His vs. Him

possessive determiners object pronouns his him

We have different kinds of pronouns in English grammar, for example, subject, object, possessive, impersonal, etc. Here, we will discuss two masculine pronouns.

Similarity

'His' and 'him' are both third-person pronouns. It means they are used to refer to a male person already mentioned or easily recognizable.

Difference

The difference between 'Him' and 'his' is in the uses of each pronoun in a sentence. 'His' is the possessive (also called the genitive) form of the pronoun 'he.'
'Him' is the objective (also called the accusative) form of the pronoun 'he.'
As you will see here, these two words carry different tasks in a sentence.

Him

'Him' is an object pronoun which means it is used as an object in a sentence. More specifically, 'him' is the third-person singular object pronoun. Look at the following examples:

I love how the smallest things make him laugh out loud.

Here, 'him' is the direct object of the sentence.

You cannot share that secret with him.

Here, 'him' is the object of preposition.

It's him on the phone again. You have to talk to him eventually.

Here, 'him' is the predicative that comes after the verb 'be'.

His

'His' is the possessive pronoun or the possessive determiner of the subject pronoun 'he'. 'His' shows someone's possession or ownership of something.
If it is followed by another noun, it is a determiner. On the other hand, if it appears without another noun, it is a pronoun.

He took his dog out for a walk.

'His' is followed by the noun 'dog' and shows that the dog is possessed by a male person.

My car was red. His was light blue.

'His' is a pronoun replacing the possessive phrase 'his car'.

Comments

Its vs. His or Hers

Can we use 'its' instead of 'his' or 'hers'? If so, when? Are they truly interchangeable? To understand more about these pronouns, read this part.

Ours vs. Us

What is the difference between 'ours' and 'us'? They are both pronouns. They are both first-person plurals. But they are of different categories of pronouns.

Ours vs. Ourselves

What is the difference between 'ours' and 'ourselves'? 'He's a friend of ours,' or 'He's a friend of ourselves'. Which of these two sentences is correct?

Ours vs. Theirs

'Ours' and 'Theirs' are both what we call possessive pronouns. They are used to refer to something or someone belonging to or associated with us or others.

Mine, Pronoun or Adjective?

In this part, we will discuss the word 'mine' in the English language. We'll see its part of speech, uses, and functions in a sentence.

Yours vs. Your's

'Yours sincerely' or 'Your's sincerely'? Which one do you think is correct? Here, we will discuss the second-person possessive pronoun in the English language.

Download LanGeek app for free

Langeek