Many students make several mistakes when it comes to personal pronouns and they all fall for the nuances at the very beginning, but little by little when they study and scrutinize more, they distinguish them easily and no longer have problems with them.
We already have introduced the subject and object pronouns earlier in two different articles on this website but here we want to deal more with them in-depth and see what other differences do they have in order to be better at English grammar and pronouns usages.
Usage and Functions:
We usually call The words “I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they and them” personal pronouns.
We use personal pronouns instead of names of people or things to avoid repetition.
He was surprised. (In this example he replaces the name of any speaker.)
Sarah is ill. She’ll be away for a few days. (not Sarah’ll be away.)
Tell Sarah I miss her. (not Tell Sarah I miss Sarah.)
Subject and Object Forms:
As we discussed earlier in two other articles on this website the English Subject Pronouns are “I, You, He, She, It, We, You, They” and the Object Pronouns are “me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them”.
We can never use object pronouns at the beginning of the sentence:
we like them. (Not us like them)
Or
We sent her some flowers. (Not us sent us her flowers.)
Other Usages of Object Forms:
When a relative clause comes after an expression like “it is/was me” there are two choices:
Object Pronoun + that (informal style):
It was me that called the boss.
Subject Pronoun + who (formal style):
It is he who called the boss.
Who answered that? — (It was) her.
Who was there? ~Me.
But bear in mind that in a more formal style, we use subject form + verb instead of object pronouns.
Who answered that? ~He did (but not He)
However It is possible to use a subject form alone after being (e.g. It is I; It was he), but this is extremely formal and is usually considered over-correct and considered by many even false.
In a more informal style seeing double subjects are very common as well:
Mike and me are going hiking this month.
But be careful that these types of sentences are considered false on formal scales.
Unlike some romance languages (Spanish and Italian) in which the omission of subject and object is possible, here in the English language we can not omit and leave out the subject and object pronouns, even if the meaning is clear and grammatically they are considered wrong:
It’s snowing. (not Is snowing.)
I loved the old house because it reminded me of my hometown, (not … because reminded me of my hometown.)
They arrested the thief and put him behind the bars. (not … and put behind bars)
Have some coffee. *No, I don’t like it (not … I don’t like)
One subject is enough:
Most of the time even in higher levels of education we see that students make double subject mistake and we always remind them that one subject is enough. We do not use a personal pronoun to repeat a subject that comes in the same clause or sentence.
My car is parked outside and I am worried about it. (not My car it’s parked outside.)
The new manager really gets on my nerves and makes the situation unbearable (not The new manager he really gets on my nerves and …)
Their condition is terrible. (not It is terrible their condition.)
But again remember that in informal speeches, there are always exceptions:
He’s not a bad bloke, John.
It’s a horrible place, New york.
Personal and Relative Pronouns:
The other common mistake among students is the usage of relative pronouns and subjects at the same time. Remember that those relative pronouns are there to avoid repetition and we don’t need to bring back the subject pronouns again:
That’s the boy who lives in the flat upstairs, (not … who he lives …)
Here’s the money (that) you lent me. (not … (that) you lent me it))
Usage of “it” in reference to the situation:
In the English language we can use the pronoun “it” to refer to the names of particular things and furthermore we can also use “it” to refer to indefinite pronouns like “everything, anything, nothing”:
Nothing happened, did it?
Everything’s all right, isn’t it?
We can also use “it” to refer to the whole fact, situation or event:
Our tickets were stolen. It completely ruined our vacation.
He did all he could, but it wasn’t enough.
It’s terrible – everybody’s got colds, and the heater isn’t working.
Wasn’t it lovely there!
Usage of it as ’empty’ subject:
Don’t be confused by its name, hereby empty subject we mean the usage of it as a meaningless subject with expressions that refer to time, weather.
temperature or distances.
It’s ten o’clock. (not Is ten o’clock.)
It’s Monday again and we have to go to work.
It snowed for five days.
It’s forty degrees and it’s scorching hot.
It’s twenty miles to the nearest police station. It will take a long time to get there in time.
The other usage of the pronoun “it” is for identification and we use it for a person and somebody when we are identifying him or her.
Who’s that over there? It’s Micheal Smith (not he is Micheal Smith)
Is that our driver? No, it isn’t, (not No, he isn’t.)
On the phone: Hello. It’s Andy Garcia (not … I am Andy Garcia)
Note that many English and non-native learners might make the above mistake when they want to speak on the phone.
It’s your brother who plays the violin, isn’t it?
Very special usage of pronouns is the usage of “we” and plural “you” (but not other personal pronouns) when speaking directly before nouns:
We, women, know things that you men will never understand. (but not I, woman, know … or They, men, will never …)
Other Advance Point and Usages of Pronouns:
In informal English we sometimes use object forms in double subjects:
Jack and me went.
us men understand
between you and I
John and me are going rafting this weekend.
Him and the kids spent Sunday at the swimming pool.
Note: Sometimes the pronoun “us” is used as a subject together with a noun.
Us women understand these things better than you men.
And furthermore “I” is often used informally in double objects in many sentences:
Between you and I, I think her marriage is in trouble.
That’s an issue for John and I.
Note: Most of these structures are often considered ‘incorrect’, but they have been common in educated speech for a long time. They are,
however, restricted to a very informal style. They are not correct in formal speech or writing.
Note: Usage of as, than, but, and except + me, him, her, etc in the English language we use After “as” and “than”, object forms in an informal style.
My brother’s nearly as tall as me.
I can run faster than him.
In a more formal style, subject forms are used, usually followed by verbs.
My brother’s nearly as tall as I am.
I can run faster than he can.
Note: Words “But” (meaning ‘except’) and “except” are followed by object:
Nobody but him knew the answer, (not Nobody but He ..)
Everybody except her can come.
Usage of the structure “It is/was (object pronouns) that …/ who …”:
When a relative clause comes after an expression like It is/was me, there are two possibilities:
Object form + that (very informal):
It’s her that needs your help.
It was him that told the cops.
Subject form + who (very formal):
It is she who needs your help.
It was he who told the cops.
We can avoid being too formal or too informal by using a different structure.
He was the person / the one who told the cops.
The special mixed subject and object structure:
It’s for her to decide.
Sometimes a pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition, but the subject of a following infinitive or clause. Usually, an object form is used in this case.
It’s for her to decide, (not It’s for she to decide.)
I think it’s a good idea for they and us to visit soon. (Considered more correct than … for you they and we to visit soon.)
Everything comes to him who waits. (Considered more correct than … to he who waits.)
The usage of “us” by the meaning ‘me’:
In very informal British speech, “us” is quite often used instead of me (especially as an indirect object).
Give us a kiss, love.
The usage of you in special informal expressions and phrases like poor! clever! lucky you! (This occasionally happens also with me.)
Alright, this was Object and Subject pronouns differences in English. Do not forget to review any topics and grammar and take notes too.
You can also check out the English Grammar page to read other grammatical articles.