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Object and subject pronouns can sometimes be confusing, especially when you pair them like this: “him and I,” “he and I,” and “he and me.” Which is the best way to say it?
Of these terms, “he and me” and “him and I” are incorrect.
If you want to use the objective case pronoun, you use “him and me,” and if you want to use the subjective case pronoun, you use “He and I.”
Let’s look at some examples below, and by the end of this post, you will never confuse “he and I” or “he and me” again!
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Subject and Object Pronouns
It is worth understanding what a subject pronoun and an object pronoun are if you don’t know already.
The object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them.
These pronouns receive the action in a sentence. For example, in the sentence, “Luke shouted at him,” the pronoun “him” is the object of the sentence.
The subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.
These pronouns do the action in a sentence. For example, in the sentence “Luke shouted at him,” the person known as “Luke” is the sentence’s subject.
“He and I” or “He and Me”
Part 1: He and I
As we learned already:
“He” is a subject pronoun. “I” is also a subject pronoun.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that “he” and “I” go together because they are both doing the action in the sentence.
For example,
“He and I went to the movies.”
He and I are going to go out for dinner.
Part 2: He and Me
As we learned already:
“He” is a subject pronoun. “Me” is an object pronoun.
Therefore, “he and me” don’t go together because one pronoun is used for receiving the action while the other pronoun is used for performing the action.
For example,
“He and me went to the movies” is an incorrect sentence.
Is it correct to say “him and I”?
“Him” is an object pronoun. “I” is a subject pronoun. Therefore, we can’t say “him and I.”
For example,
“He called him and I” is an incorrect sentence.
“Him and Me” or “Him and I”
Part 1: Him and Me
As we learned already:
“Him” is an object pronoun. “Me” is also an object pronoun.
Therefore, it is safe to conclude that “him and me” go together because we are both receiving the action in the sentence.
For example,
“He called him and me.”
“Can he take him and me to the movies?”
Part 2: Him and I
As we learned already:
“Him” is an object pronoun. “I” is a subject pronoun.
Therefore, we can’t say “him and I.”
For example,
“He called him and I” is an incorrect sentence.
The Correct Pronoun to Use
Here is a tip: If you are ever unsure about which pronoun to use, try reading the sentence out loud with just one pronoun. If it still makes sense, you know that you are using the correct pronoun!
Take the sentence example:
“He and I went to see a movie.”
We can break this down and say:
“He went to see a movie.” OR
“I went to see a movie.”
Both of these make sense, so we know that “he and I” is the correct pronoun to use in this sentence!
Let’s try another example with the pronoun “him”:
“The police took him and I to the station.”
We can break this down and say:
“The police took him to the station.” OR
“The police took I to the station.”
“The police took me to the station.”
“I” doesn’t make sense here, so we know that “him and me” is the correct pronoun to use in this sentence!
Now that we know which pronoun to use let’s look at some examples of how to use them in sentences.
Examples of Sentences with “He and I”
Here are some examples of sentences that use “he and I.”
- “He and I went shopping.”
- “He and I are going on a date tonight.”
- “He and I are in love!”
- “He and I will go on vacation before dawn.”
- He and I are going to have a baby!
- “He and I bought a new car.”
- “He and I attended the meeting.”
- “He and I are going to take over the world!”
- “He and I are going to be rich and famous!”
Examples of Sentences with “Him and Me”
Here are some examples of sentences that use “him and me.”
- “He called him and me yesterday.”
- “Do you want to come with him and me?”
- “Mom can’t wait for him and me to graduate!”
- “Can he take him and me to the movies?”
- “He always tries to exclude him and me from his group.”
- “I don’t understand why he doesn’t like him and me.”
- “I hope he includes him and me in his will.”
- “I can’t believe he invited him and me to his party.”
- “He always forgets about him and me.”
- “He asked him and me if we’d like to join the family meal.”
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In Conclusion
To sum it up, “he and I” go together because they are both subject pronouns. “Him and me” go together because they are both object pronouns.
And finally, we can’t say “him and I” because one is an object pronoun and the other is a subject pronoun.
I hope you found the examples helpful. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and founder of TPR Teaching, crafting inspiring pieces that promote the importance of developing new skills. For 7 years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.
These days it seems that soooo many people are mixing up the subjective and objective pronouns. What’s particularly surprising is how pervasive the error appears in print media and also during professional live broadcasts :-/ I have been seeing it so much lately that I started to second-guess myself, leading me to research this once again. Thank you for the detailed, straightforward explanation and useful examples!!
Yeah, nobody really understands the difference. I try not to correct them!