Parts of Speech:
ESL Guide to Subject Pronouns
What is a subject pronoun?
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that is doing or being something. Subject pronouns are pronouns that replace subject nouns. There are singular and plural subject pronouns. There are masculine and feminine subject pronouns.
1st person subjects include the speaker: I, we.
2nd person subjects include the person or people being spoken to: you, you.
3rd person subjects include the people other than the speaker or people being spoken to: he, she, it, they.
1st Person Singular
- I am a chef.
2nd Person Singular
- You are a painter.
3rd Person Singular
- He is a carpenter.
- She is a lawyer.
- It is a good job.
1st Person Plural
- We are professional athletes.
2nd Person Plural
- You are both graphic designers.
3rd Person Plural
- They are teachers.
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. Using the same noun in every sentence can get repetitive. So we use pronouns to make the sentences sound better. We usually replace nouns that were already used in the sentence before with pronouns. Below are example sentences of subject pronouns replacing subject nouns.
Subject Noun
- Who is from Mexico?
- Who speaks English?
- Pedro is from Columbia.
- Mona is from France.
- My new purse is from Italy.
- My brother and I will go to Australia.
- You and Tom are driving to Canada.
- Sean and Sarah went to Europe.
Subject Pronoun
- I am from Mexico.
- You speak English.
- He moved from Bogota to Miami.
- She moved from Paris to New York.
- It was shipped from Milan.
- We will stay in Sydney.
- You are stopping in Vancouver.
- They visited London and Dublin.
What is the difference between subject and object pronouns?
Subject pronouns get their name because the replace the subject of the sentence. Remember that the subject of the sentence is doing the action in the sentence.
Object pronouns get their name because they replace the object of a sentence. The object of a simple sentence receives the action.
SUBJECT | OBJECT
- 1st singular: I | me
- 2nd singular: you | you
- 3rd singular (male): he| him
- 3rd singular (female): she | her
- 3rd singular (thing): it | it
- 1st plural: we | us
- 2nd plural: you | you
- 3rd plural: they | them
We cannot use object pronouns in place of subject nouns. And we cannot use subject pronouns in place of object nouns. Below are some simple sentences with a subject, verb and object. Notice which sentence uses the correct subject and object pronouns.
Subject and Object Nouns
- Jim loves Jenny.
- Tanya and I know Bob and Kendra.
- Kelly and Zach found their car.
Subject and Object Pronouns
- He loves her.
- We know them.
- They found it.
What are some good examples of subject pronouns in sentences?
Question
- Do you know Tom?
- Do I know Kelly?
- Did Greg meet Sasha?
- When will Karen get here?
- Can the computer be fixed?
- Should you and I talk about it?
- Are Eddie and I riding with Mom?
- Where did Bert and Ernie go?
Answer
- Yes, I know Tom.
- Yes, you know Kelly.
- No, he didn’t meet Sasha.
- She will get here by noon.
- Yes, it can be fixed.
- No, we shouldn’t talk about it.
- Yes, you are riding with Mom.
- They went home.
