Teaching Pronouns: Nominative, Objective, and Possessive Cases

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Pronouns are one of the first parts of speech students use confidently in conversation and one of the last they apply correctly in writing. The rules — especially around I vs. me and who vs. whom — sound arbitrary unless students learn to ask what role the pronoun plays in the sentence. Once they can identify whether a pronoun is doing the action, receiving the action, or showing ownership, the right form usually follows.

This guide walks through the three pronoun cases elementary teachers most need to address: nominative (subject), objective (object), and possessive.

Nominative (Subject) Pronouns

Nominative pronouns do the action. They sit in the subject position of a sentence or clause.

• Singular: I, you, he, she, it
• Plural: we, you, they

Examples:

• She wrote the report.
• They finished the project.
• I am ready.

A reliable test: if you can substitute a noun in the subject position, the pronoun is nominative. Maria wrote the report → She wrote the report.

Objective Pronouns

Objective pronouns receive the action. They appear after a verb (as a direct or indirect object) or after a preposition.

• Singular: me, you, him, her, it
• Plural: us, you, them

Examples:

• The teacher called him. (object of the verb)
• Mom gave me the book. (indirect object)
• Sit between them and us. (object of prepositions)

A practical classroom test: cover up the rest of the sentence and read just the verb plus the pronoun. called him sounds correct; called he does not.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show ownership. They come in two forms: ones used before a noun (sometimes called possessive adjectives) and ones used alone.

• Used before a noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• Used alone: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs

Examples:

• My backpack is blue. (before the noun backpack)
• The blue backpack is mine. (used alone)
• Their car is parked beside ours.

Important: possessive pronouns never use apostrophes. Its is possessive; it’s is a contraction of it is. Their is possessive; they’re is a contraction of they are. This is one of the most-corrected mistakes in elementary writing.

Common Student Mistakes

The “Me and my friend went…” Error

Students often write Me and my friend went to the park. The fix: try the pronoun alone. Me went to the park sounds wrong; I went to the park sounds right. Therefore: My friend and I went to the park. (And as a courtesy rule, the speaker comes second: my friend and I, not I and my friend.)

“Between you and I”

The phrase between you and I is incorrect, though it’s heard so often that students assume it’s fine. Between is a preposition, so the pronoun must be objective: between you and me. Use the cover-up test: between me sounds right; between I does not.

Its vs. It’s

A high-frequency error in grades 3–6. Reinforce: if you can replace the word with it is, write it’s. Otherwise, write its.

Their vs. There vs. They’re

Three different words, all spelled differently, all sounding the same. Their shows ownership (their car); there indicates place (over there); they’re means they are. Daily sentence dictation works better here than worksheet drill.

A Teaching Sequence

1. Introduce subject pronouns by replacing nouns in simple sentences.
2. Add object pronouns and contrast them with subject pronouns side by side.
3. Introduce possessive pronouns last — the apostrophe rule is a separate teaching point.
4. Practice the cover-up test with mixed sentences (compound subjects, compound objects).
5. Apply to student writing: pull pronouns from a recent paragraph and label each one’s case.

Plan on three to five focused lessons across one to two weeks, plus ongoing pronoun review built into editing routines. For printable practice across all three cases, browse the pronouns worksheets hub — the printable lesson and answer key are linked at the bottom of this page.