Using pronouns in speech avoids tautologies and replaces proper nouns. It is the pronouns that are an integral part of any statement, since they replace the names of both animate and inanimate objects (nominative case). As for the object pronouns in the English language, they have a number of functions that need to be considered.
Case of personal pronouns in English
In English, there are only two subtypes of personal pronouns - subject (nominative) and object (object). They have a number of differences and functions in the language. The first ones answer the questions: who ?, what? And the object case of personal pronouns in English will answer questions of indirect cases of the Russian language, namely: whom? to whom? by whom? about whom? This makes learning English grammar a little easier compared to Russian.
It is necessary to clearly distinguish between both forms of pronouns in order to be able to use them correctly in sentences. Therefore, you need to consider them in comparison.
Objective case
As can be seen from the table, each object pronoun in the English language refers to the corresponding form of the subject. The pronoun me [mi:] refers to the first person singular and translates: me, me, me, about me. For example, tell me - tell me. In the plural, the pronoun we [wi:] changes to us [ʌs] - us, us, us. For example, in the sentence: Let us come in - let us enter.
The second person pronoun does not lend itself to change. You [ju:] - you, you, and takes on other meanings: you, you, you, you, you, you. For example, I will call you later - I will call you later.
Speaking of third parties, you need to use: him [him] - him, him, him; her [hɜ:] - her, her, her; it [it] - him, her, him, her, him, her. For example, I am with him - I am with him; he loves her - he loves her; you have a paint, use it - you have paint, use it. It should be noted that the possessive pronoun her [hɜ:] - her, absolutely coincides with the object, so you need to be careful about its use in speech. The pronoun them [ðəm] does not change either in pronunciation or spelling: Let's go with them - let's go with them.
The place of object pronouns in a sentence
Only after having well mastered personal pronouns in the nominative case, we can proceed to familiarization with the object case of pronouns. In English, their use in sentences has a slightly different connotation, and it is not always clear how to correctly translate a phrase with such pronouns. That is why you need to clearly know their place in the proposal.
Unlike the first group, the second pronouns do not appear to be subject, but are a complement to the predicate. Therefore, they usually follow the verb: they don’t want to know us - they don’t want to know us. But there are cases when object pronouns act as a predicate, for example: It's me.
Often they appear in questions: Can you help me? - Could you help me? Comparisons also use object pronouns, for example: My brother is elder than me.
Several object pronouns in one sentence are not uncommon in English. This is characteristic of more complex constructions of expressions: he asked me to take her with us - he asked me to take her with us.
There are verbs after which it is necessary to use the preposition with the addition. Such verbs include: to agree, to look, to listen, to wait, etc. For example, will you listen to me? “Will you listen to me?” In such cases, prepositions use prepositions: at, with, to, for, of, etc.
The following video will help you better understand the use of certain prepositions before object pronouns. Those who are just starting to learn English should focus on their pronunciation.
Exercises
The use of pronouns must be learned at the level of automatism. To do this, you need to practice your skills with the help of various exercises. You should start with simple exercises for practicing object pronouns in English.
Exercise 1. Replace given nouns with pronouns in the object case.
Mother, table, Sam, book, cat, boy, children, flower, snow, friend, I and my father.
Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with pronouns in the object case.
- Why are you looking at that poster? Do you like ___?
- The girl is singing. Please listen to ___!
- Dan asked you on date? Will you go with ___?
- Neighbors are having a party. Go and tell ___ to the music down.
- We are going to the picnic on Saturday. Will you go with ___?
- I'm very angry! Listen to ___!
- You are mad. I'm not going anywhere with ___!
Exercise 3. Fill in the gaps with object pronouns.
To clearly understand the rules for using personal pronouns in English, they should be worked out in parallel in exercises. For instance:
The correct and appropriate use of personal pronouns in speech indicates its rather high level, since they are part of such complex grammatical constructions as: complex object and complex subject.
Starting to study pronouns, you should immediately decompose everything about object pronouns in English "on the shelves." In this case, further development of the language will proceed without significant difficulties.