Subject Pronouns

English Grammar

The subject of a sentence is a person or thing that performs the action of the verb.
Subject pronouns are used to replace the subject (person or thing) of a verb.
We do NOT normally say:

John is tall and John is intelligent.

Saying the word "John" twice is repetitive and does not sound natural.
We replace the Subject (John) that appears the second time with a subject pronoun to avoid
repetition (and in this case to avoid saying the name John again.)
So we would say:

John is tall and he is intelligent.

We replace the second "John" with the Subject Pronoun "He".

What are the subject pronouns in English?

These are the subject pronouns we use in English

Subject

Singular or Plural - Who?

Masculine or Feminine

Singular - first person

masculine or feminine

You

Singular - second person

masculine or feminine

He

Singular - third person

only masculine

She

Singular - third person

only feminine

Pronoun

It

Singular - third person

object / thing / animal

We

Plural - first person

masculine or feminine

You

Plural - second person

masculine or feminine

They

Plural - third person

masculine or feminine

When do you use IT?

IT is normally used when we refer to objects, things, animals or ideas (and not normally people).

The dog is big. It is also hairy. (It = the dog)

My bed is small but it is comfortable. (It = my bed)

Sometimes when we don't know the sex of a baby (we don't know if it is a boy or girl), then we can
use IT.

Their baby is very small. It only weighs 2 kilos. (It = the baby.)

We use IT we when talk about the time, weather or temperature.

It is five o'clock (= the time is five o'clock)

It is cold today. (= the weather is cold today.)

It is 30 outside right now. (= the temperature is 30 outside right now)

Subject Pronouns Chart

Here is a chart with cartoons showing the different Subject Pronouns we use in English:

There is - There are

English Grammar Rules

We use there is and there are to say that something exists.

Positive Sentences
We use there is for singular and there are for plural.

There is one table in the classroom.

There are three chairs in the classroom.

There is a spider in the bath.

There are many people at the bus stop.

We also use There is with uncountable nouns:

There is milk in the fridge.

There is some sugar on the table.

There is ice cream on your shirt.

Contractions
The contraction of there is is there's.

There's a good song on the radio.

There's only one chocolate left in the box.

You cannot contract there are.

There are nine cats on the roof.

There are only five weeks until my birthday.

Negative Form
The negative is formed by putting not after is or are:

There is not a horse in the field.

There are not eight children in the school.

There is not a tree in the garden.

There are not two elephants in the zoo.

We almost always use contractions when speaking.

The Negative contractions are:

There's not = There isn't

There are not = There aren't

There aren't with ANY

When we want to indicate that a zero quantity of something exists we use there aren't any.

There aren't any people at the party.

There aren't any trees in my street.

We also use this structure with uncountable nouns:

There isn't any water in the swimming pool.

There isn't any sugar in my coffee.

Questions
To form a question we place is / are in front of there.
Again we use any with plural questions or those which use uncountable nouns.
We also use there is / are in short answers.

Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.

Are there any dogs in the park? - Yes, there are.

Is there a security guard in the shop? - Yes, there is.

Are there any polar bears in Antarctica? - No, there aren't.

Is there any ice-cream in the freezer? - Yes, there is.

How Many with Are There

If we want to find out the number of objects that exist we use How many in the following form:
How many + plural noun + are there (+ complement).

How many dogs are there in the park?

How many students are there in your class?

How many countries are there in South America?

How many Star Wars films are there?

Next activities
Try our interactive game to practice There is - There Are.

NEW: Download our free There is There are Worksheet (in PDF).
You can check the answers to this worksheet here: There is There are Answers.

This - That - These -Those

English Grammar Notes - Demonstratives

This, That, These, Those are called demonstratives and they are used to show the relative
distance between the speaker and the noun.

Demonstrative Pronouns

We use this (singular) and these (plural) to refer to something that is here / near.
Examples:

This is my car. (singular)

These are our children. (plural)

We use that (singular) and those (plural) to refer to something that is there / far.
Examples:

That is our house. (singular)

Those are my shoes. (plural)

Note that the verb changes (i.e. singular / plural) depending on the pronoun that you use.
You can also use Demonstrative Pronouns by themselves:

Did you do that?

I'd like to buy these?

Which of those would you like?

Demonstrative Adjectives
You can also use demonstratives before a noun. These are called demonstrative adjectives.
The Demonstrative Adjective needs to agree (= be the same form) as the noun.
Examples of demonstrative adjectives:

This party is boring. (singular)

That city is busy. (singular)

These chocolates are delicious. (plural)

Those flowers are beautiful. (plural)

Summary - What is the difference between Demonstrative

Adjectives and Demonstrative Pronouns?
Demonstrative Adjectives and Demonstrative Pronouns use the same words. The easiest way to
know that difference is that Demonstrative Adjectives are always before a noun while Demonstrative
Pronouns are before a verb or by themselves.

This book is old. (Demonstrative Adjective + Noun)

This is new. (Demonstrative Pronoun + Verb)

Did you like that? (Demonstrative Pronoun by itself)

Everything else is the same. For example, both Demonstrative Ajectives and Pronouns use the word
THIS (singular) to talk about something that is close to you and the plural of THIS is THESE.

Present vs. Past

If an action is near in time we tend to use this / these.
If an action has finished or is in the past we use that / those.
Examples:

This is a good meal. (at the time of eating)

Those girls we met last night were silly. (an event that happened in the past).

This is
The expression this is is commonly used when you talk on the phone or you introduce people.
Examples:

"Hello, this is Peter."

Carol, this is my friend Simon. Simon, this is Carol.

Next activities
Try our interactive games to practice this: This That These Those 1 and This That These Those 2.

Present Tense vs Progressive Tense

English Grammar Rules

Simple Present Tense

We use the simple present tense:
1. For facts

Whales live in the ocean.

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in Latin America.

The flight from Chile to Australia is thirteen hours.

2. For repeated or regular actions

Flights to Buenos Aires leave every hour.

I eat breakfast at the table.

We work every day of the week.

3. For habits

I brush my teeth three times a day.

He only drinks Martinis.

We celebrate Christmas on the twenty-fifth of December.

4. For things that are generally true in the present time period:

Boca Juniors is the best team in Argentina at the moment.

She is my girlfriend.

We study English.

Present Progressive Tense

We use the present progressive tense:
1. When somebody is doing something at this moment.

Sarah is changing her clothes right now.

Her boyfriend is waiting for her.

We are learning the progressive tense in English.

2. When something is happening at this moment. When the action has started but hasn't finished.

It is snowing at the moment.

The economy is growing at an exponential rate.

The children are sleeping, so please be quiet.

3. To talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking but not necessarily at that
exact moment.

Alfredo is studying a lot for his exam.

I'm reading a great book. (not necessary right at this moment)

We are planning a trip to Jamaica.

Present vs. Progressive Tense

A significant difference between these two tenses is we use the simple present tense for things that
are permanent or are in general and the present progressive tense for things that may change or
are temporary.
Compare:

Permanent

Temporary

Simon lives in Birmingham.

Simon is living with his friends for now.

James smokes.

James is smoking in the kitchen.

We walk to work.

We're walking in the park.

I speak English.

I am speaking English right now.

Verbs that we don't use in the Progressive Tense

Another difference is that there are some verbs in English that we don't use in the progressive tense.
These include:
Belong - Cost - Hate - Have (possession) - Hear - Know - Like - Love - Need - Own - Remember Seem - Smell - Understand - Want

Different Meanings
In questions the same verb can change the meaning depending on if it is in the present or the
present progressive tense.

Differences in meaning of verb

Statement

Meaning

What do you do?

What is your job?

What are you doing?

What are you doing at the moment?

What do you read?

What do you like to read?

What are you reading?

What are you reading right now?

Next activities
Try this grammar game to see if you understood the difference: Present Tense vs. Progressive Tense
See our notes about the Present vs Progressive vs Past Tense.

Present vs Progressive vs Past Tense

English Grammar Rules

Present Tense
We use the present tense:
1. For facts.

A square has four equal sides.

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark.

2. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

Flights to Buenos Aires leave every thirty minutes.

The bells of the town clock ring every hour.

3. For habits

I brush my teeth every morning.

He goes to the gym after work.

4. For things that are generally true in the present time period.

Manchester United is the best team in European football at the moment.

My friend lives in San Francisco.

We use the present tense when the beginning or ending of an action, event or condition is unknown
or unimportant to the meaning of the sentence.

Progressive Tense
We use the present progressive tense:
1. When somebody is doing something at the moment.

Carla is washing her hair.

Christian is playing table-tennis.

2. When something is happening at the moment.

It is snowing at the moment.

The Christmas sales are happening as we speak.

3. To talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking but not necessarily
at that exact moment.

My brother is learning how to play the violin at school.

Computers are becoming smaller and faster all the time.

A sentence in the Present Continuous indicates that the action, event or condition is ongoing. It is
happening at this point in time and emphasizing the continuing nature of an act, event or condition.

Past Tense
The Past Tense is used:
1. To indicate that an action, event or condition has started and finished. It can be included
with a time reference (for more information) or without.

They went to the beach.

Peter slept for ten hours.

2. To talk about something which was true in the past.

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for 1100 years.

Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of Great Britain.

3. When we are talking about a particular time in the past.

I visited Egypt in 2000.

Marta spoke to her sister last night.

It can be included with a time reference (for more information) or without it.

Comparing the Tenses

A sentence in the Present Continuous indicates that the action, event or condition is ongoing. It is
happening at this point in time and emphasizing the continuing nature of an act, event or condition.
A significant difference between the simple present tense and the Progressive Tense is:
We use the Simple Present Tense for things that are permanent
We use the Present Progressive for things that may change (are temporary).
Compare:

Simon lives in Birmingham. (Permanent)

Simon is living in Birmingham for six months. (Temporary)

It rains a lot in winter (Permanent)

It is raining outside (temporary)

Present

I live in Chile

Right now - Permanent

Progressive

I am living in Chile

For the moment - Temporary

Past

I lived in Chile

Happened in the past (not now)

Affirmative

Negative

Question

Present

I live in Peru.

I don't live in Peru.

Do you live in Peru?

Progressive

I'm living in Peru

I'm not living in Peru.

Are you living in Peru?

Past

I lived in Peru.

I didn't live in Peru.

Did you live in Peru?

Next activities
Try our interactive game about the Present vs. Progressive vs. Past Tense
See our grammar notes about the Present vs the Progressive Tense and the Past Tense.

Present Tense - Third Person

English Grammar Rules
Normally in the present tense we add S to the end of the verb in the 3rd person (He, She, It).
Verb

3rd Person

Speak

Speaks

Play

Plays

Give

Gives

Make

Makes

He speaks three languages.

She drinks coffee every morning.

My dog hates my cat.

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs in English in the present tense follow very simple rules. The only change that is made
to these verbs is in the third person for He, She or It.
1. If the verb ends in SS, X, CH, SH or the letter O, we add + ES in the third person.
Verb

3rd Person

Kiss

Kisses

Fix

Fixes

Watch

Watches

Crash

Crashes

Go

Goes

A mechanic fixes cars.

She watches soap operas every afternoon.

He kisses his wife before he goes to work.

2. If the verb ends in a Consonant + Y, we remove the Y and + IES in the third person.
Verb

3rd Person

Carry

Carries

Hurry

Hurries

Study

Studies

Deny

Denies

Isabel studies every night.

The baby cries all the time.

He denies all responsibility.

Negative Sentence
To form the negative we use the auxiliary do not. Again, the only variation occurs in the 3rd person
where we usedoes not.

Positive

Negative

I talk

I do not talk

She talks

She does not talk

You sleep

You do not sleep

He sleeps

He does not sleep

Carol studies

Carol does not study

We study

We do not study

In the negative, the main verb is always in the bare infinitive (without TO). It doesn't change for the
third person. We don't put an S on the end of the verb in the negative form. In the examples above talk, sleep and study do not change in the 3rd person.

He speaks Italian
He doesn't speak Italian.

Remember: Do not can be abbreviated to Don't and Does not can be abbreviated to Doesn't.

Next activities
Grammar Rules:
See our notes about the Simple Present Tense in English.
Pronunciation Rules:
You might be interested in the Pronunciation of -S at the end of words in English.

Have - Has - Go - Goes

Simple Present Tense
Conjugation of Have and Go
To Have = To show possession / a quality

To Go = to show movement (travel) in a specific direction

Subject

To Have

The Rest of the sentence

I / you / we / they

have

an old bike.

he / she / it

has

a new car.

Subject

To Go

The Rest of the sentence

I / you / we / they

go

to class every day.

he / she / it

goes

to the movies on Friday.

Usually we only add 'S' to a verb when we conjugate it in the third person but notice how To
Have and To Go are slightly irregular (though they still both end in S).

Have and Go in Negative Sentences

To make a negative sentence in English with To Have and To Go we use Don't or Doesn't followed
by Have or Go(never Has or Goes).
Affirmative: You have a pen.
Negative: You don't have a pen.
You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject
is I, you, we orthey.
Affirmative: He has a pencil.
Negative: He doesn't have a pencil.
When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a
negative sentence. Notice that we don't use the normal third person conjugation (has, goes) in
negative sentences. We use the base form of the infinitive as seen below.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present
Tense using Don't orDoesn't.

Subject

don't/doesn't

I / you / we / they

don't

he / she / it

doesn't

Subject

don't/doesn't

I / you / we / they

don't

he / she / it

doesn't

To Have*

The Rest of the sentence

have

cereal for lunch.

To Go*

The Rest of the sentence

go

to classes every day.

* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the
verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For
example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Negative Sentences with Have:

You don't have a clue.

John doesn't have many friends.

We don't have time for a rest.

It doesn't have four wheels.

They don't have the correct answers.

She doesn't have a nice dress.

Examples of Negative Sentences with Go:

You don't go to university.

John doesn't go to parties.

We don't go to work on the weekend.

It doesn't go fast.

They don't go to the beach.

She doesn't go to church.

Questions with Have and Go

To make a question in English with To Have and To Go, we normally use Do or Does at the
beginning of the question.
Affirmative: You have a girlfriend.
Question: Do you have a girlfriend?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We
use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.
Affirmative: She has a boyfriend.
Question: Does she have a boyfriend?
When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a
question. Notice that we don't use the normal third person conjugation (has, goes) in questions. We
use the base form of the infinitive as seen below.

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.
Do/Does

Subject

Do

I / you / we / they

Does

he / she / it

Do/Does

Subject

Do

I / you / we / they

Does

he / she / it

Verb*

The Rest of the sentence

have

a new bike?

Verb*

The Rest of the sentence

go

to school?

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the
verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For
example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Questions with Have and Go:

Do you have a dictionary?

Does Mary have a dictionary?

Do we go to all the meetings?

Does she go to all the meetings?

Short Answers with Have and Go

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:

Sample Questions

Do you have a car?

Do you go to church?
Do I have time?
Do I go to work today?
Do you both have time?
Do you both go to school?
Do they have a car?
Do they go to the pub?
Does he have a car?
Does he go to university?
Does she have a car?
Does she go to the gym?
Does it have four wheels?
Does it go slow?

Short Answer
(Affirmative)

Short Answer
(Negative)

Yes, I do.

No, I don't.

Yes, you do.

No, you don't.

Yes, we do.

No, we don't.

Yes, they do.

No, they don't.

Yes, he does.

No, he doesn't.

Yes, she does.

No, she doesn't.

Yes, it does.

No, it doesn't.

However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the
question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.

Next activities
To Practice these rules try our interactive game at: Have - Has - Go - Goes
NEW: Download our free Have Has Go Goes Worksheet (in PDF).
You can check the answers to this worksheet here: Have Has Go Goes Answers.

Example contoh ayat:

Elephants have four legs. (ramai)
Children go to school during the week. (ramai termaasuk dlm they/we).
My husband goes very fast in his car.
I cant wait until I go on holiday!

Do vs. Does
English Grammar Rules
To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It is normally put at the beginning of the
question (before the subject).
Affirmative: You speak Spanish.
Question: Do you speak Spanish?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We
use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.
Affirmative: He speaks Spanish.
Question: Does he speak Spanish?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a
question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in
third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.
We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must,
might, should etc.)

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.
Do/Does

Subject

Verb*

Do

I / you / we / they

have / buy

Does

he / she / it

eat / like etc.

The Rest of the sentence

cereal for breakfast?

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the
verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For
example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

Do you speak English?

Does John speak French?

Do we have time for a quick drink?

Does it rain a lot in the South?

Do they want to come with me?

Does she like chocolate?

Short Answers with Do and Does

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:
Short Answer

Short Answer

(Affirmative)

(Negative)

Do you speak English?

Yes, I do.

No, I don't.

Do I need a dictionary?

Yes, you do.

No, you don't.

Do you both speak English?

Yes, we do.

No, we don't.

Do they speak English?

Yes, they do.

No, they don't.

Does he speak English?

Yes, he does.

No, he doesn't.

Does she speak English?

Yes, she does.

No, she doesn't.

Does it have four legs?

Yes, it does.

No, it doesn't.

Sample Questions

However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the
question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.

Question Words with Do and Does

The order for making sentences with Questions words is the following:
Question Word

Do/Does

Subject

Verb

What

do

you

have for breakfast?

What

does

she

have for breakfast?

Where

do

you

live?

When

do

you

study?

How

do

you

spell your name?

Next activities

Try our interactive game to practice Do and Does in Questions.

See our notes about the difference between Do, Does, Did and Done.
NEW: Download our free Do vs Does Worksheet (in PDF).
You can check the answers to this worksheet here: Do vs Does Answers.

Don't vs. Doesn't

English Grammar Rules

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs
EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (Can, might, should etc.).
Affirmative: You speak Spanish.
Negative: You don't speak Spanish.
You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject
is I, you, we orthey.
Affirmative: He speaks Spanish.
Negative: He doesn't speak Spanish.
When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a
negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence
(because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why
below.

Contractions
Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not
I don't like fish = I do not like fish.

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present
Tense using Don't orDoesn't.

Subject

don't/doesn't

I / you / we / they

don't

he / she / it

doesn't

Verb*

The Rest of the sentence

have / buy
eat / like etc.

cereal for breakfast

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the
verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For
example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

You don't speak Russian.

John doesn't speak French.

We don't have time for a quick drink.

It doesn't rain much in summer.

They don't want to come with us.

She doesn't like meat.

Next activities
Check out our interactive grammar game about: Don't vs. Doesn't
NEW: Download our free Don't vs Doesn't Worksheet (in PDF).
You can check the answers to this worksheet here: Don't vs Doesn't Answers.