Grammar
👤Subject pronouns
Personal, object, reflexive and possessive pronouns.
The subject before the verb
A subject pronoun replaces the person or thing that performs the action or is described.
It normally comes before the verb, including before be.
Unlike some languages, English usually does not omit the subject.
- Subject pronoun + verb
- She works.
- They are ready.
The seven core forms
You is used for one person and for several people.
The verb form sometimes changes with the subject: I am, he is, they are; I work, she works.
Choosing he, she, it or they
Use he or she for a person when that person’s gender is known and relevant.
Use it for a thing and often for an animal when its sex is unknown or unimportant.
Use they for plural people or things. Singular they is also standard when a person’s gender is unknown, irrelevant or described that way.
It and common subject errors
English uses it as an empty or dummy subject for weather, time, dates and distance: It is raining. It is late.
Always write I with a capital letter.
Do not use an object form as the normal subject: She is ready, not Her is ready.
- It is raining.
- I am ready.
- She knows the answer.
- They are my keys.