Pronouns and objects

We have already seen how personal pronouns can change their form depending on their case.

We say "The ball hit him" and not "The ball hit he." Why? Because the verb "hit" requires a direct object, and direct objects are in the objective case. "He" is subjective case; "him" is objective case.

• If the pronoun is the subject of the verb, it will appear as "he."
• If it is the direct object, it will be "him."

Okay?

Go ahead and make up some silly sentences where you mix the subjective and objective cases, and then ask yourself why they are wrong.

Note: Most English words do not change their form, regardless of whether they are the subject or the direct object.

"The teacher sent the other teacher a book."

They do, however, normally change their form to designate singular and plural.

"The teacher met the other teachers."