Pronouns are a part of speech that take the place of nouns and can function as nouns do.Unlike nouns, pronouns can change its form based on its function in a sentence.
- John sold John's toys to John's friend.
- John sold his toys to his friend.
Which sentence do you like better? Probably #2. I did this to demonstrate what pronouns are for. :)
Here is a table that lists pronouns, their case, number and person. [It goes without saying that the pronoun she is a feminine gender, he is male and it is neutral.]
means these usually serve as the subject
means these usually serve as objects
usually describes the noun it precedes
usually is an object
this one has the genders
You sit by me.
You is the subject [subjective pronoun] me is the object [objective pronoun].
We invited them.
We is the subject [subjective pronoun] and them is the object [objective pronoun].
Try using the pronouns in the wrong places.
Two of the functions that a noun will serve in a sentence is as the subject or as an object. In the sentences below the subject is highlighted with yellow and the object is highlighted with blue.
Bob is going with Jane
He is going with her.
Him is going with she. Wrong
Jane brought Betty.
She brought her.
Her brought she. Wrong
Karen and Bill went
with Jane and Betty.
They went with them.
Them went with they. Wrong
Bob went with Jane
He went with them.
Him went with they. Wrong
As you can see, the subject will use the subjective pronoun and an object will use the objective pronoun.
Me and you are leaving now. --This is incorrect. Me is an objective pronoun so it will never be correctly used as a subject. If you drop the and you from the sentence it will read: "Me is leaving now." and you can see clearly just how incorrect that is! :-)
Another point on this, if you use the correct subjective pronoun, I, always place yourself last ... Holly, John and I are leaving now.
And one more little point: When used in a prepositional phrase, me is used rather than I:
Example: The bake-off for best pie was between Jane and me. Although it may sound like it should be Jane and I, that can not be because in this sentence Jane and me are objects of the preposition.