PE-5: Pronouns: Subject, Object and Possessive
I or me? My or mine? Its or it's? Master the small words that replace nouns and stop your sentences from repeating themselves.
PE-5: Pronouns: Subject, Object and Possessive
Read this: Afsona took Afsona's book because Afsona needed Afsona's book for Afsona's lesson. Painful, isn't it? Pronouns exist to fix exactly this: Afsona took her book because she needed it for her lesson. Same meaning, half the words.
In this lesson you will learn
- The full pronoun family in one table you can picture in your head
- When to say I and when to say me
- The difference between my and mine
- The its / it's trap that even native speakers fall into
1. The whole family in one table
Learn this table across, one row at a time — I, me, my, mine, myself — like a little song. Every row works the same way.
| Subject | Object | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronoun | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine | myself |
| you | you | your | yours | yourself |
| he | him | his | his | himself |
| she | her | her | hers | herself |
| it | it | its | — | itself |
| we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
2. Subject pronouns — before the verb
The subject pronoun does the action. It stands in the subject seat you met in PE-1, right before the verb.
She speaks three languages.
U uchta tilda gapiradi.
3. Object pronouns — after the verb or a preposition
The object pronoun receives the action. It comes after the verb, or after a preposition (to, for, with, about, at).
Jasur called me and waited for us.
Jasur menga qoʻngʻiroq qildi va bizni kutdi.
After the verb called and after the preposition for — object form.
The classic difficulty is a double subject. To test it, cover the other person:
Sherbek and (I / me) went home → you would never say Me went home, so it is
Sherbek and I went home. Now: He invited Sherbek and (I / me) → you would say
He invited me, so it is Sherbek and me.
4. Possessive adjectives vs possessive pronouns
Both show ownership, but they sit in different places. A possessive adjective needs a noun after it. A possessive pronoun stands alone and replaces the whole phrase.
my / your / his / her / our / their + noun
- This is my book.
- Their house is big.
- Is this your pen?
mine / yours / his / hers / ours / theirs — alone
- This book is mine.
- The big house is theirs.
- Is this pen yours?
5. The its / it's trap
These two look almost the same and mean completely different things. This is the most common spelling mistake in English — worldwide, not only for learners.
its = of it (possessive)
The cat washed its paws.
The city is famous for its bazaars.
it's = it is / it has
It's raining. (it is)
It's been a long day. (it has)
6. A quick look at reflexives
Use -self / -selves when the subject and the object are the same person.
Afsona taught herself to play the guitar. Be careful — don't cut yourself!
Afsona gitara chalishni oʻzi oʻrgandi. Ehtiyot boʻling — oʻzingizni kesib olmang!
They also add emphasis: I painted the room myself (= nobody helped me).
7. Common mistakes
Me and my brother play football.
My brother and I play football. (subject seat → I; and put the other person first)
This book is my.
This book is mine. / This is my book.
The dog broke it's leg.
The dog broke its leg. (possessive → no apostrophe)
She gave the money to I.
She gave the money to me. (after a preposition → object form)
Every student must bring their own pen — he must be blue.
… it must be blue. (a pen is a thing → it)
Practice
1 I or me: Sherbek and ? are in the same class. The teacher praised Sherbek and ?.
Show answer
I … me. Cover the other name: I am in the same class ✓ and The teacher praised me ✓.
2 my or mine: That's not ? bag. ? is black.
Show answer
my … Mine. Before a noun (bag) use my; standing alone as the subject, use mine.
3 its or it's: The company changed ? name because ? too long.
Show answer
its … it's. Test with "it is": changed it is name ✗ → its;
because it is too long ✓ → it's.
4 Replace the repeated nouns: Jasur lost Jasur's keys, so Jasur asked Jasur's sister to help Jasur.
Show answer
Jasur lost his keys, so he asked his sister to help him.
Keep the name once at the start; after that, pronouns do all the work — his (possessive), he (subject), him (object).
5 Fill in: We couldn't find our tickets, so the guard checked ? and let ? in. (theirs/them/us)
Show answer
them … us. Them = the tickets (object of checked); us = we, in object form after let.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- Pronounolmosh
- Subject pronounega olmoshi
- Object pronountoʻldiruvchi olmoshi
- Possessiveegalik
- Reflexiveoʻzlik olmoshi
- Prepositionpredlog
- Apostropheapostrof (')
- To replacealmashtirmoq
- To ownegalik qilmoq
- Emphasistaʼkid
🎯 Remember this
- Before the verb → I, he, she, we, they. After a verb or preposition → me, him, her, us, them.
- Test a double subject by covering the other person: (Sherbek and) I went.
- my + noun, but mine alone. English marks possession only once.
- its = belonging to it · it's = it is / it has. Say "it is" to check.
- Use -self when the doer and the receiver are the same person.