What are Subject Pronouns?

Subject pronouns substitute the subject of the sentence, (the subject is the person or thing that performs the action or the person or thing described in the sentence).

Mary works every day.

Bryan is tall.

Mary and Bryan are the subjects of the sentences. If we want to replace the names we use the subject pronouns: she and he.

She works every day.

He is tall.

More examples:

• Eric and Alex are brothers.
• Lions are dangerous.
• The house is beautiful.
• Joanne is American.
• You are Brazilian.

In these examples, Eric and Alex; lions; the house; Joanne e you are the subjects of the sentences. They are the people we are describing and talking about.

• Suzy cooks every day.
• Paul works in the morning.
• The kids study every day.
• I drive well.
• The dog barks all day.

In these sentences the subjects are: Suzy, Paul, the kids, I, and the dog. In this case they practice an action.

Which are the Subject Pronouns?

They are:

So,

• My mother is beautiful.  = She is beautiful.
• Kevin and James are my cousins.  = They are my cousins.
• Steve is a doctor.  = He is a doctor.
• You and Carol are good students. = You are good students.
• The car is black.  = It is black.

Functions of the Subject Pronouns?

1. Replace a proper name

• Sophie is my friend. She is my friend.
• Mark is my husband. He is my husband.
• Fred and Sam are American. They are American.
• Susie and I are from Canada. We are from Canada.
• Peter and Jason are managers. They are managers.

2. Replace a common name

• Your house is beautiful. It is beautiful.
• The clients are nervous. They are nervous.
• Our teacher is tall. He are tall.
• The vegetables are fresh. They are fresh.
• My car is outside. It is outside.

Therefore, subject pronouns always substitute the subject of the sentence whatever it is.

• My mother and my father are Brazilian. They are Brazilian.
• The movie is good. It is good.
• My friends and I are at school. We are at school.
• The clothes are wet. They are wet.
• Joseph is from Palestine. He is from Palestine.
• My country are rich.  = It is rich.

Singular and Plural

Observe that “he”, “she” e “it” are different forms to refer to the same “person”. So, their plural is “they”.

• Paul is tall. = He is tall.
• Paul and John are tall. They are tall.
• Sarah is beautiful. = She is beautiful.
• Sarah and Anna are beautiful. = They are beautiful.
• The dog is big. = It is big.
• The dog and the cat are big. = They are big.
• Paul, Sarah, and the dog are coming. They are coming.

Let’s look ath the subject pronouns closer:

“I” is the person who speaks:

I am a teacher.

Obs.: “I” must be always capitalized.

“You” are the person whom I talk to:

You are my student. (one student, singular)

“He” is a male person whom I talk to:

Steve is my brother. = He is my brother.

“She” is the female person whom I talk to:

Amanda is American. = She is American.

“It” refers to an object, an animal, or any other thing or person whose gender is not identified.

The baby is a healthy. = It is healthy.

Obs.: if we refer to an animal that belongs to us we can use “he” or “she to show affection.

Rex is my dog. He is a Dalmatian.

“We” is the person who speaks plus another other people:

My family and I are happy. = We are happy.

“You” refers to the people I talk to:

You and Tony are nice. = You are nice.

“They” refers the people I talk about:

Patricia and Steve are married. = They are married.

Identifying Subject Pronouns

Time to practice!!😃😃😃

Download the activities and check how much you got the subject.