Subject Pronoun

Defining a Subject Pronoun

Subject pronouns replace the subject of a sentence or clause. Like all types of pronouns, they function as the type of noun they are replacing.

The subject pronouns in English are:

• I
• you
• he
• she
• it
• we
• they

Subject pronouns are different from object pronouns, which replace the noun functioning as the object in a sentence. You need both for your writing, but you can't use them interchangeably.

Examples of Subject Pronouns

Using subject pronouns helps writing sound less repetitive. For example, consider this set of sentences that do not take advantage of subject pronouns:

• Sheila really makes me laugh. Sheila is too funny.
• My teacher is very strict. My teacher won't let us turn in late work.
• The bear growled at the wolf. The bear was protecting its cubs.

Reading a page of sentences like this would be frustrating. See what happens when we replace the subjects with appropriate subject pronouns:

• Sheila really makes me laugh. She is too funny.
• My teacher is very strict. He won't let us turn in late work.
• The bear growled at the wolf. It was protecting its cubs.

The reader understands what noun she, he and it were referring to because Sheila, my teacher and the bear appeared in the previous sentences. Subject pronouns help us to write clearly and concisely.

More Subject Pronoun Practice

Challenge yourself with these subject pronoun exercises. They're a great way to check your understanding and practice your knowledge of an important grammatical concept.

Find the Subject Pronoun Exercise

Read through the following sentences. See if you can identify which words are the subject pronouns in each.

1. When Lucy housesat for us, she watered the plants.
2. I wanted to go to the party. He wanted to stay at home.
3. The puppies are cute, but sometimes they act crazy.
4. You can go to the game, as long as you finish the dishes.
5. Are they going to Spain this summer?

Choose the Correct Subject Pronoun Exercise

Eliminate repetitive wording with subject pronouns! Take a look at the sentence pairs below and determine how you would replace the subject of the second clause (the underlined part) with a subject pronoun.

1. Janette went to the party last night, and Janette sang karaoke.
2. Our family left early to avoid traffic, but our family was late anyway.
3. Isaiah is the fastest runner on the team, so Isaiah is going to the state finals.
4. Missy loves computer games and Missy spends countless hours glued to her Xbox.
5. The balloon floated into a tree, where the balloon popped loudly.

Subject vs. Object Pronouns Exercise

Sometimes it can be tricky to tell the difference between subject vs. object pronouns. Read these sentences and decide which pronoun correctly replaces the subject.

1. (I, Me) love that dress!
2. (He, Him) is finished with those examples.
3. (They, Them) enjoy the same kind of music.
4. (She, Her) helped me study.
5. (He, Him) told me about the gift.

Answers for Subject Pronoun Practice

Check your work to see if you fully understand subject pronouns now.

Answers for Find the Subject Pronoun Exercise

Were you able to find all the subject pronouns in bold below?

1. When Lucy housesat for us, she watered the plants.
2. I wanted to go to the party. He wanted to stay at home.
3. The puppies are cute, but sometimes they act crazy.
4. You can go to the game, as long as you finish the dishes.
5. Are they going to Spain this summer?

Answers for Choose the Correct Subject Pronoun Exercise

Did you choose the right subject pronoun for each sentence?

1. Janette went to the party last night, and she sang karaoke.
2. Our family left early to avoid traffic, but we were late anyway.
3. Isaiah is the fastest runner on the team, so he is going to the state finals.
4. Missy loves computer games and she spends countless hours glued to her Xbox.
5. The balloon floated into a tree, where it popped loudly.

Answers for Subject vs. Object Pronouns Exercise

Were you able to choose all the right pronouns here?

1. (I, Me) love that dress!
2. (He, Him) is finished with those examples.
3. (Them, They) enjoy the same kind of music.
4. (Her, She) helped me study.
5. (He, Him) told me about the gift.

Subject Pronouns Help Tell the Story

Pronouns make our language less repetitive and keep it from getting bogged down in nouns. If it weren’t for pronouns, when you were talking about someone, you would have to keep repeating their name over and over. For more pronoun review, explore a variety of worksheets on the different types of pronouns.