Friday 18 November 2011

English Grammar Rules - Object Pronouns

The seven basic pronouns have one form when they are used as subjects and another form when they are used as objects.
Subjects are what the sentence is about.
Objects are what is affected by the action of the subject.
  • I like whisky. (I is the subject).
  • I read books. (Books is the object as it is receiving the action).
PRONOUNS
Subject PronounObject Pronoun
IMe
YouYou
HeHim
SheHer
ItIt
WeUs
You (plural)You
TheyThem

Object pronouns are used instead of nouns, usually because we already know what the object is. It makes the sentence easier to read and understand and avoids repetition. We normally use object pronouns after a verb or a preposition.

Examples
I like horses.Subject Pronoun
Horses don't like me.Object Pronoun
We talk to our neighbour.Subject Pronoun
She talks to us.Object Pronoun
They listen to the teacher.Subject Pronoun
Listen to me carefully.Object Pronoun
You speak very quickly.Subject Pronoun
We watch them on TV.Object Pronoun

The Object Pronoun - it

Be careful when using 'it' as an object pronoun because it is only in the correct context that it has meaning. It needs to have already been mentioned or obvious to the listener what you are referring to. Compare;
  • You are sitting on it! (The listener probably doesn't know what the speaker refers to).
  • The letter is on the sofa. You are sitting on it! (It is obvious in the second sentence that the reference is to the letter)

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