Subjective Pronouns: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what subjective pronouns are? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on subjective pronouns, including the definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is a subjective pronoun?

According to Word Sense, there are many different types of pronouns with different functions:

  •  substantive pronoun
  •  emphasizing pronoun
  •  adjectival pronoun
  •  object pronoun/objective pronoun
  •  pronoun demonstrative
  •  intensive pronoun
  •  epicene pronoun
  •  resumptive pronoun
  •  adjective pronoun
  •  gender-neutral pronoun
  •  demonstrative pronoun
  •  possessive pronoun
  •  reflexive possessive pronoun
  •  subject pronoun
  •  reciprocal pronoun
  •  substantival pronoun
  •  personal subject pronouns
  •  prepositional pronoun
  •  determinative pronoun
  •  personal pronoun
  •  reflexive pronoun
  •  relative pronoun
  •  indefinite pronoun
  •  interrogative pronoun

Today we will explore the main subjective pronouns. In English subject pronouns are pronouns that take the place of a noun as the subject of a sentence. These include I, you, he/she/it, we, you, and they according to Grammar Monster. The subject pronoun acts as the subject of a verb and the main subject of a sentence. The subjective case is different from the objective case, in which the pronoun acts as the object of a sentence, though it still may be subject to the action of a verb. There can be many punctuation mistakes, misspellings, and other writing issues when someone confuses this understanding. Make sure that you use the correct form of object nouns and subject nouns to form a correct sentence like a grammarian. The objective pronoun acts as an object, while the subjective form acts as a subject when it comes to English pronouns. 

Other languages like French and Spanish also use subjective pronouns. If the subject of the sentence was performing the action of playing, you would use the following subject pronouns. In other languages like in English, pronouns are gender specific and change if someone is female or male.

French Subject Pronouns

  •  je joue
  •  tu joues
  •  il/elle joue
  •  nous jouons
  •  vous jouez
  •  ils/ells jouent

Spanish Subject Pronouns

  •  yo juego
  •  tu juegas
  •  el/ella/usted juega
  •  nosotros jugamos
  •  vosotros jagais
  •  ellos/ellas/ustedes juegan

What are subjective pronoun examples?

A subjective pronoun can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! The following examples of subjective pronouns from English Grammar Lessons and Grammar Monster can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Try to use the term subjective pronouns today or notice when someone else is using a subjective pronoun.

  • Things are only impossible until they ‘re not. (Writer Hannah Louise Shearer)
  •  I gave my boss a gift for the holiday season.
  • Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together. (Author Carl Zwanzig)
  • Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings. (Conductor Ed Gardner)
  •  She did the dishes to help out her busy mother.
  • He decided to row to the island in order to get some exercise in.
  • Susan and I went to the planetarium and looked up at all the stars..
  • We bought a pound of apples and decided to make a big pie with them.
  • The burglar is he, I saw him break into the home last night.
  • It was I.

What are other literary techniques and devices?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  • dual
  •  to-infinitive
  •  parasynthetic
  •  object | direct object | indirect object
  •  subjunctive
  •  reflexive
  •  transitive
  •  direct question
  •  direct object
  •  first person
  •  determiner
  •  anaphoric
  •  construed (const., constr.)
  •  nominal relative | nominal relative clause
  •  subordinate clause
  •  collocation | collocate
  •  number
  •  active
  •  tense
  •  interjection
  •  present participle
  •  premodify | premodifier
  •  simple
  •  construction
  •  interrogative
  •  similative
  •  possessive pronouns | proper name
  •  preposition (prep.)
  •  that-clause
  •  intensifier
  •  noun phrase
  •  count noun
  •  parenthetical | parenthetically
  •  neuter
  •  past tense
  •  definite article
  •  intransitive
  •  non-finite
  •  participial adjective
  •  mass noun
  •  positive
  •  optative
  •  infinitive
  •  double object
  •  periphrasis | periphrastic
  •  third-person
  •  second person
  •  article
  •  declarative
  •  indirect question
  •  masculine
  •  adverb (adv.)
  •  agent noun
  •  filler
  •  conditional
  •  pro-form
  •  case
  •  sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
  •  passive infinitive
  •  complement
  •  common noun
  •  finite
  •  phrasal verb
  •  modify | modifier
  •  indirect passive
  •  part of speech
  •  imperative (imper.)
  •  passive
  •  antecedent
  •  possessive pronoun
  •  element
  •  locative
  •  relative
  •  cognate object
  •  superlative
  •  gender
  •  vocative
  •  feminine
  •  compound | compounding
  •  morpheme
  •  collective noun
  •  agree | agreement
  •  participle | past participle | present participle
  •  adjective
  •  copular verb | copula
  •  zero
  •  inflection | inflected | inflectional
  •  indicative
  •  absolute (absol.)
  •  prepositional phrase
  •  attributive
  •  past participle
  •  anticipatory
  •  adverbial | adverbially
  •  protasis
  •  indirect object
  •  dative
  •  combining form (comb. form)
  •  genitive
  •  main verb
  •  modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
  •  main clause
  •  non-referential
  •  bare infinitive
  •  auxiliary verb | auxiliary
  •  complementary
  •  verb (v.)
  •  indirect speech
  •  apodosis and protasis
  •  perfect
  •  base form
  •  subject
  •  phrase (phr.)
  •  possessive
  •  singular
  •  unmarked genitive
  •  comparative
  •  special use
  •  person
  •  causative
  •  quasi-
  •  cataphoric
  •  prepositional passive
  •  ellipsis | elliptical
  •  personal pronoun
  •  appositive
  •  nominative
  •  direct speech
  •  present tense
  •  verbal noun
  •  possessive adjective
  •  demonstrative
  •  suffix
  •  accusative
  •  clause
  •  head
  •  stem
  •  progressive
  •  apposition
  •  instrumental
  •  plural
  •  pronoun (pron.)
  •  postmodify | postmodifier
  •  prefix
  •  indefinite
  •  mood
  •  prepositional object
  •  noun (n.)
  •  subjective
  •  impersonal (impers.)
  •  predicative
  •  objective
  •  conjunction (conj.)
  •  concrete
  •  pleonasm | pleonastic
  •  combination
  •  abstract

Overall, the term subjective pronouns in English grammar refer to pronouns that act as the subject of a sentence.

Sources:

  1. Glossary of Grammatical Terms | OED
  2. pronoun: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  3. Subjective Personal Pronouns | What Are Subjective Personal Pronouns? | Grammar Monster 
  4. What Are Subjective Personal Pronouns? (grammar lesson) | English Grammar Lessons 
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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

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