Nominative Pronoun

Many people wonder what a nominative pronoun is. It can be confusing to keep all your pronouns straight – which is which? What is what? Read on to learn about what a nominative pronoun is, to see some examples, and to learn tips and tricks about learning about them.

What Are the Nominative Pronouns?

Here are the nominative pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, they, and we. These are the pronouns that are usually the subject of a sentence – and they do the action in that sentence. A few examples of these nominative pronouns acting as the subject of a sentence are as follows: 

• I went to the store today.
• She talked to her brother on the phone.
• You ran five miles yesterday.
• They are not very happy about what happened.
• We work together as a team.
• It is my favorite color.
• He is my best friend.

Here are a few pronouns that are not nominative because they are being affected by the subject and verb: me, them, her, him, us. Here are a few examples of these pronouns in action – can you understand why they are not nominative pronouns? 

• My mom told me to go to the store today.
• The coach ordered her to go for a run.
• The students don’t understand him.
• Nobody will listen to me!
• The maid doesn’t want to do the cleaning for them.

Nominative Pronoun

Many people struggle when labeling pronouns by their type, but they usually use these pronouns correctly in a sentence. However, sometimes there are typical mistakes which even native English speakers make. This usually involves using I and me interchangeably. Look at the following two sentences, for example: 

1. Sally and me are doing our homework together.
2. Sally and I are doing our homework together.

The second sentence is correct, because “Sally and I” is the subject of the sentence, so the nominative pronoun must be used for the sentence to make sense grammatically. However, the example below completely changes the situation. Can you understand why? 

1. The teacher told Sally and me to do our homework.
2. The teacher told Sally and I to do our homework.

Not so fast! If you assumed that you once again had to use “Sally and I” – you were wrong! Many young students drill the mini-phrase “and I” instead of “and me” in their minds because the first is much more commonly correct than the second.  Remember, though, that “I” is a nominative pronoun. This means that you can’t use it when it is an object in a sentence. “The teacher” is the subject, which makes “Sally and me” the correct object. Don’t confuse your nominative pronouns with other pronouns, or you’ll find yourself in trouble. 

Examples of Nominative Pronouns in Sentences

Look at the following sentences, which all use nominative pronouns correctly.  

1. She likes chocolate ice cream.
2. It is a beautiful day outside.
3. He is very tall.
4. They live near my house.

Now look at the following sentences – they all use pronouns incorrectly! Can you use nominative pronouns to fix each sentence? 

1. Me like to eat cookies.
2. Her is a very nice lady.
3. Him go to the store to buy milk for breakfast.
4. Them are my neighbors.

In the following examples, can you tell which sentences use nominative pronouns correctly, and which don’t use nominative pronouns correctly? Be careful – these are designed to trick you! 

1. I am the team leader.
2. Everyone has to follow what me says.
3. If you want to understand he, then you will have to listen very carefully.
4. Not many people know that her is an astronaut.

For more examples that involve using a nominative pronoun correctly, speak to your English teacher and see if he or she can help you – or take a grammar book out at your local library and practice on your own.