified:
Michelle and Chloe live together. They share a 2-bedroom apartment.
If a student needs help, they should talk to the teacher.
Object Pronouns
These pronouns are used as the object of a sentence (the “receiver” of the action).
Singular | Plural | |
1st person | me | us |
2nd person | you | you |
3rd person | him, her, it | them |
For example:
The teacher called me.
Alvaro is in town. I saw him at the store.
Can you help us?
As you can see, we often use a subject pronoun and an object pronoun in the same sentence to indicate who is doing and who is receiving the action of the verb. For example:
He bought me a gift.
In this sentence, “he” is the subject pronoun and the doer of the action, while “me” is the object pronoun and the receiver of the action. Here are a few more examples:
We told them to arrive at 3 PM. (“We” = subject pronoun, “them” = object pronoun)
She asked us to wait in the lobby. (“She” = subject pronoun, “us” = object pronoun)
I left it on the table. (“I” = subject pronoun, “it” = object pronoun)