Pronouns A1 A2

Basic pronouns

Use subject, object, possessive, and basic indefinite pronouns to avoid repeating nouns.

Visual guide

Pronouns: pointers that change by job

pronoun = a pointer word

person/thing in mind
        │  avoid repeating the noun
        ▼
   PRONOUN POINTER
        │
        ▼
same pointer + different job = different form

  ├─ doer (subject = who does/is)
  │  Maria is here. She is tired.
  │
  ├─ receiver (object = gets the action)
  │  Tom called me.
  │
  ├─ owner (possessive = belongs to)
  │  before noun: This is our room.
  │  alone: The blue bag is mine.
  │
  └─ unknown/general person or thing
     Someone is at the door.

First ask what the pronoun points to; then choose the form for its job in this sentence.

Introduction

What pronouns do

Pronouns stand in for nouns when the listener already knows who or what you mean. First name the person or thing if needed; after that, use a pronoun. 'Maria is here. She is tired.' is smoother than repeating Maria. 'The keys are on the table. They are near the door.' is smoother than repeating the keys. In English, a pronoun must match its meaning and its sentence job: speaker, listener, one person, more than one thing, subject, object, or possession.

Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Maria is here. She is tired.

A pronoun is clear after the noun is known.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

Maria is here

antecedent clause

Names the person first so the pronoun is clear.

She is tired

subject pronoun clause

Uses she to refer back to Maria.

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Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

The keys are on the table. They are near the door.

They can refer to plural things, not only people.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

The keys are on the table

antecedent clause

Introduces the plural thing.

They are near the door

plural pronoun clause

Uses they for more than one thing.

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Cognitive metaphor

Pronouns are pointers

Think of a pronoun as a pointer, not a new name. The pointer works only when the target is clear. In 'Where is Ben? He's in the kitchen,' he points to Ben. If several men are in the story, say the name again when he would be confusing. The pointer can also point to a thing, a group, or a whole situation. Use it for one thing or an idea, and they for more than one thing or person. Clarity comes first: repeat the noun when a pronoun would be unclear.

Question Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Where is Ben? He's in the kitchen.

A pronoun works like a pointer when the target is clear.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

Where is Ben

question about a known person

Introduces the person being discussed.

He's in the kitchen

pronoun answer

Uses he because Ben is already clear.

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Core logic

Four basic jobs

Pronouns have four common jobs. Subject pronouns do the action: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. 'I like coffee.' Object pronouns receive the action or follow a preposition: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. 'Tom called me.' Possessive forms show ownership or connection: my, your, his, her, its, our, their before a noun; mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs alone. 'This is our room.' 'The blue bag is mine.' Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things not named exactly, such as someone, anyone, everything, and nothing.

Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

I like coffee.

I is a subject pronoun.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

I like

subject pronoun + verb

I is the subject doing the action or having the feeling.

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coffee

object noun

Names what is liked.

Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Tom called me.

Me is an object pronoun after a verb.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

Tom called

subject noun + verb

Shows the action and who did it.

object pronoun

Me receives the action.

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Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

This is our room.

Our is used before a noun.

Building blocks

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This is

identifying frame

Introduces what something is.

our room

possessive determiner + noun

Our comes before the noun room.

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Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

The blue bag is mine.

Mine replaces a possessive phrase like my bag.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

The blue bag

subject noun phrase

Names the thing being identified.

is mine

possessive pronoun frame

Mine stands alone; no noun follows it.

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Core pattern

Subject forms and object forms

Choose the form by sentence job, not by who is important. A subject pronoun normally comes before the verb: he works, they know, we live. An object pronoun comes after a verb or a preposition. 'Can you help us?' uses you as the subject and us as the object. In 'I can't see them,' I does the seeing and them receives the action. After prepositions, use object forms: to me, with her, for us, about them. 'I spoke to her.' You and it keep the same form for subject and object.

Question Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Can you help us?

Object pronouns can appear in questions after the verb.

Building blocks

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Can you help

request frame

A common request frame with you as the subject.

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object pronoun

Us receives the help.

Negative Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

I can't see them.

Them is an object pronoun after a verb.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

I can't see

negative subject + verb

A reusable negative frame.

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them

object pronoun

Them receives the action of seeing.

Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

I spoke to her.

After to, use her, not she.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

I spoke

subject + verb

Introduces the action.

to her

preposition + object pronoun

Use object pronouns after prepositions.

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Sentence xray

Sentence X-ray: one sentence, three jobs

In 'She gave them her number,' three pronoun forms have three different jobs. She is the subject, so it uses the subject form. Them is an object: it receives what she gave, so it uses the object form. Her comes before the noun number, so it is the possessive determiner, not the object form. If you remove the noun, use a possessive pronoun instead: 'The number is hers.' When a sentence feels confusing, ask: Is the word doing the action, receiving the action, or showing possession?

Core Grammar A2 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

She gave them her number.

One sentence can contain different pronoun jobs.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

She gave

subject pronoun + verb

She is the subject doing the action.

them

object pronoun

Them receives what was given.

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her number

possessive determiner + noun

Her comes before the noun number.

Form variations

Possessive forms: before a noun or alone

English has two possessive sets. Use my, your, his, her, its, our, and their directly before a noun: 'Is this your phone?' Use mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs when the noun is not repeated: 'Yes, it's yours.' The form his works in both positions: his coat, the coat is his. The form its is used before a noun at this level: its color, its name. Do not say mine phone; say my phone. Its means belonging to it and has no apostrophe. It's means it is or it has, so it is not a possessive form.

Question Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Is this your phone?

Use your before the noun.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

Is this

identifying question frame

A common way to ask who something belongs to.

your phone

possessive determiner + noun

Your comes before the noun phone.

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Spoken Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Yes, it's yours.

Yours replaces your phone in a short answer.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

Yes

short confirmation

Confirms the answer.

it's yours

possessive pronoun clause

Yours stands alone; the noun is not repeated.

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Core pattern

Basic indefinite pronouns

Basic indefinite pronouns are useful when the exact noun is unknown or not important. For people, use someone or somebody, anyone or anybody, everyone or everybody, no one or nobody. For things, use something, anything, everything, and nothing. Use some- forms in normal positive statements: 'Someone is at the door.' Use any- forms in many questions and negatives: 'Do you know anyone here?' 'I don't know anyone here.' No one and nothing already make the idea negative, so do not add not to the same verb. These pronouns usually take a singular verb. In everyday English, 'Everyone has their ticket' is natural.

Core Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Someone is at the door.

Someone uses a singular verb.

Building blocks

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Someone

indefinite pronoun subject

Refers to an unknown person.

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is at the door

verb + place

Uses a singular verb after someone.

Question Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Do you know anyone here?

Anyone is common in questions about an unknown person.

Building blocks

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Do you know

question frame

A common question frame.

anyone here

indefinite object phrase

Anyone is natural in many questions.

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Negative Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

I don't know anyone here.

Use anyone in many negative sentences.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

I don't know

negative knowing frame

A reusable negative frame.

anyone here

indefinite object phrase

Anyone is natural in negatives.

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Core Grammar A2 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Everyone has their ticket.

Everyone usually takes a singular verb, and their is natural for an unknown or mixed group.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

Everyone

indefinite pronoun subject

Means all the people in the group.

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has their ticket

singular verb phrase

Has is singular; their is common for each person's ticket.

Contrast

Common contrast: meaning is not enough

The closest confusion is using the right meaning but the wrong form. For subjects, use subject forms. Mistake: 'Her likes music.' Corrected: 'She likes music.' After a verb or preposition, use object forms. Mistake: 'I spoke to she.' Corrected: 'I spoke to her.' Before a noun, use a possessive determiner. Mistake: 'This is mine bag.' Corrected: 'This is my bag.' With joined phrases, the same rule applies: 'Alex and I are late,' but 'The teacher saw Alex and me.'

Mistake Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

Her likes music.

Her is not a subject form.

Corrected Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

She likes music.

Use she for the subject of the sentence.

Building blocks

Read the sentence in chunks, not word-by-word.

She likes

subject pronoun + verb

She is the subject form.

Learn as one unit

music

object noun

Names what she likes.

Mistake Grammar A1 Vocabulary A1 Neutral

This is mine bag.

Mine cannot come before a noun in this pattern.

Summary

The basic pronoun checklist

To choose a basic pronoun, follow four steps. First, make sure the listener can identify the noun; if not, say the noun. Second, choose meaning: I or we for the speaker, you for the listener, he, she, or they for people, it for one thing, and they for plurals or an unknown person when natural. Third, choose the sentence job: subject, object, or possessive. Fourth, for unknown people or things, choose a basic indefinite pronoun such as someone, anyone, everyone, no one, something, or nothing. Clear reference matters more than avoiding repetition.

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Basic pronouns

Pronouns: pointers that change by job

What pronouns do

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Pronouns are pointers

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Four basic jobs

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Subject forms and object forms

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Sentence X-ray: one sentence, three jobs

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Possessive forms: before a noun or alone

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Basic indefinite pronouns

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Common contrast: meaning is not enough

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The basic pronoun checklist

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