Personal Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives
Personal pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition. Possessive adjectives show who is the owner of something. They are very important in everyday life.
1.Subject Pronouns
1.1Subjects in a Sentence
Subject pronouns replace specific nouns - people, places, or things - so you
don't repeat them (see Parts of Speech and Parts of Sentence).
They act as the subject of a sentence: they come before the verb and do the action.
Singular
| Pronoun | Person | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1st | I am a doctor. |
| you | 2nd | You are a doctor. |
| he | 3rd · masculine | He is my brother. |
| she | 3rd · feminine | She is my sister. |
| it | 3rd · neuter | It is my book. |
Plural
| Pronoun | Person | Example |
|---|---|---|
| we | 1st | We are friends. |
| you | 2nd | You are doctors. |
| they | 3rd · all genders | They are my friends. |
Watch out
- you is the same word in singular and plural, and the verb stays are either way: you are a doctor, you are doctors.
- Gender only exists in the 3rd person singular. they covers everyone.
- Subject pronouns go before the verb. After a verb you need object pronouns: I saw him, not I saw he.
Test yourself
2.Object Pronouns
2.1Objects in a Sentence
Object pronouns replace specific nouns - people, places, or things - so you
don't repeat them.
They act as the object of a verb or a preposition in a sentence
(see Parts of Sentence).
Singular
| Pronoun | Person | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | 1st | Give me the book. |
| you | 2nd | I want to tell you a story. |
| him | 3rd · masculine | Give him the book. |
| her | 3rd · feminine | Give the book to her. |
| it | 3rd · neuter | Pass it to my brother. |
Plural
| Pronoun | Person | Example |
|---|---|---|
| us | 1st | Could your friend help us? |
| you | 2nd | I will call you guys a bit later. |
| them | 3rd · all genders | I agree with them. |
Watch out
- Object pronouns come after the verb or preposition, never before: I saw him, not I saw he.
- you and it look the same as their subject forms. Position tells you which job they're doing.
- her is also the possessive adjective: Give the book to her (object) vs This is her book (possessive).
- After a preposition, always use the object form: with them, to me, for us - never with they, to I.
Test yourself
3.Possessive Adjectives
3.1Who is the Owner?
Possessive adjectives show the owner of something and answer the
question Whose?
We use them especially with parts of the body, articles of clothing
and family members.
Singular
| Adjective | Owner | Example |
|---|---|---|
| my | 1st person · I | It is my book. |
| your | 2nd person · you | Raise your right hand! |
| his | 3rd person · he | He always takes off his coat here. |
| her | 3rd person · she | It is her car in the parking lot. |
| its | 3rd person · it | The hotel has its own spa. |
Plural
| Adjective | Owner | Example |
|---|---|---|
| our | 1st person · we | We are leaving our books here. |
| your | 2nd person · you | Can I use your cars, guys? |
| their | 3rd person · they | John and Mary want to find their tablets. |
A possessive adjective always needs a noun after it
It describes the noun, so it can never end a sentence or stand alone.
| Correct | Wrong |
|---|---|
| It is my car. | |
| Is this your book? | |
| These are our clothes. |
Watch out
- its has no apostrophe. It's means it is - a different word entirely.
- her does double duty: possessive in this is her car, object in give it to her.
- To put a possessive at the end of a sentence, you need a possessive pronoun, not an adjective: This car is mine, These clothes are ours.
Test yourself
4.Summary
4.1Subject / Object Pronouns + Possessive Adjectives
Personal pronouns
Every person has three forms. Which one you use depends on the
job the word does in the sentence - not on its meaning.
Subject - answers Who? / What? - does the action
Possessive - answers Whose? - sits before a noun
Object - answers Who? / What? - receives the action
1st person singular
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | I |
| Possessive | my |
| Object | me |
I lost my keys, so Anna helped me.
2nd person singular
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | you |
| Possessive | your |
| Object | you |
You forgot your ticket - I saved one for you.
3rd person singular · masculine
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | he |
| Possessive | his |
| Object | him |
He opened his laptop and I sat next to him.
3rd person singular · feminine
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | she |
| Possessive | her |
| Object | her |
She finished her coffee before I could pay for her.
3rd person singular · neuter
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | it |
| Possessive | its |
| Object | it |
It wagged its tail when I called it.
1st person plural
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | we |
| Possessive | our |
| Object | us |
We packed our bags and the driver waited for us.
2nd person plural
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | you |
| Possessive | your |
| Object | you |
You all know your parts - the director will brief you later.
3rd person plural
| Form | Word |
|---|---|
| Subject | they |
| Possessive | their |
| Object | them |
They parked their car and I waved at them.
Watch out
- its vs it's - its is possessive, it's means it is.
- her does double duty - possessive and object. The only form that does.
- you never changes - same word in every form, singular and plural.
- Possessives here always need a noun after them: my book, not my. (mine, yours, hers are a separate set - possessive pronouns.)
Test yourself
5.Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between subject pronouns, object pronouns and possessive adjectives?
Subject pronouns like "he" do the action, object pronouns like "him" receive it, and possessive adjectives like "his" show who owns something. The form depends on the word's job in the sentence: "He opened his laptop and I sat next to him." Here he does the action, his shows whose laptop it is, and him comes after the preposition "next to". You and it stay the same as subject and object, and her is both the object and the possessive form.
My or mine: can you say 'This book is my' in English?
No, a possessive adjective like my always needs a noun after it: say "This is my book" or "This book is mine". My, your, his, her, our and their go before a noun: "Is this your bag?", not "Is this bag your?" Mine, yours, hers, ours and theirs are possessive pronouns: they replace the noun, so they can end a sentence. Don't put them before a noun either: say "her book", not "hers book".
Subject or object pronoun: is it correct to say 'I saw he' or 'with they'?
No, after a verb or a preposition, use an object pronoun: say "I saw him" and "with them", not "I saw he" or "with they". Before the verb it works the other way round: say "We are late", not "Us are late", and "She lives here", not "Her lives here". The word that does the action takes the subject form (I, he, she, we, they); the word after the verb or preposition takes the object form (me, him, her, us, them).
Is it correct to say 'him car' or 'they house' instead of a possessive adjective?
No, to show the owner before a noun you need a possessive adjective: say "his car" and "their house", not "him car" or "they house". Each person has its own possessive adjective: I and my, you and your, he and his, she and her, it and its, we and our, they and their. So say "We love our teacher", not "We love us teacher". His or her depends on the owner, not the thing: "Tom washes his car", "Anna washes her car".
Its or it's: what's the difference between the possessive adjective and the short form?
Its, with no apostrophe, is the possessive adjective for it, and it's is the short form of it is. Use its before a noun to show the owner: "The hotel has its own spa" and "The dog wagged its tail". Use it's when you can say it is instead: "It's cold today" means "It is cold today". So "The cat wants it's food" is wrong; say "The cat wants its food".
