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 telling a classmate about your best friend, David, and how you two always support each other through difficult times. Pay close attention to who is doing the action (Subject) and who is receiving the action or following a preposition (Object).
1 “David is my best friend. ______ is always there for me when I need help.”
(A) Him
(B) His
(C) He
(D) They
2 “When I have a difficult math problem, David always helps ______.”
(A) I
(B) me
(C) my
(D) him
3 “I am very lucky to have David in my life. I really appreciate ______.”
(A) he
(B) him
(C) his
(D) them
4 “David and I study together every day. ______ always share our notes.”
(A) Us
(B) Our
(C) We
(D) They
5 “David is not good at history. So, I usually help ______ with history homework.”
(A) his
(B) he
(C) us
(D) him
6 “Sometimes, I don’t understand the teacher’s instructions. David explains the homework to ______.”
(A) me
(B) I
(C) my
(D) us
7 “Last week, my bicycle broke down in the rain. David drove ______ home.”
(A) I
(B) my
(C) me
(D) him
8 “I wanted to thank David for the ride, so I bought a hot coffee for ______.”
(A) he
(B) his
(C) him
(D) them
9 “David’s sister also helps us with our projects. ______ is very kind and smart.”
(A) Her
(B) She
(C) Hers
(D) They
10 “We always support each other. David helps me, and I help ______.”
(A) him
(B) he
(C) his
(D) me
11 “David’s parents are incredibly supportive. I often visit ______ on the weekend.”
(A) they
(B) them
(C) their
(D) us
12 “David tells everyone that I am a very good friend to ______.”
(A) his
(B) he
(C) him
(D) me
13 “Whenever I am sad or stressed, David sits down and listens to ______.”
(A) I
(B) mine
(C) us
(D) me
14 “David and I make a great team. Difficult problems cannot stop ______.”
(A) we
(B) our
(C) us
(D) them
15 “David helped my family paint our house last month. My parents really respect ______.”
(A) he
(B) his
(C) him
(D) them
16 “To celebrate my graduation, David organized a surprise party for my sister and ______.”
(A) I
(B) my
(C) me
(D) us
17 “My other classmates think David is an amazing person. ______ all want to be his friend.”
(A) Them
(B) They
(C) Their
(D) We
18 “Whenever David needs advice about life, he calls my older brother and ______.”
(A) I
(B) me
(C) my
(D) us
19 “I gave David a nice watch for his birthday. He smiled and thanked ______.”
(A) me
(B) I
(C) my
(D) him
20 “In the end, true friendship is about mutual support. It brings out the best in ______.”
(A) we
(B) our
(C) us
(D) them
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) He
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David is doing the action (is always there). Because he is the subject of the sentence, we use the Subject Pronoun “He”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Him” is a Common Mistake (using an object pronoun in the subject position). (B) “His” is a Structural Error (possessive adjective, needs a noun after it). (D) “They” is a Meaning Trap (David is one person, not multiple).
2 (B) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker is receiving the action of the verb “helps”. Therefore, we need the Object Pronoun “me”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a Common Mistake (“helps I” is incorrect grammar). (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap (David helps the speaker, not himself).
3 (B) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David (male) receives the action “appreciate”. The object pronoun for a male is “him”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “he” is a Common Mistake. (C) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (wrong quantity).
4 (C) We
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “David and I” = We. They are doing the action (share). We need a Subject Pronoun.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Us” is a Common Mistake (“Us share” is incorrect). (B) “Our” is a Structural Error. (D) “They” is a Meaning Trap (since the speaker is included, it must be “we”, not “they”).
5 (D) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David receives the action of “help”. The object pronoun is “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (A) “his” is a Structural Error. (C) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker helps David, not both of them).
6 (A) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “to”, you must use an Object Pronoun. The speaker is receiving the explanation.
- Error Analysis: (B) “I” is a Common Mistake (“explains to I” is a frequent error). (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (only the speaker didn’t understand).
7 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker receives the action of being driven home.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a Common Mistake. (B) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap (David drove the speaker, he didn’t drive himself).
8 (C) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The coffee is for David. After the preposition “for”, we use the object pronoun “him”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “he” is a Common Mistake. (B) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
9 (B) She
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David’s sister (female) is doing the action (is very kind). She is the subject.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Her” is a Common Mistake (“Her is kind” is wrong). (C) “Hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “They” is a Meaning Trap (the sister is singular).
10 (A) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker helps David. David is receiving the action, so we use the Object Pronoun “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (C) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “me” is a Meaning Trap (the sentence says “I help…”, so “me” would mean “I help myself”, which breaks the context of mutual help).
11 (B) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “Parents” is plural. They are receiving the action of “visit”, so we use the object pronoun “them”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “they” is a Common Mistake. (C) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap.
12 (C) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker is a good friend to David. After the preposition “to”, we use the object pronoun “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (A) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “me” is a Meaning Trap (you are a good friend to him, not to yourself).
13 (D) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David is listening to the speaker. After the preposition “to”, we use “me”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a Common Mistake. (B) “mine” is a Structural Error. (C) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the sentence starts with “Whenever I am sad”, so it’s only about the speaker).
14 (C) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “David and I” = We. The problems cannot stop “We”. Since “We” is receiving the action of “stop”, it changes to the object pronoun “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake (“stop we” is wrong). (B) “our” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
15 (C) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The parents respect David. David receives the action “respect”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “he” is a Common Mistake. (B) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
16 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “for”, you must use an object pronoun. “My sister and me” are receiving the party.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a very Common Mistake (people hypercorrect and say “for my sister and I”, which is grammatically incorrect). (B) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (saying “for my sister and us” is redundant).
17 (B) They
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “My other classmates” (plural) are doing the action of wanting to be friends. They are the Subject.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Them” is a Common Mistake (“Them all want” is wrong). (C) “Their” is a Structural Error. (D) “We” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker is talking about the classmates, not including themselves).
18 (B) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David calls “my older brother and me”. They are receiving the action of “calls”, so it must be the object pronoun.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a very Common Mistake (many learners say “calls my brother and I”). (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (redundant).
19 (A) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): David thanked the speaker. The speaker receives the action.
- Error Analysis: (B) “I” is a Common Mistake. (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap (“thanked him” would mean David thanked himself).
20 (C) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): True friendship brings out the best in the friends (David and the speaker). After the preposition “in”, we use the object pronoun “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (B) “our” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (the narrative is about “David and me”, so “us” is required to keep the speaker involved).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Roles in a Sentence: * Subject Pronouns (I, You, He, She, It, We, They) are the “doers” of the action. They usually stand at the beginning of the sentence before the verb (e.g., He helps me).
- Object Pronouns (Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, Them) are the “receivers” of the action. They stand after the verb (e.g., I help him).
- Mutual Help Inversion: When talking about helping each other, the pronouns switch places!
- “He (Subject) supports me (Object).” -> “I (Subject) support him (Object).”
- The Preposition Rule: You must always use an Object Pronoun after prepositions such as to, for, with, in, behind.
- Correct: David drove home with me.
- Incorrect: David drove home with I.
- The “And I” vs. “And Me” Trap: This is the most common mistake even native speakers make! If you and someone else are receiving the action or following a preposition, use me, not I.
- Rule of thumb: Take the other person out of the sentence to test it. You wouldn’t say “David organized a party for I,” so you shouldn’t say “David organized a party for my sister and I.” The correct phrase is “for my sister and me.”