Use a subject pronoun as the subject of a clause. Use an object pronoun as the object of a verb or preposition. In “She called him,” she is the subject of called and him is its object. Switch their roles and the forms switch too. “He called her.”
Subject and object forms are two kinds of pronoun case. Find the pronoun’s job in the clause before you pick its form.
Subject and object pronoun chart
| Subject | Object | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | me | I asked for a copy. Nia sent me one. |
| you | you | You booked a room. The hotel emailed you. |
| he | him | He drew the map. We thanked him. |
| she | her | She wrote a note. We replied to her. |
| it | it | It fell off the hook. I hung it back up. |
| we | us | We missed the bus. Ben gave us a ride. |
| they | them | They set up the chairs. I saved a seat for them. |
You and it keep the same form in both roles. They and them can refer to one person or to more than one. See the Purdue OWL’s pronoun chart and APA’s guidance on singular they.
How to choose the right pronoun
Find the subject of the clause. In “She opened the gate,” she is the subject of opened. A subject can also experience something or undergo an action. In “She felt relieved” and “She was invited,” she is the subject in both sentences. In a question, the subject can follow a helping verb. In “Did she open the gate?” the subject is still she.
Find what the verb or preposition takes as its object. In “Nia invited him,” him is the direct object of invited. In “Nia gave him a key,” him is the indirect object, the recipient of the key. In “Nia left a key for him,” him is the object of the preposition for.
Check which clause the pronoun belongs to. In “The coach says she can start,” she follows says, but it is the subject of can start. In “The coach can start with her,” her is the object of with. Looking at the whole clause works better than choosing by word order alone.
Common pronoun mistakes and how to fix them
Two people as the subject
In edited English, use subject forms in a compound subject. Write “Maya and I organized the event.” Temporarily remove the other person and the conjunction. “I organized the event” shows the form to put back into the original sentence. If you remove one part from a plural subject, you may also need to adjust the verb. “Leo and she are ready” becomes “She is ready” during the check. The pronoun keeps its subject form.
Two people as the object
Write “The coordinator emailed Maya and me.” The quick check is “The coordinator emailed me.” In “between you and me,” both pronouns are objects of between. Since between needs both sides of the relationship in this example, try a comparable phrase such as “between us” or “for me” to hear the object form. See the guide to I vs. me and Purdue OWL on pronoun case.
Comparisons, short answers, and be
“She arrived earlier than me” and “She arrived earlier than I did” are both standard. Expanding the comparison is useful when the meaning could go two ways. “Mina calls Sam more often than I do” compares Mina’s calls with mine. “Mina calls Sam more often than she calls me” compares how often Mina calls each person.
Everyday English uses object forms in replies such as “Who brought the keys?” “Me.” In a full answer, write “I did.” “It’s me” is also standard in ordinary English. Here me is a complement after be. “It is I” is very formal. See Cambridge on personal pronouns and Merriam-Webster on pronouns after than.
In “Who called?” the question word is the subject. In formal “Whom did you call?” it is the object. Everyday English commonly uses “Who did you call?” See the guide to who vs. whom.
Check agreement and make the reference clear
Once you have the right case, check who the pronoun refers to. In “Maya told Nia she had the keys,” she has the right form, but a reader might wonder whose keys are in hand. If Nia has them, try “Maya told Nia, ‘You have the keys.’” In a report you could write “Maya confirmed that Nia had the keys.”
Use the pronouns a person uses. Singular they also works when the person’s gender is unknown or irrelevant. In “Someone left a jacket. They might come back for it, so please hold it for them,” they is the subject and them is the object of for. Use forms such as they are and they have even when they refers to one person. See APA Style on singular they.
Practice choosing subject and object pronouns
- Did (she / her) reserve the room?
- Ravi gave (we / us) a copy of the agenda.
- Jules and (I / me) will bring snacks.
- The note was addressed to Noor and (I / me).
- I heard that (they / them) finished early.
- “Ana told Bea that she had the keys.” Rewrite it so a reader knows that Bea had them.
Show the six answers
- She. The helping verb comes first in the question. She is the subject.
- Us. Us is the recipient, the indirect object of gave.
- I. Jules and I is the subject. Try “I will bring snacks.”
- Me. Noor and me is the object of to. Try “The note was addressed to me.”
- They. In they finished early, they is the subject of finished.
- One answer: “Ana told Bea, ‘You have the keys.’” The quotation makes it clear that Ana is speaking about Bea.
Try it on a real draft
Find a sentence in a message or report with a pronoun next to and. Try the sentence with that pronoun alone. Then look at each she, he, or they in the paragraph and ask a reader to point to the person or group it refers to. A grammar checker can flag a form. A reader can tell you whether they understood who you meant.
For more practice with subjects and verbs, see the guide to subject–verb agreement. If the person affected by an action is the grammatical subject, see the guide to active and passive voice.
