Passport to English Logo

English Pronouns
Usage, Examples and Basic Rules

Subject Pronouns - Object Pronouns - Possessive Adjectives
Possessive Pronouns - Reflexive Pronouns

(Printable version of this page)

 

Subject Pronouns

A subject pronoun is the person or thing that performs the action of the verb. It usually comes before the verb except in questions. A pronoun takes the place of the specific person or thing.

example:
John
runs. → He runs.

  Subject Pronoun Example in a sentence
Singular I I run.
you You run.
he He runs.
she She runs.
it It runs.
Plural we We run.
you You run.
they They run.

Study the subject pronoun lesson.

 

 

Object Pronouns

An object pronoun is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. It usually comes after a verb or preposition.

  Object Pronoun Example in a sentence
Singular me He gave the food to me.
you He gave the food to you.
him He gave the food to him.
her He gave the food to her.
it He gave the food to it.
Plural us He gave the food to us.
you He gave the food to you.
them He gave the food to them.

Study the object pronoun lesson.

 

 

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives indicate who owns something. For example, instead of saying that the book is John's, we could say that it is "his book.""

  Possessive Adjective Example in a sentence
Singular my That is my food.
your That is your food.
his That is his food.
her That is her food.
its That is its food.
Plural our That is our food.
your That is your food.
their That is their food.

Study the possessive adjectives lesson.

 

 

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns also indicate who owns something, but they are not adjectives. A possessive adjective is used before a noun (e.g., "That is her book."). A possessive pronoun, on the other hand, is a noun and can stand alone, without the name of the thing (e.g., "That is hers.").

  Possessive Pronoun Example in a sentence
Singular mine The book is mine.
yours The book is yours.
his The book is his.
hers The book is hers.
Plural ours The book is ours.
yours The book is yours.
theirs The book is theirs.

Study the possessive pronouns lesson.

 

 

Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to the subject of the sentence. For example, if I say "I hurt myself." I am the subject and object of this sentence because I did the action of the verb and I received the action of the verb.

  Reflexive Pronoun Example in a sentence
Singular myself I hurt myself.
yourself You hurt yourself.
himself He hurt himself.
herself She hurt herself.
itself It hurt itself.
Plural ourselves We hurt ourselves.
yourselves You hurt yourselves.
themselves They hurt themselves.

Study the reflexive pronoun lesson.

 

Important Links

Beginning - Intermediate - Advanced - Teachers

Pronouns - Pronunciation Rules - Verbs - Irregular Verbs

Vocabulary - Grammar - Pronunciation - Spelling

Common Words - Study Abroad

Dialogues - Reading