Study materials
Two people, two actions, and the words for them suddenly change.
I see her.
She sees me.
The people are the same, but the forms differ. In English a pronoun (I, me, she, her) changes with its position in the sentence. One form stands in front of the verb, the other behind it.
Two forms of each pronoun
There are not many forms, and they come in pairs. The left column is the one who acts. The right column is the one the action is aimed at.
| Before the verb | After the verb |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| you | you |
| he, she, it | him, her, it |
| we | us |
| they | them |
You and it are identical in both columns, so only five pairs have to be remembered.
A pronoun is a short word that stands in for a name so that the name is not repeated. The left column takes the place of the subject, which answers “who?”. The right column takes the place of the object, which answers “whom?”.
He calls her every day.
They help us.
You is the same for one person and for several. Ukrainian has two words here, English has one.
Mum, you are the best!
Kids, you are late!
Do not mix these forms up with my, your, his, her, our and their. Those show whose something is (my bag, their house), and they have a topic of their own. Her belongs to both groups.
Before the verb or after it
To choose the form, look at where the pronoun stands. In front of the action it takes the left column, behind it the right one.
We invited Anna.
Anna invited us.
The object goes after the verb even when Ukrainian puts the pronoun before it.
I love you.
We miss him.
Be careful with the verb like. Ukrainian says “he is pleasing to me”, but in English the person who likes is the subject.
I like him.
She likes us.
After the prepositions to, for, with, from and about it is always the right column too.
Talk to her.
Come with me.
This letter is from him.
A preposition is a short linking word before a noun or a pronoun. Besides to, for, with, from and about, there is without, for example.
Don't go without me!
The right column is also used when a pronoun answers on its own, with no verb.
Who wants cake? Me!
Who is there? It's me.
Pronouns for things
English keeps he and she for people. Everything else, from a cup to the weather to a whole situation, becomes it.
Where is my phone? It is on the table.
It is raining.
In sentences about the weather and the time, it means nothing and is not translated. It only fills the subject's place, because an English sentence cannot stand without a subject.
Several things together become they, and them after a verb or a preposition, just like people.
I love these boots. They are so warm.
I wear them every day.
The pronoun I is always capitalised, wherever it stands in the sentence.
A pronoun together with a name
Even native speakers slip here, although the rule stays the same. The form depends on the position in the sentence, and the number of people named does not change it.
Ben and I work together.
She spoke to Ben and me.
To check yourself, remove the other name and listen to what is left. Ben and I work together leaves I work, which sounds right. Spoke to Ben and me leaves spoke to me, which is right too. But spoke to I grates immediately.
Ukrainian says “we with Ben”, but English does not build it that way. You name both people with and, and politely put yourself last.
We with Taras are friends. → Taras and I are friends.
To say yourself and others in one word, use we before the verb and us after it.
Dad takes my sister and me to school. → Dad takes us to school.
Common mistakes
The first is putting the left form after the verb.
She helps I. → She helps me.
The second is putting the left form after a preposition.
Give it to she. → Give it to her.
The third is opening the sentence with me.
Me and Ben work here. → Ben and I work here.
All three are caught by one check. A pronoun in front of the verb takes the left form, and one after a verb or a preposition takes the right form.