Object Pronouns in English: List, Examples, and Rules

Object pronouns are forms of personal pronouns commonly used as the objects of verbs or prepositions. The seven main object pronouns in English are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them.

For example:

Daniel called Priya. He asked her about the meeting.

Her refers to Priya and functions as the direct object of asked.

Object pronouns can also be indirect objects or objects of prepositions. To recognize their function, you need to look at how they are used in the sentence.

Object Pronouns List

Most personal pronouns have different subject and object forms.

You and it have the same subject and object forms.

Them can refer to several people or things, or to one person whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or who uses they as their pronoun.

Someone left a message. I’ll call them later.

Here, them refers to one unidentified person.

The table lists personal object-pronoun forms. Other types of pronouns can also function as objects.

Compare:

I called someone.

Someone is an indefinite pronoun functioning as a direct object.

Whom did you invite?

Whom is an interrogative pronoun functioning as an object. In everyday English, Who did you invite? is also common and accepted.

Object Pronouns as Direct Objects

A direct object is a grammatical element that identifies a person or thing involved in what a verb expresses.

The coach praised her.

Her is the direct object of praised.

The children watched it.

It is the direct object of watched.

A direct object does not have to receive a physical action.

Daniel knows her.

Her is still a direct object, although knows describes knowledge rather than a physical action.

Replacing a Noun with an Object Pronoun

Compare:

The librarian found the missing books.

The librarian found them.

Them refers to the missing books and functions as the direct object of found.

An object pronoun does not always appear at the end of a sentence.

The technician returned it after lunch.

It is the direct object of returned. The phrase after lunch tells us when the action happened.

The pronoun’s grammatical role depends on its relationship with the verb, not simply its position.

Object Pronouns as Indirect Objects

An indirect object usually identifies the person who receives something or benefits from an action.

Some verbs can take both an indirect object and a direct object.

Leena gave him a map.

Here, him is the indirect object, while a map is the direct object.

The map is what Leena gave. Him identifies the person who received it.

Another example:

The teacher showed us the new timetable.

Us is the indirect object, and the new timetable is the direct object.

In these two-object constructions, the indirect object normally comes before the direct object.

Indirect Object or Prepositional Object?

Compare:

Leena handed him a ticket.

Leena handed a ticket to him.

Both sentences describe the same event, but their grammatical structures differ.

In the first, him is the indirect object of handed.

In the second, him is the object of the preposition to.

The meaning is similar, but the grammatical function is different.

When both the thing being given and the recipient are expressed by pronouns, the prepositional construction is normally the safest choice in standard English.

Leena gave it to him.

It is the direct object of gave, and him is the object of to.

The alternative gave him it occurs in some varieties of English, but gave it to him is the usual general recommendation for learners.

Not every verb allows both constructions.

She explained the problem to him.

The construction She explained him the problem is not standard English.

Object Pronouns After Prepositions

Object pronouns commonly follow prepositions such as to, for, with, from, about, and between.

The manager spoke to her.

I saved a seat for him.

The children came with us.

Nobody heard from them.

In each example, the pronoun is the object of a preposition.

Compare:

I called her.

Her is the direct object of called.

I spoke to her.

Her is the object of the preposition to.

The same pronoun form is used in both sentences, but its grammatical relationship is different.

Between You and Me

The standard expression is:

Between you and me, the plan needs more work.

Me is correct because it is the object of the preposition between.

Incorrect:

Between you and I, the plan needs more work.

Correct:

Between you and me, the plan needs more work.

The same principle applies when a preposition has a compound object.

The invitation was sent to Daniel and me.

Me forms part of the object of to.

Subject Pronouns vs. Object Pronouns

Personal pronouns often change form when their grammatical roles change.

Compare:

She helped him.

He helped her.

In the first sentence, she is the subject and him is the direct object.

In the second, he is the subject and her is the direct object.

The people involved may be the same, but their grammatical roles have changed.

Some forms, such as you and it, remain unchanged in subject and object positions.

Object Pronouns in Compound Expressions

In standard English, an object pronoun normally keeps its object form when it is joined to a name or another noun by and.

Incorrect:

The principal congratulated Maya and I.

Correct:

The principal congratulated Maya and me.

Me is appropriate because Maya and me is the object of congratulated.

In straightforward sentences, you can temporarily remove the other person’s name to check the form:

The principal congratulated me.

This is a useful check for ordinary compound objects, although it does not explain every complex grammatical construction.

Are Object Pronouns Always Used as Objects?

Not necessarily.

The forms traditionally called object pronouns also occur in other constructions, especially in everyday English.

For example:

Who’s at the door?

It’s me.

Here, me is a complement after be, not the object of a verb or preposition.

Object forms are also common in short conversational replies.

Who wants another slice?

Me!

These are natural uses in ordinary English.

The term object pronoun identifies a particular pronoun form, but it does not mean that every occurrence of that form must function as a grammatical object.

How to Identify Object Pronouns in Sentences

A pronoun’s form does not always reveal its exact grammatical function.

Consider this passage:

Ravi forgot his notes. Nora lent him a notebook. He read it and later returned it to her.

The passage contains object pronouns serving three different grammatical roles.

He is also a personal pronoun, but it functions as the subject of read and returned.

How to Work Out the Function

Start with the verb and examine the words connected to it.

In:

Nora lent him a notebook.

The verb lent has two objects. Him identifies the recipient, while a notebook identifies what was lent.

Now compare:

He read it.

Here, it is the direct object of read. There is no indirect object or prepositional phrase.

Finally:

He returned it to her.

The verb returned has it as its direct object. The phrase to her identifies the recipient, and her is the object of the preposition.

The analysis gives us three useful patterns:

These patterns help explain why the same pronoun form can function differently across sentences.

They are also more reliable than assuming every pronoun that follows a verb is a direct object.

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