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 friend is having trouble with their computer and office equipment. You don’t know how to fix it, so you are directing them to the IT professionals for help. Pay close attention to who is performing the action (Subject) and who is receiving the action or following a preposition (Object).
1 “Tom is our senior IT technician. If your computer is broken, go and ask ______.”
(A) his
(B) him
(C) he
(D) them
2 “Sarah knows how to fix the network printer. You should talk to ______ right now.”
(A) her
(B) she
(C) hers
(D) him
3 “The repair team is working in the server room. Call ______ immediately.”
(A) they
(B) their
(C) them
(D) us
4 “I am just a graphic designer. I can’t fix this software problem, so please don’t ask ______.”
(A) I
(B) my
(C) me
(D) us
5 “Your laptop screen is completely black. You need to restart ______.”
(A) it
(B) its
(C) them
(D) him
6 “Mr. Davis is the network manager. Send an email to ______.”
(A) him
(B) he
(C) his
(D) her
7 “Anna and John are the database experts. Show your error message to ______.”
(A) them
(B) they
(C) their
(D) us
8 “I don’t have the admin password. Let Ms. Clark type it for you. Let ______ do it.”
(A) her
(B) she
(C) hers
(D) them
9 “We have a new tech support hotline. Just call ______ when the Wi-Fi drops.”
(A) it
(B) them
(C) they
(D) its
10 “If the keyboard stops working, give ______ to the repair guy.”
(A) it
(B) them
(C) its
(D) he
11 “The technicians are busy right now, but you can leave a voice message for ______.”
(A) they
(B) their
(C) them
(D) us
12 “Ms. Lopez has the master key to the server room. Go with ______.”
(A) she
(B) her
(C) hers
(D) him
13 “Tom and Sarah fix the hardware. Bring the broken monitors to ______.”
(A) they
(B) their
(C) them
(D) us
14 “I think your computer has a virus. Don’t touch ______!”
(A) its
(B) them
(C) it
(D) he
15 “Tom needs to see the broken laptop. Bring ______ to ______.”
(A) it / him
(B) them / him
(C) it / he
(D) them / he
16 “Both Tom and I can help you. Send the screenshot to Tom and ______.”
(A) I
(B) my
(C) me
(D) we
17 “Ms. Clark needs those error reports. Send ______ to ______.”
(A) them / her
(B) it / she
(C) them / she
(D) it / her
18 “______ is the senior technician. You should definitely ask ______ for help.”
(A) He / him
(B) Him / he
(C) He / his
(D) Him / him
19 “The IT team needs the infected hard drives. Give ______ to ______.”
(A) them / them
(B) it / they
(C) them / they
(D) it / them
20 “If you and your partner cannot log in, the IT guy will help ______.”
(A) you
(B) your
(C) yours
(D) them
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Tom (male) receives the action of “ask”. The object pronoun for a male is “him”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “he” is a Common Mistake (using a subject pronoun after a verb). (A) “his” is a Structural Error (possessive adjective, needs a noun). (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (Tom is only one person).
2 (A) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Sarah (female) receives the action after the preposition “to”. 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 repair team” is a group of people (plural). The object pronoun is “them”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (you are calling them, not the speaker’s group).
4 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker (I) is the receiver of the action “ask”. After a verb, “I” becomes “me”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a Common Mistake (“don’t ask I” is incorrect grammar). (B) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker says “I am just a graphic designer”, singular).
5 (A) it
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The laptop screen is a singular thing. The object pronoun is “it”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “its” is a Structural Error (possessive). (C) “them” is a Structural Error (screen is singular). (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap (a screen is an object, not a person).
6 (A) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mr. Davis (male) receives the email. After the preposition “to”, use “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (C) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “her” is a Meaning Trap.
7 (A) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Anna and John (plural). After the preposition “to”, use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “they” is a Common Mistake. (C) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
8 (A) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Ms. Clark (female) receives the permission/action after the verb “Let”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “she” is a Common Mistake (“Let she do it” is a frequent error). (C) “hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
9 (A) it
- Why it’s correct (The Key): A hotline is a singular thing (a service/number). The object pronoun is “it”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “them” is a Meaning Trap (if referring to the team it would be them, but referring to the hotline it is singular). (D) “its” is a Structural Error.
10 (A) it
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The keyboard is a singular object.
- Error Analysis: (B) “them” is a Structural Error. (C) “its” is a Structural Error. (D) “he” is a Meaning Trap.
11 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The technicians are plural. After the preposition “for”, use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
12 (B) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Ms. Lopez (female). After the preposition “with”, use “her”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “she” is a Common Mistake. (C) “hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap.
13 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Tom and Sarah (plural). After the preposition “to”, use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
14 (C) it
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The computer is a singular object.
- Error Analysis: (A) “its” is a Structural Error. (B) “them” is a Structural Error. (D) “he” is a Meaning Trap.
15 (A) it / him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The laptop (singular object) is “it”. Tom (male person) is “him” after the preposition “to”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “it / he” is a Common Mistake (“to he” is incorrect). (B) “them / him” is a Structural Error (laptop is singular). (D) “them / he” is a combination of errors.
16 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “to”, you must use an object pronoun. The action is directed to “Tom and me”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a very Common Mistake (hypercorrecting to “Tom and I” after a preposition is grammatically wrong). (B) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “we” is a Common Mistake.
17 (A) them / her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Error reports (plural) are “them”. Ms. Clark (female) is “her”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “it / she” is a Common Mistake and Structural Error. (C) “them / she” is a Common Mistake (“to she” is wrong). (D) “it / her” is a Structural Error (reports are plural).
18 (A) He / him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The senior technician does the action in the first sentence (Subject = He). He receives the action “ask” in the second sentence (Object = him).
- Error Analysis: (B) “Him / he” is a Common Mistake (reverses subject and object). (C) “He / his” is a Structural Error. (D) “Him / him” is a Structural Error.
19 (A) them / them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Hard drives (plural objects) are “them”. The IT team (plural people) are “them”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “them / they” is a Common Mistake (“to they” is wrong). (B) “it / they” is a Structural Error. (D) “it / them” is a Structural Error (drives are plural).
20 (A) you
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “You and your partner” means the IT guy will help plural you. The object pronoun for “you” is the same as the subject pronoun: “you”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “your” is a Structural Error. (C) “yours” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (the IT guy is helping you).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Directing the Action: When you tell someone to ask, call, email, or talk to another person, that other person is the receiver of the action. You must use an Object Pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).
- Correct: Ask him.
- Incorrect: Ask he.
- Following Prepositions: In giving directions, we use a lot of prepositions like to, with, for. The pronoun that comes immediately after these words must always be an Object Pronoun.
- Correct: Give the laptop to her.
- Incorrect: Give the laptop to she.
- The “Let” Command: Imperative sentences starting with “Let” must be followed by an Object Pronoun.
- Example: Let me try. Let her fix it. Let them look at the computer. (Never say “Let she fix it”).
- Double Objects: If you are handing over a broken item to a person, you use two object pronouns!
- Bring the monitors (plural thing) to the team (plural people) -> Bring them to them.
- Give the laptop (singular thing) to Tom (male person) -> Give it to him.