Pronouns and possessives, part 2 of 6

Object Pronouns in English: Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, Them

They receive the action and go after the verb or a preposition: She calls me. This is for him.

The idea

What an object pronoun is

It is the word for whoever receives the action. It goes after the verb: calls me, sees him.

It receives the action. It does not do it: Ana calls me.
It goes after the verb. Never before it: I see him.
Also after for, with, to. After a preposition: Come with us.

When to use it

To say who receives the action without repeating a name: who you call, who you wait for, who it is for. These expressions go with it:

To ask for something

Wait for me!
Call me later.
Tell me.
Give it to me.

To answer

Me too.
Not me.
Excuse me.
Let me see.

After for, with, to

for him
with us
to them
about her

Examples

Who you call
I call her every Sunday.
Asking for help
Can you help me?
Your group
They invite us to every party.
A thing
I love this song. I play it every day.
Who it is for
This gift is for you.
Several people
Our neighbors are nice. We like them.

How to build it

3 steps

Find who receives the actionThe person or thing the action goes to:I see Ana.
Change it to an object pronounAna is her; Pedro is him; several people are them:I see her.
Put it after the verbOr after for, with, or to; not before the verb:She calls me. This is for me.

After the verb

SubjectLuis
verbloves
object pronounher.

After a preposition

SubjectWe
verbwork
prepositionwith
object pronounthem.

The rule

Each pronoun has an object form

Subject	Object	Example
I	me	Ana knows me.
you	you	I need you.
he	him	Ask him.
she	her	We like her.
it	it	I want it.
we	us	Wait for us.
they	them	Call them.

How to pronounce it

me
/mi/
A long, clear /i/.
him
/hɪm/
The h is air and the i is short: /ɪ/.
her
/hɝ/
The er is the vowel in bird: /ɝ/.
us
/ʌs/
The u sounds like the u in cup: /ʌ/.
them
/ðɛm/
Tongue between the teeth: /ð/. In fast speech it often sounds like "em".

Check

My parents live in Lima. I visit (blank) every year. Which word goes in the blank?

Don't confuse it with his and her for owners

I call him every day.

Him: receives the action

I use his car.

His: shows the owner

Him receives the action and stands alone. His shows the owner and goes before a thing. Her does both jobs: I see her, her car.

Part 3: my, your, his, her

In real life

In fast speech, him and her lose the h, and them sounds like "em": Tell 'im, Ask 'er, Call 'em. You write the full word, but that is what you will hear.

Frequently asked questions

Do you say "Me too" or "I too" in English?

Me too. When the pronoun stands alone in an answer, English uses the object form: Who wants pizza? Me! I too is very rare.

Why do you and it not change as object pronouns?

Because those two are the same as subject and object: You know it. I know you. Only I, he, she, we, and they change: me, him, her, us, them.

Is it "give it to me" or "give me it"?

Give it to me is the usual form: the thing (it) first, then the person with to. When the thing is not a pronoun, the person goes first: Give me the book.

Is it "between you and I" or "between you and me"?

Between you and me: after between, with, or for you use the object form, also with two people: for you and me, with him and her.

In short

Whoever receives the action: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.
It goes after the verb: She calls me.
Also after for, with, to: for him.
You and it do not change: I know you.

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