Subject Pronouns
We use subject pronouns as the subject of a verb:
I like your dress.
You are late.
He is my friend.
It is raining.
She is on holiday.
We live in England.
They come from London.
English clauses always have a subject:
His father has just retired.
He was a teacher. ✔
Was a teacher. ✖
I'm waiting for my wife.
She is late. ✔
Is late. ✖
The imperative, which is used for orders, invitations and requests, is an exception:
Stop!
Go away.
Please come to dinner tomorrow.
Play it again, please.
If there is no other subject, we use it or there.
We use subject pronouns as the subject of a verb:
Can you help me, please?
I can see you.
She doesn't like him.
I saw her in town today.
We saw them in town yesterday, but they didn't see us.
and after prepositions:
She is waiting for me.
I'll get it for you.
Give it to him.
Why are you looking at her?
Don't take it from us.
I'll speak to them.
He • She • They
We use he and him to refer to men
she and her to refer to women.
When we are not sure if we are talking about a man or a woman, we use they and them:
This is Jack.
He's my brother.
I don't think you have met him.
This is Angela.
She's my sister.
Have you met her before?
You could go to a doctor.
They might help you.
Talk to a friend.
Ask them to help you.
You • They
We use you to talk about people in general, including the speaker and the hearer:
You can buy this book everywhere.
his book is on sale everywhere.
You can't park here.
Parking is not allowed here.
We use they and them to talk about institutions and organisations:
They serve good food here.
They - the restaurant
Ask them for a cheaper ticket.
them - the airline
Especially the government and the authorities:
They don't let you smoke in here.
They are going to increase taxes.
They say it’s going to rain tomorrow.
It
We use it to talk about ourselves:
On the telephone:
Hello. It's Sarah.
When other people cannot see us:
It's me.
It's Mary.
Mary is knocking on the door.
We also use it to talk about other people:
When we point people out for the first time:
Who's that? I think It's Sarah's brother.
When we cannot see someone and we ask them for their name:
Who is it? someone about to answer the door.
Possessive adjectives
To show something belongs to somebody:
That's our house.
My car is very old.
For relations and friends:
My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?
For parts of the body:
He's broken his arm.
She's washing her hair.
The possessive adjective its does not have an apostrophe ':
That bird has broken its wing. ✔
It's wing. ✖
It's always means it is or it has.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns do not have an apostrophe:
Is that car yours · hers · ours · theirs? ✔
Is that car your's · her's · our's · their's? ✖
We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a full noun phrase to avoid repeating words:
Is that John's car?
No, it's mine.
No, it's my car.
Whose coat is this?
Is it yours?
Is it your coat?
Her coat is grey.
Mine is brown.
My coat is brown.
We can use possessive pronouns and nouns after of. We can say:
Susan is one of my friends.
Susan is a friend of mine. ✔
Susan is a friend of me. ✖
I am one of Susan's friends.
I am a friend of Susan's. ✔
I am a friend of Susan. ✖