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Unit 18
Object & Possessive Pronouns
me/him · mine/his · myself
All Pronoun Forms — Overview
English has five types of pronouns. Each has a different function in the sentence.
| Subject | Object | Possessive adj. | Possessive pronoun | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine | myself |
| you | you | your | yours | yourself |
| he | him | his | his | himself |
| she | her | her | hers | herself |
| it | it | its | — | itself |
| we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
Subject Pronouns vs Object Pronouns
Subject pronouns perform the action. Object pronouns receive the action or follow a preposition.
| Subject pronoun (before verb) | Object pronoun (after verb / preposition) |
|---|---|
| I called John. | I called him. |
| She saw the boys. | She saw them. |
| We helped Maria. | She helped us. |
| My friend and I are here. | Can you help my friend and me? |
Possessive Adjectives vs Possessive Pronouns
Both show possession. The key difference: possessive adjectives come before a noun; possessive pronouns stand alone (no noun after).
| Possessive adjective (+ noun) | Possessive pronoun (alone — no noun) |
|---|---|
| This is my book. | This book is mine. |
| That's her car. | That car is hers. |
| Is this your bag? | Is this bag yours? |
| It's their house. | The house is theirs. |
| We finished our work. | They finished theirs too. |
Reflexive Pronouns — myself, yourself...
Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object refer to the same person, or for emphasis.
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Subject = Object (same person) | He hurt himself. |
| Emphasis — did it alone / unaided | I built this myself. / She organised it herself. |
| By + reflexive = alone | She lives by herself. / He did it by himself. |
Object Pronouns After Prepositions
After prepositions (to, for, with, from, at, about...) always use the object pronoun.
| Wrong ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| Give it to she. | Give it to her. |
| It's between he and I. | It's between him and me. |
| This is a gift for they. | This is a gift for them. |
| She sat next to I. | She sat next to me. |
Its or It's? · A Friend of Mine
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| its | possessive (no apostrophe) | The dog wagged its tail. |
| it's | = it is / it has | It's cold today. · It's been a long day. |
| a friend of mine / yours / his | one of my friends | She's a friend of mine. (not |
| Whose ...? | asking about the owner | Whose bag is this? — It's hers. |
Themselves or Each Other?
| Pronoun | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| themselves / ourselves | each person does it to himself/herself | They looked at themselves in the mirror. |
| each other | A → B and B → A | They looked at each other and smiled. |
Annotated Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
subjectIverbcalledobjectherbutsubjectsheauxiliarydidn'tverbanswer.
↳ Her = object pronoun (receives the action).
adjectiveThissubjectbookverbismine.
↳ Mine = possessive pronoun (no noun after).
subjectHeverbmadetheadjectivewholeobjectpresentationobjecthimself.
↳ Himself = emphasis — he did it alone.
Common Mistakes
Give it to she.
→
Give it to her.
After a preposition → object pronoun: her.
This book is my.
→
This book is mine.
Without a noun after → possessive pronoun: mine.
Me and John went to the party.
→
John and I went to the party.
Subject pronoun: I. Put yourself second.
She did it herself alone.
→
She did it by herself. / She did it herself.
"By herself" already means alone — don't add "alone".
It's our book. The book is our.
→
It's our book. The book is ours.
Possessive pronoun (alone): ours, not our.
The company changed it's logo.
→
The company changed its logo.
Possessive "its" has no apostrophe. It's = it is.
She's a friend of me.
→
She's a friend of mine.
a friend of + possessive pronoun.