Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on:


number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)
person: 1st person (eg: I),
2nd person (eg: you) or
3rd person (eg: he)
gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)
case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)

We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is Josef but when I am talking about myself I almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I am talking direct to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about another person, say John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on.

Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:

number ------- person -------- gender ---------- personal pronouns
--------------------------------------------------------- subject object
singular -------- 1st ----------- male/female ----------- I -------- me
------------------ 2nd ---------- male/female ----------- you ------ you
------------------ 3rd ----------- male ------------------- he ------- him
---------------------------------- female ----------------- she ------ her
---------------------------------- neuter ------------------ it -------- it
plural----------- 1st ----------- male/female ----------- we ------ us
------------------ 2nd ---------- male/female ---------- you ------ you
------------------ 3rd ---------- male/female/neuter -- they ----- them

Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object pronoun):

*I* like coffee.
John helped *me*.

Do *you* like coffee?
John loves *you*.

*He* runs fast.
Did Ram beat *him*?

*She* is clever.
Does Mary know *her*?

*It* doesn't work.
Can the engineer repair *it*?

*We* went home.
Anthony drove *us*

Do *you* need a table for three?
Did John and Mary beat *you* at doubles?

*They* played doubles.
John and Mary beat *them*.

When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use *it*. However, there are a few exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal as *he/him* or *she/her*, especially if the animal is domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are often treated as female and referred to as *she/her*. Here are some examples:

This is our dog Rusty. *He's* an Alsatian.
The Titanic was a great ship but *she* sank on her first voyage.
My first car was a Mini and I treated *her* like my wife.
Thailand has now opened *her* border with Cambodia.

For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several solutions to this:

If a teacher needs help, *he* or she should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, *he* should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, *they* should see the principal.

We often use it to introduce a remark:

*It* is nice to have a holiday sometimes.
*It* is important to dress well.
*It's* difficult to find a job.
Is *it* normal to see them together?
*It* didn't take long to walk here.

We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:

*It's* raining.
*It* will probably be hot tomorrow.
*Is* it nine o'clock yet?
*It's* 50 kilometres from here to Paris.