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.
You are talking to your classmate about a great family movie night you had yesterday. Pay close attention to who is doing the action (Subject) and who is receiving the action or following a preposition like “with”, “to”, or “for” (Object).
1 “I went to the cinema last night. My mom came with ______.”
(A) I
(B) my
(C) me
(D) us
2 “My older brother loves action films, so I watched a superhero movie with ______.”
(A) he
(B) him
(C) them
(D) his
3 “My little sister was scared of the dark cinema. I held hands with ______.”
(A) hers
(B) him
(C) she
(D) her
4 “My parents bought the tickets. We waited in line behind ______.”
(A) them
(B) their
(C) us
(D) they
5 “My best friend Tom was at the cinema too. ______ sat next to my family.”
(A) He
(B) Him
(C) His
(D) They
6 “My parents were hungry, so I shared my large popcorn with ______.”
(A) they
(B) us
(C) them
(D) their
7 “My sister wanted a sweet drink. Dad bought a soda for ______.”
(A) her
(B) she
(C) him
(D) hers
8 “The movie was very loud. It gave my dad a headache, so mom whispered to ______.”
(A) his
(B) him
(C) me
(D) he
9 “After the film, dad looked at my brother and me. He asked ______ if we liked the movie.”
(A) we
(B) them
(C) our
(D) us
10 “My brother didn’t like the ending. ______ thought it was boring.”
(A) Him
(B) I
(C) He
(D) His
11 “We saw our neighbors outside the cinema. We stopped to talk to ______.”
(A) them
(B) us
(C) they
(D) their
12 “The neighbors asked about the movie. Mom told ______ it was a great film.”
(A) their
(B) they
(C) them
(D) us
13 “My dad took a picture of the family. He pointed the camera at ______.”
(A) we
(B) us
(C) them
(D) our
14 “I wanted to see the photo. I said, ‘Dad, please show the picture to ______!'”
(A) me
(B) my
(C) us
(D) I
15 “My brother wanted to invite his friend Leo to eat with us. He asked mom, ‘Can Leo come with ______?'”
(A) we
(B) us
(C) them
(D) our
16 “Mom said yes to my brother. She bought an extra slice of pizza for ______.”
(A) him
(B) he
(C) me
(D) his
17 “Walking to the car, it was very dark. Mom told my brother and ______ to stay close.”
(A) I
(B) us
(C) my
(D) me
18 “When we got home, my sister was very tired. Dad carried ______ to bed.”
(A) she
(B) her
(C) him
(D) hers
19 “My dad and brother stayed up late. ______ played a video game together.”
(A) Them
(B) We
(C) Their
(D) They
20 “It was a fantastic family night out. I really love spending time with ______.”
(A) them
(B) they
(C) us
(D) their
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “with”, you must use an Object Pronoun. The speaker is talking about themselves, so “me” is correct.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a Common Mistake (using a subject pronoun after a preposition). (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the mom is accompanying the speaker, so “with me” fits the singular context better than “us”). (B) “my” is a Structural Error (possessive adjective needs a noun).
2 (B) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The brother (male) is the object of the preposition “with”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “he” is a Common Mistake. (D) “his” is a Structural Error. (C) “them” is a Meaning Trap (brother is only one person).
3 (D) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The sister (female) is receiving the action after the preposition “with”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “she” is a Common Mistake. (A) “hers” is a Structural Error. (B) “him” is a Meaning Trap (wrong gender).
4 (A) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Parents are plural (they). After the preposition “behind”, “they” becomes the object pronoun “them”.
- Error Analysis: (D) “they” is a Common Mistake. (B) “their” is a Structural Error. (C) “us” is a Meaning Trap (you can’t wait behind yourself).
5 (A) He
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Tom is doing the action (sitting). Because he is the subject of the new sentence, we use the Subject Pronoun “He”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “Him” is a Common Mistake (“Him sat next to us” is grammatically incorrect). (C) “His” is a Structural Error. (D) “They” is a Meaning Trap (Tom is only one person).
6 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker is sharing with their parents (plural). After “with”, we use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (D) “their” is a Structural Error. (B) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker is sharing with the parents, not with themselves).
7 (A) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The sister (female) is receiving the soda. After the preposition “for”, we use “her”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “she” is a Common Mistake. (D) “hers” is a Structural Error. (C) “him” is a Meaning Trap (wrong gender).
8 (B) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mom is whispering to dad (male). After “to”, we use the object pronoun “him”.
- Error Analysis: (D) “he” is a Common Mistake. (A) “his” is a Structural Error. (C) “me” is a Meaning Trap (context says dad had a headache, so mom spoke quietly to him).
9 (D) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “My brother and me” equals “we”. Because they are receiving the question from dad, the object pronoun is “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (C) “our” is a Structural Error. (B) “them” is a Meaning Trap (dad is talking directly to the speaker and the brother).
10 (C) He
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The brother is performing the action of thinking. Therefore, we need the Subject Pronoun “He”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Him” is a Common Mistake (“Him thought” is incorrect). (D) “His” is a Structural Error. (B) “I” is a Meaning Trap (the sentence says the brother didn’t like it).
11 (A) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Neighbors are plural. After the preposition “to”, we use the object pronoun “them”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “they” is a Common Mistake. (D) “their” is a Structural Error. (B) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
12 (C) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mom is telling the neighbors (plural). They are receiving the action of the verb “told”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “they” is a Common Mistake. (A) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (mom is answering the neighbors’ question).
13 (B) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Dad pointed the camera at the family (which includes the speaker). Therefore, “we” becomes the object pronoun “us” after the preposition “at”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (D) “our” is a Structural Error. (C) “them” is a Meaning Trap (since the speaker is part of the family, “them” excludes the speaker).
14 (A) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker wants dad to show the picture to them. After “to”, we use the object pronoun “me”.
- Error Analysis: (D) “I” is a Common Mistake. (B) “my” is a Structural Error. (C) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker says “I wanted to see”, singular).
15 (B) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Leo is coming with the speaker’s family. “We” becomes “us” after the preposition “with”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (D) “our” is a Structural Error. (C) “them” is a Meaning Trap (Leo is joining the speaker’s group).
16 (A) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The pizza is for Leo (male). After the preposition “for”, use “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (D) “his” is a Structural Error. (C) “me” is a Meaning Trap (mom bought it for the friend).
17 (D) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mom told “my brother and me”. They are receiving the action of the verb “told”, so you must use the object pronoun “me”, not “I”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a very Common Mistake (people often incorrectly say “told my brother and I”). (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (B) “us” is a Meaning Trap (you cannot say “told my brother and us”).
18 (B) her
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The sister (female) is receiving the action of being carried.
- Error Analysis: (A) “she” is a Common Mistake. (D) “hers” is a Structural Error. (C) “him” is a Meaning Trap (wrong gender).
19 (D) They
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Dad and brother (plural) are doing the action of playing the game. They are the Subject of the sentence.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Them” is a Common Mistake (“Them played” is wrong). (C) “Their” is a Structural Error. (B) “We” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker is not playing).
20 (A) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker loves spending time with their family (plural). After “with”, we use “them”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “they” is a Common Mistake. (D) “their” is a Structural Error. (C) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Doing Things Together (The “With” Rule): When you do something together with someone, you often use the word with. Because with is a preposition, the person following it MUST be an Object Pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them).
- Correct: I went to the movies with him.
- Incorrect: I went to the movies with he.
- Other Prepositions: This rule applies to all prepositions! Words like for, to, at, behind, next to also require Object Pronouns.
- Correct: Mom bought a ticket for me.
- Correct: Tom sat next to us.
- The “My friend and I” vs. “My friend and me” Trap:
- If you and your friend are doing the action (Subject), use I: “My brother and I watched a movie.”
- If you and your friend are receiving the action or are following a preposition (Object), use me: “Mom told my brother and me to stay close.” (A good trick is to remove “my brother and” from the sentence. You would say “Mom told me,” not “Mom told I”).