Object Pronouns in EnglishA2
Practice object pronouns like me, you, him, her, it, us, and them so sentences sound clear and natural.
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Prerequisites
What object pronouns do
Object pronouns stand in for nouns that receive an action or complete the meaning of a verb or preposition. In The teacher called Maria, Maria is the object, so it can become her: The teacher called her. In I opened the door for my brother, my brother can become him. The pronoun keeps the sentence from repeating the noun, and it shows the same person or thing in a shorter form. Subject pronouns do a different job, so compare them with Subject Pronouns.
What job does an object pronoun do in a sentence?
Common object pronouns
The common object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. Me refers to the speaker: Call me later. You refers to the listener: I need you here at 5. Him refers to one male person: We visited him yesterday. Her refers to one female person: I met her at the station. It refers to one thing, idea, or animal: Please move it. Us refers to the speaker and at least one other person: Join us for dinner. Them refers to more than one person or thing: She invited them to the party. These forms are the object forms of the pronouns you already know from Pronouns.
| Word | Definition | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| me | Used when the speaker is the object of a verb or preposition. | ||
| you | Used when the listener is the object of a verb or preposition. | ||
| him | Used when a male person is the object in a sentence. | ||
| her | Used when a female person is the object in a sentence. | ||
| it | Used when a thing or animal is the object in a sentence. | ||
| us | Used when the speaker and other people are the object together. | ||
| them | Used when two or more people or things are the object together. |
A sleepy astronaut needs a reminder at five o'clock.
I need (you / me / us) at five o'clock.
Object pronouns after verbs
When a pronoun is the object of a verb, it usually comes right after the verb. The pattern is subject + verb + object pronoun. She called me. I saw them at the airport. They helped us carry the boxes. The pronoun follows the action because it names the person or thing affected by the verb. In longer sentences, the object pronoun still stays in that position: The manager thanked her after the meeting. This word order also supports clear sentence structure in Word Order.
| Usage | Explanation | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct object after a verb | Use an object pronoun as the receiver of the action after a verb. | ||
| Verb with a thing as object | Use it or another object pronoun when the verb acts on that noun. | ||
| Plural people as object | Use them when the verb acts on more than one person. |
Object pronouns after prepositions
A preposition is followed by an object, so an object pronoun comes after the preposition. Common prepositions include with, to, for, about, at, from, and of. He spoke to me. This gift is for her. We walked with them. She asked about it. The preposition and pronoun stay together, and the pronoun does not change form. In everyday English, this also appears in phrases like for us, with him, and about you. When a preposition introduces extra detail, the pronoun follows it naturally, which is also useful for Relative Pronouns in more complex sentences.
| Usage | Explanation | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| After with | Use an object pronoun after with when the pronoun completes the phrase. | ||
| After to | Use an object pronoun after to when the preposition shows direction or connection. | ||
| After for | Use an object pronoun after for when it means the person who receives something. | ||
| After about | Use an object pronoun after about when the sentence is talking concerning someone or something. |
Give, tell, and show
Some verbs can take two objects. One object is the thing given, told, or shown. The other object is the person who receives it. In these patterns, the indirect object is often an object pronoun. Give me the key. Tell them the news. Show her the photo. The structure is verb + object pronoun + direct object, or verb + direct object + to + object pronoun. Give the key to me. Tell the news to them. Show the photo to her. In both forms, the pronoun names the receiver. The same pattern works with verbs like send, lend, and pass.
| Example | Pattern | |
|---|---|---|
| With give, the person who receives something is usually an object pronoun. | ||
| With tell, the listener can be an object pronoun after the verb. | ||
| With show, the person who sees something can be an object pronoun. |
Me, it, and common mistakes
After a verb or preposition, English uses the object form: me, not I; him, not he; us, not we. Say They called me, not They called I. Say The ticket is for us, not for we. Use it for one thing, one animal, or one idea: I found it. The cat was hungry, so I fed it. Use them for more than one person or thing: I met the students, and I helped them. When the speaker is part of the group, use us: Please wait for us. When you need to point to a thing in conversation, object pronouns often work with Demonstrative Pronouns, but the pronoun choice still depends on whether the word is singular or plural.
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Now you can use object pronouns correctly
You learned that object pronouns replace the noun that receives an action or follows a preposition, using forms like me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. You practiced the key word-order rules: object pronouns after verbs (subject + verb + pronoun) and after prepositions (preposition + pronoun). You also learned the two-object patterns with give/tell/show and how to avoid common mistakes like using I or we in object positions.