A pronoun is a short word that stands in for a noun, so the speaker doesn't have to repeat it. Without pronouns, every sentence about the same person or thing would sound heavy:
Personal pronouns are the pronouns that refer to people and things by their grammatical role — who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and who or what is being spoken about.
English has seven personal pronouns, and each one takes two forms depending on its job in the sentence: a subject form and an object form.
The full set
| SUBJECT | OBJECT |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| you | you |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| it | it |
| we | us |
| they | them |
Two things to notice straight away. You and it look the same in both columns — their form never changes. The other five pronouns switch shape depending on whether they act or are acted upon.
Subject pronouns
A subject pronoun names the person or thing doing the verb. It normally sits before the verb, at the start of the clause.
English clauses almost always need a subject. You cannot drop it the way some languages do. Is raining and Works at Google are not complete sentences — they need it and he (or another subject) to stand up.
A quick note on capitalization: the pronoun I is always written with a capital letter, wherever it sits in the sentence. It is the only single-letter word in English with this rule.
Object pronouns
An object pronoun names the person or thing that receives the action, or the one that follows a preposition like to, for, with, about, from.
After a preposition, the rule is the same — the object form is used.
The rule in one line
Use the subject form when the pronoun is the doer of the verb. Use the object form when the pronoun receives the action or follows a preposition.
Compare:
The same pair of people can appear as either the subject or the object. What changes is who is doing what to whom.
Why *you* and *it* look simple
You has one form for everything. It is both the subject and the object, and it is the same whether you are talking to one person or to a whole room.
It behaves the same way — one form for both roles.
English also uses it as a so-called empty subject, when there is nothing specific to put in the subject slot — for weather, time, and distance.
There is no real "it" here. The word is just holding the subject position because English grammar requires one.
Pronouns after *than*, *between*, and *except*
After between and except, use the object form: me, him, her, us, them. These words place the pronoun outside the subject position.
After than, everyday English also commonly uses the object form: She is taller than me. Formal writing may use a subject form when the rest of the comparison is understood: She is taller than I am. Do not mix the two patterns.
Singular *they*
They and them are plural by default, but English also uses them as a singular, gender-neutral form when the gender of the person is unknown or simply not relevant.
This usage is standard in modern English and accepted by every major dictionary. It is especially common in everyday speech and in rules and instructions addressed to an unknown reader.
Common mistakes
Subject vs. object form
After prepositions
Missing subject
The word "I"
Confusing he/she with it