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 and your friends are going to eat lunch. You see a classmate sitting alone and decide to invite them to join your group. Pay close attention to who is doing the action (Subject) and who is receiving the action or following a preposition like “with” (Object).
1 “Hi there! My friends and I are going to the cafeteria for lunch. Do you want to come with ______?”
(A) we
(B) our
(C) them
(D) us
2 “You are sitting here all by yourself. ______ would love for you to join our table.”
(A) Us
(B) We
(C) Our
(D) They
3 “My friend Anna is saving an extra chair. We really want to invite ______ to sit down.”
(A) your
(B) you
(C) yours
(D) him
4 “Look, Tom is sitting alone over there too. Let’s ask ______ to eat with us!”
(A) his
(B) he
(C) him
(D) them
5 “There is a free seat right here. You can sit between David and ______.”
(A) I
(B) me
(C) my
(D) we
6 “I am going to buy a sandwich right now. Do you want to walk to the shop with ______?”
(A) us
(B) I
(C) my
(D) me
7 “Sarah is bringing some dessert for everyone. ______ baked a chocolate cake yesterday.”
(A) Her
(B) Hers
(C) She
(D) He
8 “We have a lot of extra pizza. My mom packed enough food for ______.”
(A) we
(B) us
(C) our
(D) me
9 “Those new students look lonely. Let’s call ______ over to our table.”
(A) their
(B) them
(C) they
(D) us
10 “Please don’t eat lunch alone today. Let ______ buy you a cup of coffee!”
(A) our
(B) them
(C) we
(D) us
11 “Mark is buying drinks for the whole group. ______ will be back at the table in a minute.”
(A) He
(B) Him
(C) His
(D) They
12 “We are talking about the new superhero movie. Come sit down and talk about it with ______.”
(A) us
(B) we
(C) our
(D) them
13 “Our table is very big and comfortable. There is an empty seat right next to ______.”
(A) they
(B) our
(C) us
(D) we
14 “Mary is waving at you. ______ hopes you will eat lunch with our group today.”
(A) Her
(B) She
(C) Hers
(D) He
15 “I have two extra apples. I can give one to Mary, and I can give the other one to ______.”
(A) you
(B) your
(C) yours
(D) them
16 “We are going to play football in the park after lunch. You should definitely join ______!”
(A) we
(B) them
(C) us
(D) our
17 “My sister packed these cookies. She wants to share them with you and ______.”
(A) I
(B) my
(C) me
(D) us
18 “Lisa is a very funny person. If you sit with her, ______ will make you laugh.”
(A) her
(B) she
(C) hers
(D) they
19 “The group is so excited to have a new friend. It makes ______ very happy that you said yes.”
(A) us
(B) we
(C) our
(D) them
20 “______ am paying for the snacks today, so please join our group and eat!”
(A) Me
(B) My
(C) I
(D) He
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (D) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “My friends and I” equals “We”. After the preposition “with”, the subject “We” must change to the object pronoun “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake (using a subject pronoun after a preposition). (B) “our” is a Structural Error (possessive adjective, needs a noun). (C) “them” is a Meaning Trap (you are inviting the person to join your group, not a different group of people).
2 (B) We
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The pronoun is doing the action of “would love”. Therefore, it must be the Subject Pronoun “We”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Us” is a Common Mistake (“Us would love” is incorrect grammar). (C) “Our” is a Structural Error. (D) “They” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker is speaking for their own group, so “We” is correct).
3 (B) you
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “You” receives the action of “invite”. The object form of “you” is exactly the same as the subject form: “you”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “your” is a Structural Error. (C) “yours” is a Structural Error. (D) “him” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker is talking directly to the person, so they must use “you”).
4 (C) him
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Tom (male) receives the action “ask”. The object pronoun for a male is “him”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “he” is a Common Mistake. (A) “his” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (Tom is only one person).
5 (B) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “between”, you must use object pronouns. Since the speaker is talking about themselves, “me” is correct.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a very Common Mistake (people frequently say “between David and I”, which is grammatically wrong). (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “we” is a Meaning Trap.
6 (D) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker (I) is going to the shop. After the preposition “with”, use the object pronoun “me”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “I” is a Common Mistake. (C) “my” is a Structural Error. (A) “us” is a Meaning Trap (the sentence specifically says “I am going to buy…”, singular).
7 (C) She
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Sarah (female) is doing the action of baking. She is the Subject of the sentence.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Her” is a Common Mistake (“Her baked” is wrong). (B) “Hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “He” is a Meaning Trap (Sarah is female).
8 (B) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The food is for the whole group (We). After the preposition “for”, use the object pronoun “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (C) “our” is a Structural Error. (D) “me” is a Meaning Trap (the sentence says “We have a lot…”, meaning the food is for everyone, not just one person).
9 (B) them
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The “new students” (plural) are receiving the action of “call”. The object pronoun is “them”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “they” is a Common Mistake. (A) “their” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (you call them over to us).
10 (D) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the verb “let”, you must always use an object pronoun. “Let us” (often shortened to Let’s) is the correct form for a group.
- Error Analysis: (C) “we” is a Common Mistake (“Let we” is incorrect). (A) “our” is a Structural Error. (B) “them” is a Meaning Trap (the speaker’s group wants to buy the coffee).
11 (A) He
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mark (male) is doing the action of returning (“will be back”). We need the Subject Pronoun “He”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “Him” is a Common Mistake. (C) “His” is a Structural Error. (D) “They” is a Meaning Trap (Mark is singular).
12 (A) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The group is talking. After the preposition “with”, the group “We” becomes “us”.
- Error Analysis: (B) “we” is a Common Mistake. (C) “our” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap (the person is joining the speaker’s group).
13 (C) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “next to”, use the object pronoun “us”.
- Error Analysis: (D) “we” is a Common Mistake. (B) “our” is a Structural Error. (A) “they” is a Common Mistake and Meaning Trap.
14 (B) She
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Mary (female) is doing the action (“hopes”). Use the Subject Pronoun “She”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Her” is a Common Mistake. (C) “Hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “He” is a Meaning Trap (Mary is female).
15 (A) you
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “to”, use an object pronoun. The speaker is talking directly to the person, so “you” is the receiver.
- Error Analysis: (B) “your” is a Structural Error. (C) “yours” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
16 (C) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The group “We” receives the action of “join”. “We” changes to “us”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “we” is a Common Mistake. (D) “our” is a Structural Error. (B) “them” is a Meaning Trap (the person is joining the speaker’s group).
17 (C) me
- Why it’s correct (The Key): After the preposition “with”, use the object pronoun. Since it’s the speaker, “I” becomes “me”. “You and me” is correct.
- Error Analysis: (A) “I” is a very Common Mistake (many people hypercorrect and say “with you and I”, which is grammatically incorrect). (B) “my” is a Structural Error. (D) “us” is a Meaning Trap (redundant because “us” already includes “you”).
18 (B) she
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Lisa (female) does the action (“will make you laugh”). She is the Subject.
- Error Analysis: (A) “her” is a Common Mistake. (C) “hers” is a Structural Error. (D) “they” is a Meaning Trap.
19 (A) us
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The group “We” receives the emotion (“makes us very happy”).
- Error Analysis: (B) “we” is a Common Mistake. (C) “our” is a Structural Error. (D) “them” is a Meaning Trap.
20 (C) I
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The speaker is doing the action (“am paying”). The subject pronoun is “I”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Me” is a Common Mistake (“Me am paying” is incorrect). (B) “My” is a Structural Error. (D) “He” is a Meaning Trap (the verb “am” only goes with “I”).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Subject Pronouns are the DOERS: Words like I, You, He, She, It, We, They perform the action in the sentence. They almost always come before the verb.
- Example: We want you to eat with our group.
- Object Pronouns are the RECEIVERS: Words like Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, Them receive the action. They come after verbs (like join, invite, ask) or after prepositions (like with, to, for, next to, between).
- Example: Come sit with us. (Never say “Come sit with we”).
- The “And Me” Trap: This is the most common mistake English learners make! If you and another person are following a preposition or receiving an action, you must use me, not I.
- Correct: Sit between David and me.
- Incorrect: Sit between David and I.