Pronouns

Object Pronouns in English: me, you, him, her, it, us, them

Level A1 Pronouns
Key idea

When a pronoun receives the action of a verb or follows a preposition, it switches to its object form: I becomes me, he becomes him, she becomes her, we becomes us, and they becomes them. (You and it never change.) The object pronoun comes after the verb or preposition, as in "Call me later," "I saw her yesterday," and "Come with us." A classic slip-up is using a subject pronoun in an object slot, like "She knows I" or "between you and I" instead of "between you and me" — so check the form whenever a pronoun is the thing being acted on rather than the one doing the acting.

Examples

  • Call me later. telephone the speaker later
  • I saw her yesterday. the speaker saw a woman yesterday
  • Come with us. accompany the group

The full lesson

Everything in the video, in text.

  1. Object pronouns

    me · him · her · us · them

    Is it She knows I, or She knows me? One is wrong. Here's the rule.

  2. The subject does the action; the object receives it.

    English pronouns change form depending on their job. The subject does the action; the object receives it — and that's when the form changes.

  3. Subject → Object

    Subject
    • I
    • you
    • he
    • she
    • it
    • we
    • they
    Object
    • me
    • you
    • him
    • her
    • it
    • us
    • them

    As the subject, you say I, he, she, we, they. Flip them to the object and they become me, him, her, us, them. You and it never change.

  4. Object pronouns come after the verb or a preposition.

    And object pronouns have a home: they come right after the verb, or after a preposition like to, with, or for.

  5. Call me later.

    object of the verb 'call'

    Take a simple command. The verb is call, and the person receiving the call is the object. Call me later.

  6. Tell him the truth.

    he → him

    Same with tell. He is the one receiving the information, so he becomes him. Tell him the truth.

  7. I saw her yesterday.

    she → her

    When you see someone, they're the object of saw, so she turns into her. I saw her yesterday.

  8. Come with us.

    object of the preposition 'with'

    It's not just verbs. After a preposition like with, you also need the object form — so we becomes us. Come with us.

  9. We invited them.

    they → them

    And they becomes them when the action lands on them. We invited them.

  10. I'll call you. Give it to me.

    you, it — same in both jobs

    Two pronouns make this easy: you and it stay exactly the same in both jobs. I'll call you. Give it to me.

  11. ✗ She knows I. subject form after a verb
    ✓ She knows me. object form ✓

    After a verb, use the object pronoun.

    Now the classic mistake. After a verb you need the object form, so never say She knows I. It's always She knows me.

  12. ✗ Between you and I sounds posh, but wrong
    ✓ Between you and me 'between' is a preposition

    Prepositions take the object form — even inside a pair.

    And watch out for over-correcting. Between is a preposition, so it takes the object form. It's not between you and I — it's between you and me.

  13. Remember

    • Subject does the action → I, he, she, we, they
    • Object receives it → me, him, her, us, them
    • 'you' and 'it' never change

    So remember: the subject does the action, the object receives it. Switch I, he, she, we, they to me, him, her, us, them.

Related lessons

English Subject Pronouns: I, You, He, She, It, We, TheyPossessive Adjectives in English: My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, Their