Subject and object pronouns, possessive pronouns and adjectives

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✏️ Exercises

Personal Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives: Grammar Chart

Grammar chart showing subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive adjectives, and possessive pronouns with examples for A2 English learners.

📌 Subject Pronouns — Before the verb

We use subject pronouns as the subject of the verb — they come before the verb.

  • I like your dress.
  • You are late.
  • He is my friend.
  • It is raining.
  • She is on holiday.
  • We live in England.
  • They come from London.

📌 Object Pronouns — After the verb or preposition

We use object pronouns as the object of the verb (after the verb) or after prepositions.

After the verb:

  • Can you help me, please?
  • I can see you.
  • She doesn’t like him.
  • I saw her in town today.
  • We saw them in town yesterday, but they didn’t see us.

After a preposition:

  • She is waiting for me.
  • I’ll get it for you.
  • Give it to him.
  • Why are you looking at her?
  • Don’t take it from us.
  • I’ll speak to them.

📌 Possessive Adjectives — Before a noun

We use possessive adjectives before a noun because they modify the noun.

  • My dog is big.
  • Your car is red.
  • His phone is broken.
  • Her cat is brown.
  • Its tail is long.
  • Our house is near the park.
  • Their sister works downtown.

📌 Possessive Pronouns — Without a noun

A possessive pronoun stands alone — it is NOT followed by a noun.

  • The dog is mine.
  • The brown cat is hers.
  • The keys are his.
  • This book is ours.
  • That bike is theirs.

Compare:

Possessive adjective: That’s her bag.

→ “Her” modifies “bag”

Possessive pronoun: That bag is hers.

→ “Hers” replaces “her bag”

❓ Whose — Asking about possession

We use whose to ask questions about ownership.

  • Whose car is that?
  • Whose is that car?
  • Whose jacket is on the chair?

Note: “Whose” is the only possessive question word in English.

💡 Quick Summary

  • Subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) → go before the verb.
  • Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) → go after the verb or preposition.
  • Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) → come BEFORE a noun.
  • Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) → stand ALONE (no noun after).
  • Whose → used to ask “who owns this?”