Subject Pronouns for intermediate learners
Pronouns that are used in the position of a subject in sentences are called subject pronouns. In this article, you find all your answers about subject pronouns.
What Are Subject Pronouns?
In English, the subject is the doer of the action in a sentence. We often use a subject pronoun (also called a subjective pronoun) in order to avoid repeating nouns. We have six subject pronouns in English as listed in the table below:
| Subject Pronouns | |
|---|---|
| 1st Person Singular | I |
| 2nd Person Singular | You |
| 3rd Person Singular (F) | She |
| 3rd Person Singular (M) | He |
| 3rd Person Singular (N) | It |
| 1st Person Plural | We |
| 2nd Person Plural | You |
| 3rd Person Plural | They |
Now, let us look at the following examples:
Tip!
As you can see in the table above, the subject pronouns for the second person singular and the second person plural are the same. If you want to put more emphasis on the subject pronoun when using the second person plural, you can add all after it. Look at the example below:
You can
You
Here the sentence is about a group of people.
Third Person Singular Subject Pronouns
As you can see, we have three subject pronouns for the third person singular form in the sentence. Look at the list below:
- He (Male)
- She (Female)
- It (Non-human)
How to Use Them
When we want to refer to humans or animals in sentences without repeating their names, we use subject pronouns. Pay attention that these pronouns must be used according to the subject's gender. Look at the following examples:
Subject and Verb Agreement
The Verb 'Be'
In English, one of the most common main verbs is 'to be'. Based on the subject pronoun used, the 'to be' verb is changed accordingly. Pay attention to the table below:
| Subject Pronouns | The Verb be | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person Singular | I | am |
| 2nd Person Singular | You | are |
| 3rd Person Singular (Female) | She | is |
| 3rd Person Singular (Male) | He | is |
| 3rd Person Singular (Non-human) | It | is |
| 1st Person Plural | We | are |
| 2nd Person Plural | You | are |
| 3rd Person Plural | They | are |
Tip!
In English, this form of the verb is called an irregular verb because it does not change based upon a specific formula.
Study the following examples closely:
Regular Verbs
Most of the verbs in English are regular and they remain the same when using subject pronouns. However, there is an exception. When using the third-person singular subject pronouns, an '-s' is added to the end of the verb. Look at the examples below:
(Not they parks their car…)
As you can see, the suffix 's' is only added to verbs with the third person singular pronouns.
Tip!
In English, the suffix '-es' is added to some verb endings. These verbs mainly end with 'o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or, z, y.' Look at the following examples:
She teach
He cri
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