pronouns

Subject Pronouns and Object Pronouns in English

1. Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are used to say who does the action in a sentence. The subject pronouns in English are: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they.

Examples:
• I play basketball. (I am the one doing the action.)
• She is reading a book.
• They are cooking dinner.

Important Note about "you" (singular and plural)

The pronoun you is special because it is used for both singular and plural:
• One person (singular): “You are my friend.”
• More than one person (plural): “You are all welcome.”
• It is also used in both informal and formal situations.
Unlike Spain’s Spanish, English does not have a separate standard pronoun equivalent to vosotros/vosotras.

How Americans often make plural "you" explicit

Since standard English uses you for both singular and plural, American English often adds phrases to make it clear you mean multiple people:
• you all (neutral): “Are you all ready?”
• y’all (very common in the South and widely recognized elsewhere; informal): “Y’all ready?”
• you guys (very common in conversation; informal; some people avoid it in very inclusive or formal settings): “Are you guys coming?”

2. Object Pronouns

Object pronouns are used to say who receives the action. The object pronouns in English are: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.

Examples:
• Give the book to me. (I receive the action.)
• I called him yesterday.
• She helped them.

Subject vs. Object Pronouns

Use a subject pronoun before the verb (the doer). Use an object pronoun after the verb or a preposition (the receiver).

Examples:
• We saw him. (We = subject, him = object)
• They invited us. (They = subject, us = object)