Object pronouns
An object pronoun replaces the object of the verb.
- Mariama calls me every day.
- Tabatha cracked the egg. She cracked it.
Examples
- They gave me a gift.
- He calls you when he needs information.
- He buys her an ice cream.
- She buys him an ice cream.
- The bird is hungry. She feeds it bread.
- They invite us every summer.
- (Fabien and Inge) We sent you the invitation.
- The students are writing an exam. The teacher gave them pencils.
An object pronoun functions as an object of the verb
- What did we send? We sent it.
- To whom did we send the invitation? We sent it to them.
- To whom did the teacher give pencils? She gave them pencils.
- To whom did they give a gift? They gave me a gift.
Tip: Object pronouns never function as subjects of the verb.
Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
- It is for me. It = subject pronoun. Me = object pronoun.
- Cynthia gave me the flower. She gave it to me. She = subject pronoun. It = object pronoun. Me = object pronoun.
- The book was about them. It was about them. It = subject pronoun. Them = object pronoun.
- The conversation was between you and me. It was between you and me. It = subject pronoun. You = object pronoun. Me = object pronoun.
Examples
- Paolo likes it.
- The chocolate cake is for me.
- He gave me a slice of cake.
- The chocolate cake is for you.
- They gave you a slice of cake.
- The chocolate cake is for him.
- We gave him a slice of cake.
- The chocolate cake is for her.
- I gave her a slice of cake.
- I baked it (the chocolate cake) for dinner.
- The chocolate cake is for us.
- He gave us a slice of cake.
- The chocolate cake is for you. (Ariel and Drew)
- We gave you (Ariel and Drew) a slice of cake.
- The chocolate cake is for them. (The dinner guests)
- She gave them a slice of cake.
Tip: Subject pronouns never function as objects of the verb.
- We do not say “She gave Gabriella and I flowers” We say Gabriella and me.
- We do not say “This conversation is between you and I.” We say between you and me.
- We do not say “The manager told she and I about the project.” We say us (her and me.)
- We do not say “The manager told Frankie and I about the project.” We say Frankie and me.
Tip: Object pronouns replace direct and indirect objects.
We say: about me/him/her, to me/him/her, for me/him/her, from me/him/her, between you and me/him/her, tell me/him/her, give me/him/her, gave it to me/him/her, ask me/him/her … We never use I/he/she because they are subject pronouns.
Note: Me can be used with than when than is used as a preposition
- She is younger than me.
Tip: Both “She is younger than me” and “She is younger than I” are considered correct.
