'Him' is the objective case of 'he'; 'hymn' is a religious song of praise.
Pronoun. Objective form of the third-person masculine singular pronoun (he). Used as a direct or indirect object.
Give him the contract — he needs to review it before Thursday.
She recognised him from the company conference last year.
Between you and him, who has more experience in the field?
Noun. A song of praise, especially to God or a deity. A religious anthem.
The congregation sang a traditional hymn at the beginning of the service.
The famous hymn "Amazing Grace" was written in 1772.
She hummed a childhood hymn quietly to herself during the difficult meeting.
Common mistake
"Tell hymn I called" when meaning the pronoun him (correct: tell him I called). Or "They sang a him" when meaning religious song (correct: hymn). The N in hymn is silent, causing confusion.
Trick to remember it
'Him' has three letters — short like a quick pronoun. 'Hymn' has a silent N like 'damn', 'column', 'solemn' — words often associated with formal or sacred contexts.
Quick rule
Is it the masculine object pronoun? 'Him'. Is it the religious song of praise? 'Hymn'.
Did you know?
The silent N in 'hymn' becomes audible in related forms: 'hymns', 'hymnal', 'hymnody' — the N resurfaces when another syllable follows. This is called a latent consonant. The same pattern: 'damn' has silent N, but 'damnation' sounds it. 'Amazing Grace', the world's most recognised hymn, was written in 1772 by John Newton — a former slave trader who converted to Christianity and later became a passionate abolitionist. The hymn became an anthem of the civil rights movement.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The school choir performed a _____ at the annual remembrance ceremony.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Could you ask _____ to send the revised proposal by end of day?
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it the masculine object pronoun? 'Him'. Is it the religious song of praise? 'Hymn'.
"Tell hymn I called" when meaning the pronoun him (correct: tell him I called). Or "They sang a him" when meaning religious song (correct: hymn). The N in hymn is silent, causing confusion.
'Him' has three letters — short like a quick pronoun. 'Hymn' has a silent N like 'damn', 'column', 'solemn' — words often associated with formal or sacred contexts.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy