Personal Pronouns : English lesson

Texts in English

In English, a distinction is made between when the pronoun acts as the subject (subject pronouns) of the sentence, as opposed to instances when it is used in the function of an object (object pronouns).

Personal Pronouns (Subject Pronouns)	Example
I	I am ill.
you	You are tall.
he	He is handsome.
she	She is pretty.
it	It is cold today.
we	We are tired.
you	You are hungry.
they	They are at the cinema.

Personal Pronouns (Object Pronouns)	Example
me	Can you help me?
you	I can help you.
him	Can you see him?
her	Give it to her.
it	Give it a kick.
us	Can you see us?
you	I see you.
them	He can help them.

Note: The formal forms of "you" that are a part of some other languages, do not exist in English. As such, native English speakers have no concept of the "formal" in this sense. Also, it is important to remember that there is no distinction between the singular or plural forms of "you" in English. It is only in the reflexive pronouns that we distinguish between these two forms: yourself (singular) and yourselves (plural).

Neuter Form

Pronouns in English distinguish gender and include the neuter form "it", as demonstrated in the pronouns table above.

The neuter form is used to refer to things, animals for which we do not know the sex, as well as the time and the weather. The plural form of "it" is "they".

Examples:

Where is it [the book]?

What time is it?

It is raining.

Note: The neuter form "it" is a very important grammatical component of English and one that non-native speakers tend to forget.

Function

1. The pronoun as subject:

The subject of a sentence is the the person or thing that performs the action of the verb. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. In English, the subject pronoun is mandatory, as opposed to some other languages, where the subject is optional.

Examples:

I am ill.
Subject = I

You are tall.
Subject = You

He is handsome.
Subject = He

We are tired.
Subject = We

2. The pronoun as object :

Object pronouns function as the object of a verb and are located after the verb that they complement or after prepositions such as "for", "to", "with" and "at".

Examples:

I can help you.
Subject = I, Object = you

Can you see him?
Subject = you, Object = him

He is going to the party with us.
Subject = he, Object = us

It [the letter] is for you.
Subject = it, Object = you

Dentro de los pronombres personales, la lengua inglesa distingue entre pronombres en función de sujeto (subject pronouns) y pronombres en función de objeto (object pronouns).

Pronombres (en función de sujeto)	Ejemplo
I yo	I am ill. Yo estoy enfermo.
you tú, usted	You are tall. Tú eres alto. / Usted es alto.
he él	He is handsome. Él es guapo.
she ella	She is pretty. Ella es guapa.
it ello (neutro)	It is cold today. Hoy hace frío.
we nosotros	We are tired. Nosotros estamos cansados.
you vosotros, ustedes	You are angry. Vosotros estáis enfadados. / Ustedes están enfadados.
they ellos, ellas	They are at the cinema. Ellos están en el cine.

Pronombres (en función de objeto)	Ejemplo
me mi	Can you help me? ¿Puedes ayudarme?
you a ti, a usted	I can help you. Puedo ayudarte. / Puedo ayudarle.
him a él	Can you see him? ¿Le puedes ver?
her a ella	Give it to her. Dáselo a ella.
it a ello	Give it a kick. Dale una patada.
us a nosotros	Can you see us? ¿Nos puedes ver?
you a vosotros, a ustedes	I see you. Os veo. / Les veo.
them a ellos	He can help them. Les puede ayudar.

Nota: En inglés no existe la forma "usted" o "ustedes" formal. Por lo tanto los nativos de la lengua ni siquiera lo tienen conceptualizado como una forma aquí llamada "formal". Se tiene que entender por tanto, que la forma masculina, femenina y neutra son lo mismo, lo único que las diferencia es el género; Además, ten en cuenta que en inglés sólo existe una forma para "tú" y "vosotros", "you", excepto en la forma reflexiva que distingue entre el singular (yourself) y plural (yourselves).

Neuter Form (Forma neutra)

Los pronombres en inglés distinguen entre masculino (he), femenino (she) y neutro (it).

El pronombre personal "it" se utiliza cuando nos referimos a cosas, a animales que no sabemos su sexo o al tiempo (calendario y meteorológico). La forma plural de "it" es "they".

Ejemplos:

Where is it [the book]?(¿Dónde está [el libro]?)

What time is it?(¿Qué hora es?)

It is raining.(Está lloviendo.)

Nota: "It" es una partícula muy importante en inglés de la que los hablantes de lengua española se suelen olvidar.

Function (Función)

1. El pronombre en función de sujeto
El sujeto de una oración es la persona o cosa que realiza la acción del verbo. Se utilizan los pronombres en función de sujeto cuando el pronombre es el sujeto de la oración. Este pronombre en inglés, a diferencia del español, debe figurar siempre.

Ejemplos:

I am ill.(Yo estoy enfermo.)
Subject = I

You are tall.(Tú eres alto.)
Subject = you

He is handsome.(Él es guapo.)
Subject = he

We are tired.(Nosotros estamos cansados.)
Subject = we

2. El pronombre en función de objeto
Este pronombre se coloca a continuación del verbo al que complementa o a continuación de preposiciones como "for", "to", "with" y "at".

Ejemplos:

I can help you.(Puedo ayudarte.)
Subject = I, Object = you

Can you see him?(¿Puedes verle?)
Subject = you, Object = him

He is going to the party with us.(Él va a la fiesta con nosotros.)
Subject = he, Object = us

It [the letter] is for you.(Es [la carta] para ti.)
Subject = it, Object = you

Pronouns - Lesson 1.1

Personal Pronouns

(Los pronombres personales)

Neuter Form

Function

Neuter Form (Forma neutra)

Function (Función)