Pronouns: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Q: Are there interactive pronoun exercises?

Yes, for every kind of pronoun these lessons teach. Start with the exercises at the top of this page, which come straight from the lessons. Inside each lesson, gap-fills, drag-and-drop tasks, tables and quizzes practice me and him , myself and each other , or someone and nothing , and check every answer as students go.

Q: When do you use reflexive pronouns?

When the doer and the receiver are the same. I taught myself to swim. She was proud of herself. They can also mean with no help ( We made the posters ourselves ), and by herself means alone. The forms are himself and themselves , never hisself or theirselves , and we takes ourselves .

Q: What are indefinite pronouns?

Pronouns for people or things we don't name. They join some- , any- , no- or every- to -one , -body or -thing : someone , anything , nobody , everything . Some- goes in positive sentences, any- in questions and with not , no- with a positive verb ( Nobody took it ), and every- means all of them. No one is two words.

Q: Is it everyone is or everyone are?

Everyone is: every- and no- words take a singular verb. Everyone is welcome. Nobody knows. Everything is free. Even though everyone means all the people, it works like he or she , with is , was , has or a verb + -s.

Q: How do I teach pronouns to ESL students?

One set at a time, each in a real situation. In English A1.1 on edio.ai, subject pronouns come with describing friends on National Best Friends Day, and English A1.2 adds object pronouns for thanking teachers. English A2.1 moves on to reflexive pronouns through the first Special Olympics and to indefinite pronouns at a little free library, and English A2.2 brings one and ones to a balloon parade.

Q: What are good object pronoun activities?

Tasks where students give, thank or help each other. A thank-you card swap makes learners say This card is for you and I made it for her , and a pass-the-object game needs Give it to him! and Pass them to me! The pronoun lessons on this page also include a speaking chapter, with a chat and then an Open the box game.

Q: Can I use these pronoun lessons with one student?

Yes, one student and a teacher are enough. Your student opens the lesson in their own account and follows you live, and for the speaking game, you're the partner. As homework, the drills on me , myself and someone check themselves, and some tasks wait for your review.

Levels A1 to B1 5 lesson plans · 4 drill lessons Exercises that check themselves

Pronouns stand in for nouns, so we don't have to repeat them: Danny has a dog. He loves it. Here you'll find 5 ready-made lessons from the edio.ai library, levels A1 to A2, on subject, object, reflexive and indefinite pronouns and on one and ones, all written in American English. Play exercises from them, read the rules in their own grammar schemes, and pick a lesson for your class by level. All of them are interactive, and the drills on me, myself and nobody check themselves.

Start free trial Try the exercises

Pronouns lesson plans and drills

5 lesson plans and 4 drill lessons, A1 to B1. Lesson plans are whole lessons with reading, listening and speaking; drill lessons are 44 to 47 self-checking exercises with no new words.

Try the pronouns exercises

One exercise from each of 6 lessons. These are the same exercises your students do in edio.

Pronouns explained

A pronoun replaces a noun once it's clear who or what we mean. English pronouns change with their job in the sentence: I before the verb, me after it, myself when the action comes back to the subject, and someone or nothing when we don't say who or what.

Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they

Subject pronouns come before the verb and say who does or is something: He's Danny, They're BFFs. The table pairs each one with its possessive partner (he → his, they → their), so learners meet both forms side by side.

I, you, he…	my, your, his…	Example
I	my	I'm Olivia. My best friend is Hannah.
you	your	You're Jack. Your best friend is Danny.
he	his	He's Danny. His dog is Taco.
she	her	She's Priya. Her best friend is Nina.
it	its	It's a dog. Its ears are big.
we	our	We're roommates. Our house is in Brooklyn.
they	their	They're BFFs. Their photo is cute.

From the lesson National Best Friends Day (English A1.1)

Object pronouns: me, him, her, us, them

After a verb, or after for, with, to and from, English uses the object form: She helps me, This card is for you. Only you and it look the same in both places; he becomes him, and they becomes them.

I → me, he → him: every person

Before the verb	After a verb or for, with, to	Example
I	me	Can you help me?
you	you	This card is for you.
he	him	Thank him!
she	her	We love her.
it	it	A card? I love it!
we	us	Tell us a story!
they	them	Give them a card.

Who does it? Who gets it?

Before the verb: I, he, she, we, they

She helps me.
We love him.
They thank us.

After the verb: me, him, her, us, them

I help her.
He loves us.
We thank them.

From the lesson Thank you, teacher! (English A1.2)

Reflexive pronouns and each other

Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves and point back at the subject: Nora was proud of herself. When people do something to one another, English uses each other instead: Tia and Jamal looked at each other.

Every person

Who	-self / -selves	Example
I	myself	I taught myself to swim.
you (one person)	yourself	Believe in yourself, Nora!
he	himself	Jamal taught himself the long jump.
she	herself	Nora was proud of herself.
it	itself	The door opened by itself.
we	ourselves	We enjoyed ourselves in Chicago.
you (two or more)	yourselves	Kids, enjoy yourselves!
they	themselves	The kids made dinner themselves.

-selves or each other?

themselves: A → A, B → B

Tia and Jamal looked at themselves in the water. (Tia looked at Tia. Jamal looked at Jamal.)

each other: A → B, B → A

Tia and Jamal looked at each other. (Tia looked at Jamal. Jamal looked at Tia.)
They cheer for each other, help each other and hug each other.

From the lesson Be brave and try (English A2.1)

Someone, anything, nobody, everyone

Indefinite pronouns follow the rules of some and any: someone in positive sentences, anything in questions and after not. A sentence takes one negative only, so it's I didn't find anything or I found nothing, never I didn't find nothing.

some-, any-, no-, every-

Start	People	Things	When?
some-	someone, somebody	something	positive sentences: Someone left a book.
any-	anyone, anybody	anything	questions and not: Did anyone call? I didn't find anything.
no-	no one, nobody	nothing	a positive verb, no not: Nobody took it.
every-	everyone, everybody	everything	all the people or things: Everyone can leave something.

Two ways to say no: one negative only!

not + any-

I didn't find anything.
There isn't anyone at the box.
We don't pay anything.

no- + a positive verb

I found nothing.
There's nobody at the box.
Nobody pays anything. (any- after no-)

From the lesson Take a book, leave a book (English A2.1)

One and ones in place of the noun

One and ones replace a noun we've just used: I like the blue one, Then tie the long ones. Use one for a single thing and ones for two or more. After a or an, only one works: a big one.

Don't say the noun twice!

The noun again 😕

I don't like the red balloon. I like the blue balloon.
The short ropes are new. The long ropes are old.

one / ones 😊

I don't like the red balloon. I like the blue one.
The short ropes are new. The long ones are old.

one or ones?

Before it	one: one thing	ones: two or more
a / an + adjective	a big one	no a / an: big ones
the + adjective	the yellow one	the yellow ones
my favorite, the first	my favorite one, the first one	my favorite ones, the first ones
Which…?	Which one is yours?	Which ones are yours?
the … with …	the one with the red rope	the ones with the green hats

From the lesson Giant balloons over Manhattan (English A2.2)

Questions about pronouns

What kinds of pronouns are there in English?

Subject, object, possessive, reflexive and indefinite, among others. Subject pronouns (I, she) come before the verb and object pronouns (me, her) after it. Possessive pronouns (mine, hers) replace a noun and its owner, reflexive pronouns (herself) point back to the subject, and indefinite pronouns (someone, nothing) refer to no particular person or thing.

Are there interactive pronoun exercises?

Yes, for every kind of pronoun these lessons teach. Start with the exercises at the top of this page, which come straight from the lessons. Inside each lesson, gap-fills, drag-and-drop tasks, tables and quizzes practice me and him, myself and each other, or someone and nothing, and check every answer as students go.

What's the difference between subject and object pronouns?

Subject pronouns do the action; object pronouns receive it. She helps me, but I help her. Object pronouns also come after prepositions: for me, with him, to them, never for I or with he. You and it keep the same form in both places: You help me. I help you.

When do you use reflexive pronouns?

When the doer and the receiver are the same. I taught myself to swim. She was proud of herself. They can also mean with no help (We made the posters ourselves), and by herself means alone. The forms are himself and themselves, never hisself or theirselves, and we takes ourselves.

What's the difference between themselves and each other?

Each other goes both ways; themselves stays with each person. If Tia and Jamal look at each other, Tia looks at Jamal and Jamal looks at Tia. If they look at themselves in the water, each one sees their own face. Each other never takes -s: They hugged each other.

What are indefinite pronouns?

Pronouns for people or things we don't name. They join some-, any-, no- or every- to -one, -body or -thing: someone, anything, nobody, everything. Some- goes in positive sentences, any- in questions and with not, no- with a positive verb (Nobody took it), and every- means all of them. No one is two words.

Is it everyone is or everyone are?

Everyone is: every- and no- words take a singular verb. Everyone is welcome. Nobody knows. Everything is free. Even though everyone means all the people, it works like he or she, with is, was, has or a verb + -s.

How do I teach pronouns to ESL students?

One set at a time, each in a real situation. In English A1.1 on edio.ai, subject pronouns come with describing friends on National Best Friends Day, and English A1.2 adds object pronouns for thanking teachers. English A2.1 moves on to reflexive pronouns through the first Special Olympics and to indefinite pronouns at a little free library, and English A2.2 brings one and ones to a balloon parade.

What are good object pronoun activities?

Tasks where students give, thank or help each other. A thank-you card swap makes learners say This card is for you and I made it for her, and a pass-the-object game needs Give it to him! and Pass them to me! The pronoun lessons on this page also include a speaking chapter, with a chat and then an Open the box game.

Can I use these pronoun lessons with one student?

Yes, one student and a teacher are enough. Your student opens the lesson in their own account and follows you live, and for the speaking game, you're the partner. As homework, the drills on me, myself and someone check themselves, and some tasks wait for your review.

More English grammar

Lessons for every grammar point, from the verb to be to reported speech. All grammar points

Pronouns: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Pronouns lesson plans and drills

National Best Friends Day

Thank you, teacher!

Subject pronouns and possessive adjectives: I, my, she, her

Object pronouns: me, him, her, them

Be brave and try

Take a book, leave a book

Giant balloons over Manhattan

Possessive pronouns: whose is it?

Reflexive pronouns: did you make it yourself?