Subject Pronouns (I, He) vs. Object Pronouns (Me, Him) – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
Your boss and colleagues are out of the office today. You are answering phone calls and guiding clients on how to contact the right people. Pay close attention to who is doing the action (Subject) and who is receiving the phone call, email, or message (Object).
1 “Mr. Smith is not in the office right now. Please call ______ later this afternoon.”
(A) he
(B) his
(C) them
(D) him
2 “Ms. Davis is in a meeting. You can email ______ and she will reply soon.”
(A) her
(B) she
(C) hers
(D) him
3 “The IT team needs this information. Please contact ______ before 5 PM.”
(A) they
(B) their
(C) them
(D) us
4 “I need the final report for the meeting. Please send it directly to ______.”
(A) my
(B) me
(C) I
(D) us
5 “My partner and I are ready for the conference call. Please call ______ at 3 PM.”
(A) we
(B) them
(C) us
(D) our
6 “I have an important message for Mr. Lee. Can you give the message to ______?”
(A) his
(B) her
(C) him
(D) he
7 “Sarah called you an hour ago about the project. Please call ______ back.”
(A) she
(B) him
(C) her
(D) hers
8 “The clients are waiting for the new price list. Send an email to ______.”
(A) their
(B) they
(C) us
(D) them
9 “If the customer calls while I am out, please give the phone to ______.”
(A) my
(B) I
(C) me
(D) us
10 “David is working from home today. You should text ______ on his mobile phone.”
(A) him
(B) he
(C) his
(D) them
11 “Anna is our new IT manager. If you have a computer problem, talk to ______.”
(A) she
(B) hers
(C) him
(D) her
12 “The boss and I are in a very important meeting. Do not call ______ before lunch.”
(A) we
(B) us
(C) our
(D) them
13 “Mr. Brown is out for lunch. You can leave a voice message for ______.”
(A) his
(B) he
(C) her
(D) him
14 “The repair workers are waiting outside. Please tell ______ to come inside.”
(A) they
(B) their
(C) them
(D) us
15 “The company director wants to speak with you and ______.”
(A) me
(B) I
(C) my
(D) we
16 “When the new guests arrive at the reception, introduce ______ to Mr. Smith.”
(A) they
(B) their
(C) them
(D) us
17 “Ms. Green and Mr. White are waiting in the lobby. Bring the documents to ______.”
(A) him
(B) their
(C) they
(D) them
18 “My manager is traveling. Please forward all urgent emails to my assistant and ______.”
(A) my
(B) I
(C) me
(D) us
19 “Mr. Clark is the new boss. ______ wants you to contact ______ immediately.”
(A) Him / he
(B) He / his
(C) He / them
(D) He / him
20 “Ms. Adams is the client. Tell ______ to email Mr. Ford. Tell ______ to email ______.”
(A) she / him
(B) her / him
(C) her / his
(D) she / he
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (D) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mr. Smith (male) receives the action of “call”. Therefore, we use the object pronoun “him”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “he” is a Common Mistake (using a subject pronoun instead of an object). (B) “his” is a Structural Error (possessive adjective, needs a noun). (C) “them” is a Meaning Trap (Mr. Smith is only one person).
2 (A) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Ms. Davis (female) receives the action of “email”. The object pronoun is “her”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “she” is a Common Mistake. (C) “hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap (wrong gender).
3 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “The IT team” represents a group of people (plural). The object pronoun for a group is “them”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker is not part of the IT team).
4 (B) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker (I) is receiving the report. After the preposition “to”, “I” becomes “me”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “I” is a Common Mistake (“send it to I” is incorrect). (A) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker says “I need”, singular).
5 (C) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “My partner and I” = We. Because “We” is receiving the phone call, it becomes the object pronoun “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (D) “our” is a Structural Error. (B) “them” is a Meaning Trap (since the speaker is included, it must be “us”).
6 (C) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mr. Lee (male) receives the message after the preposition “to”.
- Error Analysis: (D) “he” is a Common Mistake. (A) “his” is a Structural Error. (B) “her” is a Meaning Trap (wrong gender).
7 (C) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Sarah (female) receives the action “call back”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “she” is a Common Mistake. (D) “hers” is a Structural Error. (B) “him” is a Meaning Trap (wrong gender).
8 (D) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “Clients” is plural. After the preposition “to”, we use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “they” is a Common Mistake. (A) “their” is a Structural Error. (C) “us” is a Meaning Trap (you are sending the email to the clients, not to yourself).
9 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker is receiving the phone. After “to”, use “me”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “I” is a Common Mistake. (A) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
10 (A) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David (male) receives the text message.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (C) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
11 (D) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Anna (female) receives the conversation. After the preposition “to”, use “her”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “she” is a Common Mistake. (B) “hers” is a Structural Error. (C) “him” is a Meaning Trap.
12 (B) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “The boss and I” = We. They receive the phone call, so “We” becomes “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (C) “our” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (excludes the speaker).
13 (D) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mr. Brown (male). After the preposition “for”, use “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (A) “his” is a Structural Error. (C) “her” is a Meaning Trap.
14 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Workers (plural) receive the message “tell”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
15 (A) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “with”, you must use object pronouns. “You and me” is the correct object form.
- Error Analysis: (B) “I” is a very Common Mistake (many people hypercorrect and say “with you and I”, which is grammatically wrong). (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “we” is a Meaning Trap (redundant with “you”).
16 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Guests (plural) are being introduced. They are receiving the action.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
17 (D) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Ms. Green and Mr. White (plural). After “to”, use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (A) “him” is a Meaning Trap (there are two people, not just one man).
18 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “to”, you must use an object pronoun. The email goes to “my assistant and me”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “I” is a Common Mistake (“to my assistant and I” is a very frequent error). (A) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (redundant).
19 (D) He / him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mr. Clark does the wanting (Subject = He). He also receives the contact (Object = him).
- Error Analysis: (A) “Him / he” is a Common Mistake (reverses subject and object). (B) “He / his” is a Structural Error. (C) “He / them” is a Meaning Trap.
20 (B) her / him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Ms. Adams (female) receives the instruction to tell -> “her”. Mr. Ford (male) receives the email -> “him”.
- Error Analysis: (D) “she / he” is a Common Mistake (using subject pronouns after verbs). (C) “her / his” is a Structural Error. (A) “she / him” is a combination of errors.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Verbs of Communication: Verbs like call, email, text, contact, tell, ask directly affect the person receiving the message. Therefore, the person being contacted must be an Object Pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).
- Correct: Please call him.
- Incorrect: Please call he.
- Prepositions of Direction: When transferring a message or item, we often use prepositions like to or for (e.g., give a message to, leave a message for). You must always use an Object Pronoun after a preposition.
- Correct: Forward the email to them.
- Incorrect: Forward the email to they.
- The “And Me” Rule in the Office: When a boss or client wants to speak to you and a colleague, you are the objects of the sentence.
- Correct: “The boss wants to meet with Tom and me.”
- Incorrect: “The boss wants to meet with Tom and I.” (Never use ‘I’ after a verb or preposition!).