Subject Pronouns and Possessives in English

Subject pronouns and possessive forms are essential building blocks of English grammar. They help us identify who is doing an action and who owns something without repeating names constantly. Mastering these will make your English more natural and efficient.

Subject Pronouns: The Basics

Subject pronouns replace nouns that serve as the subject of a sentence (the doer of the action). English has seven main subject pronouns:

Pronoun Represents Example Sentence
I The speaker "I like coffee."
You The person being spoken to "You are my friend."
He A male being talked about "He works downtown."
She A female being talked about "She studies medicine."
It An object/animal/idea "It rains often here."
We The speaker + others "We play tennis."
They Other people/things "They live nearby."

Key Point: Subject pronouns always come before the verb in declarative sentences.

✅ "She reads books." (Correct)
❌ "Reads books she." (Incorrect)

Possessive Forms: Showing Ownership

English has two types of possessive forms that answer the question "Whose?"

1. Possessive Adjectives (Determiners)

These come before nouns to show ownership:

Subject Pronoun Possessive Adjective Example
I my "This is my book."
You your "Is this your pen?"
He his "That's his car."
She her "I like her dress."
It its "The dog wagged its tail."
We our "This is our house."
They their "The children forgot their lunches."

2. Possessive Pronouns

These replace nouns to show ownership and stand alone:

Subject Pronoun Possessive Pronoun Example
I mine "The blue car is mine."
You yours "Is this pen yours?"
He his "The responsibility is his."
She hers "The idea was hers."
It - (Not commonly used)
We ours "The victory is ours!"
They theirs "Those seats are theirs."

Comparison:
"This is my book." (possessive adjective + noun)
"This book is mine." (possessive pronoun standing alone)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't confuse "its" (possessive) with "it's" (contraction of "it is")
    ✅ "The cat licked its paw."
    ❌ "The cat licked it's paw."
  • Don't use apostrophes with possessive pronouns
    ✅ "That idea was hers."
    ❌ "That idea was her's."
  • Don't confuse "your" (possessive) with "you're" (contraction of "you are")

Special Cases and Notes

Gender-Neutral Pronouns: While traditional English uses "he" or "she" based on biological sex, many people now use "they" as a singular gender-neutral pronoun:
"Alex forgot their notebook."

Animals: We often use "it" for animals unless we know their gender:
"The dog wagged its tail." But: "My female cat - she likes fish."

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct subject pronoun:
a) ___ am hungry. (I/Me)
b) ___ is raining outside. (It/They)
c) Maria and John - ___ are classmates. (he/they)

2. Choose the correct possessive form:
a) This is ___ book. (my/mine)
b) The decision is ___. (your/yours)
c) The bird built ___ nest. (its/it's)

3. Correct the errors:
a) "Hers car is blue."
b) "The books are our's."
c) "You're bag is on the table."

Answers: 1a) I, 1b) It, 1c) they / 2a) my, 2b) yours, 2c) its / 3a) Her car, 3b) ours, 3c) Your

Quick Reference Guide

Subject Possessive Adj. Possessive Pronoun
I my mine
You your yours
He his his
She her hers
It its -
We our ours
They their theirs