Personal pronouns are an important topic for English learners—these small words carry a lot of meaning! They include words like I, him, and ours, and they help communicate who or what you're referring to, how many people or objects you are talking about, and sometimes the gender of the people involved.

Here's what you need to know about the different personal pronouns in English!

In this post:

DOWNLOAD DUOLINGO FOR FREE

What are personal pronouns in English?

💡
Like all pronouns, personal pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.

Instead of repeating a noun or noun phrase over and over, you can use a pronoun to replace it. For example, in the sentence I just bought a new book, but I can’t find it, the personal pronoun it stands in for the noun phrase a new book. Because you’ve already made clear what you’re talking about (the new book), you can use a pronoun to refer back to it.

In many ways, personal pronouns in English work differently than they do in Spanish, for example, especially since English requires pronouns in more places. To use the right pronoun, you'll need to know:

  • the grammatical person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd person)
  • whether the pronoun is for a single person or object or multiple people or objects (for example, my sister vs. my sisters)
  • the gender (for people and some animals, like pets)
  • the role of the word in the sentence (like whether it's a subject or object)

All the personal pronouns in English

The four most important kinds of personal pronouns in English are subject pronouns, object pronouns, reflexive pronouns, and possessive pronouns.

PERSON SUBJECT PRONOUN OBJECT PRONOUN REFLEXIVE PRONOUN POSSESSIVE PRONOUN
1st singular I me myself mine
2nd singular you you yourself yours
3rd singular he
she
it		 him
her
it		 himself
herself
itself		 his
hers
its
1st plural we us ourselves ours
2nd plural you you yourselves yours
3rd plural they them themselves theirs

You should know that there's quite a bit of variation when it comes to talking directly to a group of people (the “second person plural”). Different dialects use different forms, such as y’all or you guys, depending on region and formality. For example, Duolingo is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and you might hear Pittsburghers say yinz for the second person plural.


There are also several ways to use gender-neutral personal pronouns in English! The most common ones look very similar to 3rd-person plural pronouns: they, them, themself (or themselves), and theirs.

How to use personal pronouns in English

Here are the basics for using and understanding the different types of English personal pronouns:

Subject pronouns

💡
Subject pronouns replace the subject of the verb—the person or thing doing the action.

Subject pronouns almost always come before the verb in English sentences, although the order is different for questions.

In English, you have to use subject pronouns—they can't be left out of a sentence like in Spanish. This can be a little different in casual conversation, but it's safer to always use a subject pronoun.

  • The green owl eats as much as an elephant! He is always hungry.
  • Oscar and I are going to Seattle next week. We are so excited!
  • Vikram just bought 12 watermelons. They fill up our whole refrigerator.

Object pronouns

💡
Object pronouns replace a noun that is the object of a verb or a noun that comes after a preposition.

In English, object pronouns always go after the verb. English doesn't distinguish between direct and indirect object pronouns, like some languages do, so you might notice differences between English and other languages you know!

  • I like my eggs well done. Please cook them longer than usual.
  • My dad Eddy is picking me up today, so I’ll see him after school.
  • Are you coming tonight? The party won’t be the same without you!

Reflexive pronouns

💡
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the person or thing doing the action in cases where the same person or thing is both subject and object.

These pronouns go after the verb or preposition and will match the subject in person, singular or plural, and gender.

  • The baby likes to see himself in the mirror.
  • I was so proud of myself after throwing the surprise party!
  • We can’t help but look at ourselves during the whole Zoom meeting…

Possessive pronouns

💡
Possessive pronouns replace a whole noun phrase to show possession or ownership.

Which possessive pronoun you use has everything to do with the person who possesses the thing—and nothing to do with the thing being possessed.

  • I just bought 2 delicious cupcakes. You can have one, but don’t touch mine!
  • The referees locked their bikes near Dawn’s bike. Hers is red, and theirs are both black.
  • My boyfriend’s family dinners are so calm, but ours are always quite animated.

Bonus: Possessive adjectives

Another word closely related to possessive pronouns are possessive adjectives. While these are a type of adjective rather than a type of pronoun, it can be helpful to learn them together with possessive pronouns because the two have such similar forms. They differ in how they function in sentences, though.

💡
While possessive pronouns take the place of a noun phrase, possessive adjectives are used with a noun to show ownership or possession.

Possessive adjectives come before the noun they describe (as in my trip) or before any adjectives about the noun (as in my exciting trip).

Just like with possessive pronouns, it's the person who owns or possesses the noun that matters when choosing which possessive adjective form to use.

PERSON POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN
1st singular
(I)		 my mine
2nd singular
(you)		 your yours
3rd singular
(he / she / it)		 his
her
its		 his
hers
its
1st plural
(we)		 our ours
2nd plural
(you) 		your yours
3rd plural
(they)		 their theirs

Like other personal pronouns, the second-person plural also shows regional variation when expressing possession. For example, you might hear people use forms like y’all’s or yinz’s.

  • My friend and I write Duolingo fanfic together. Our fanfic is hilarious.
  • I can’t believe you and Lin got another turtle. Y’all’s whole paycheck must go to y’all’s turtles!
  • My boss’s notes are illegible. I can never read her handwriting!

Tips for using personal pronouns in English

There are many kinds of personal pronouns, but you can use these strategies to help you learn them:

  • Remember gender! English pronouns only have gender differences for the 3rd person singular (
    he
    ,
    him
    ,
    his
    ,
    his
    vs.
    she
    ,
    her
    ,
    hers
    ,
    her
    vs.
    it
    ,
    it
    ,
    its
    ,
    its
    ).
  • Look for patterns. Most English personal pronouns start with the same letter: The forms that go with
    he
    all start with “h,” the forms that go with
    they
    all start with “th," etc. There are a few exceptions, though! Study the pronouns with clear patterns separately from the others to get practice with which forms go together.
  • Forget formality. Unlike many languages, English personal pronouns don't change depending on whether you know somebody well or not. There are words and expressions to make English sound more polite or formal—but you won't use a separate set of pronouns!
  • They vs. it. In English,
    it
    and its different forms are always used for objects and often for animals that aren’t a pet (like those out in the wild 🐻). If you're talking about a person but don't know their gender or it's not relevant, you'll use
    they
    (and never it).
DOWNLOAD DUOLINGO FOR FREE

Personal pronouns help you communicate efficiently!

English is filled with personal pronouns, and because they are so common, you'll get lots of practice with them. Pay attention to them the next time you do your Duolingo lessons or listen to a Duolingo Podcast, and see if you can identify whether you're using a subject, object, reflexive, or possessive form. The more you practice, the more quickly you'll be able to use them!