Level: beginner
We have both subject pronouns and object pronouns:
| Subject | Object |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| you | you |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| it | it |
| we | us |
| you | you |
| they | them |
We use subject pronouns as the subject of a verb:
I like your dress.
You are late.
He is my friend.
It is raining.
She is on holiday.
We live in England.
They come from London.
| Be careful! |
|---|
|
English clauses always have a subject.
The imperative, which is used for orders, invitations and requests, is an exception:
If there is no other subject, we use it or there. We call this a dummy subject. |
We use object pronouns as the object of a verb:
Can you help me, please?
I can see you.
She doesn't like him.
I saw her in town today.
We saw them in town yesterday, but they didn't see us.
and after prepositions:
She is waiting for me.
I'll get it for you.
Give it to him.
Why are you looking at her?
Don't take it from us.
I'll speak to them.
- Subject and object pronouns 1
- Subject and object pronouns 2
he, she and they
We use he/him to refer to men, and she/her to refer to women. When we are not sure if we are talking about a man or a woman, we use they/them:
This is Jack. He's my brother. I don't think you have met him.
This is Angela. She's my sister. Have you met her before?
You could go to a doctor. They might help you.
Talk to a friend. Ask them to help you.
- he, she and they 1
- he, she and they 2
you and they
We use you to talk about people in general, including the speaker and the hearer:
You can buy this book everywhere. = This book is on sale everywhere.
You can't park here. = Parking is not allowed here.
We use they/them to talk about institutions and organisations:
They serve good food here. (they = the restaurant)
Ask them for a cheaper ticket. (them = the airline)
especially the government and the authorities:
They don't let you smoke in here.
They are going to increase taxes.
They are building a new motorway.
They say it’s going to rain tomorrow.
- you and they 1
- you and they 2
it
We use it to talk about ourselves:
- on the telephone:
Hello. It's George.
- when other people cannot see us:
It's me. It's Mary. (Mary is knocking on the door.)
We also use it to talk about other people:
- when we point people out for the first time:
Look. It's Paul McCartney.
Who's that? I think it's John's brother.
- when we cannot see someone and we ask them for their name:
Hello. Who is it? (someone answering the phone)
Who is it? (someone about to answer the door)
Comments
Hi Lal
As is explained on this page, 'they' and 'them' are often used to speak about a single person when the gender of that person is not clear. Here the idea is that we don't know if the person in charge is a man or woman and so we say 'them'.
If you said 'someone', it would mean you were talking to a different person, i.e. not the person in charge.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
This is the name for his group one businessman uses :
' Proper Name ' group of institution's.
I have used ' Proper Name' instead of its name.
I think using apostrophe is not correct and it should be plural-
without apostrophe.
What would be your version for this ?
Regards
Hello dipakrgandhi
I'm afraid it's difficult to say for sure without knowing more, but assuming that this is a group of several institutions, then you are right: 'institution's' is not correct -- it should be 'institutions'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
This is the title my relative is thinking of for his new book :
SURVEYING
Fundamentals and Advance Practices
He seeks my suggestion.
I think grammar in 'Advance Practices' is wrong and should be
'Advanced Practices.'
What would you choose if you have to ?
Hello dipakrgandhi,
I think the correct word here is 'Advanced', as you say.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi all team,
Thanks for everything.
Thanks, helps me refresh my memory.
Hello,
Can someone explain me why in this sentence we use the word "they" and not just "he" ?
"Have you talked to a lawyer? they can tell you your rights."
Hello talia nave,
This is explained above, where it says:
The idea is that a lawyer can be a man or woman. Since we don't know if the lawyer being talked about here is male or female, we say 'they'.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
good and thanks
Pages