Second Grade English: Personal Pronouns (I, me, he, him, she, her, they, them)

Imagine reading a story where an author wrote: "Maya woke up. Maya ate Maya's breakfast. Maya grabbed Maya's backpack, and Maya walked Maya's dog." Repeating the exact same noun over and over sounds repetitive and exhausting! Fortunately, the English language has a nimble team of substitute words that step in to take the place of nouns. These handy substitutes are called pronouns. In this chapter, you will master personal pronouns, explore the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns, and learn how to use I, me, he, him, she, her, they, and them with flawless accuracy.

What Is a Personal Pronoun?

A personal pronoun is a word that replaces a specific person, animal, or object in a sentence.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     THE PRONOUN REPLACEMENT                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                 |
|   Without Pronouns (Repetitive):                                |
|   "Leo loves soccer. Leo plays soccer every Saturday with Leo's |
|    friends because soccer makes Leo happy."                     |
|                                                                 |
|   With Pronouns (Smooth & Natural):                             |
|   "Leo loves soccer. HE plays IT every Saturday with HIS        |
|    friends because IT makes HIM happy."                         |
|                                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

The Antecedent Clue

The noun that a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent. In the sentence "When Maya called, she asked about homework," Maya is the antecedent, and she is the personal pronoun that takes her place.

Subject Pronouns vs. Object Pronouns

Personal pronouns change their form depending on whether they are doing the action or receiving the action in the sentence.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|               SUBJECT PRONOUNS VS. OBJECT PRONOUNS              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Point of View  | Subject Form (Doer) | Object Form (Receiver)  |
+-----------------+---------------------+-------------------------+
|  1st Person     | I (singular)        | me (singular)           |
|                 | we (plural)         | us (plural)             |
|  2nd Person     | you (singular/plural| you (singular/plural)   |
|  3rd Person     | he (male singular)  | him (male singular)     |
|                 | she (female singular| her (female singular)   |
|                 | it (thing singular) | it (thing singular)     |
|                 | they (plural)       | them (plural)           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

Subject Pronouns: The Doers

Subject pronouns sit at the beginning of the predicate and perform the verb. I ran fast. He threw the baseball. She solved the math puzzle. They built a tall sandcastle.

Object Pronouns: The Receivers

Object pronouns sit after the action verb or after prepositions (like to, for, with) and receive the action. Carlos called me. The teacher rewarded him. Aunt Sarah smiled at her. The puppy ran toward them.

The Golden Rule of "I" vs. "Me"

Choosing between I and me when another person is involved is one of the most famous grammar challenges in the world!

+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     THE THUMB DROP TEST                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                 |
|   Sentence: "Carlos and (I / me) went to the library."          |
|                                                                 |
|   Step 1: Cover "Carlos and" with your thumb!                   |
|   Step 2: Read what is left:                                    |
|           "Me went to the library"   --> Sounds absurd!         |
|           "I went to the library"    --> Sounds perfect!        |
|                                                                 |
|   Result: "Carlos and I went to the library."                   |
|                                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+

Testing "Me" After a Verb

Now try this sentence: "The coach chose Carlos and (I / me)." Cover "Carlos and" with your thumb: "The coach chose I" -> Incorrect! "The coach chose me" -> Correct! So the full sentence is: "The coach chose Carlos and me."

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Replace the underlined nouns with the correct subject pronoun (he, she, it, or they): "The red apple fell from the branch." "Maya and Leo rode their bikes." "Mr. Clark fixed the broken wooden wagon."

Exercise 2: Choose the correct pronoun to complete each sentence: "My grandfather gave the fishing rod to (I / me)." "Sam and (I / me) built a secret blanket fort in the living room."

Exercise Solutions

Solution to Exercise 1: The replacements are: It fell from the branch (It replaces The red apple). They rode their bikes (They replaces Maya and Leo). He fixed the broken wooden wagon (He replaces Mr. Clark).

Solution to Exercise 2: In the first sentence, the correct pronoun is me ("My grandfather gave the fishing rod to me" as object of preposition to). In the second sentence, the correct pronoun is I ("Sam and I built a secret blanket fort" because I is part of the subject doing the building).