Subjects and Objects in English Sentences
Understanding the difference between a subject and an object is one of the foundations of English grammar. Without this knowledge, it can be difficult to write clearly and understand how sentences work. In this post, we’ll break it down with simple explanations, examples, and practice.
What is the Subject?
The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that does the action in a sentence. Think of the subject as the “who” or “what” the sentence is about.
The subject goes before the verb.
- John plays soccer every Saturday.
- She practices tennis in the evening.
- Dogs bark at strangers.
- My friends and I watch movies on Friday night.
- They do their homework on time.
In each sentence, the subject is the one doing the action (plays, practices, bark, speak, do).
What is the Object?
The object is the person, place, thing, or idea that receives the action of the verb. Objects often answer the questions “who?” or “what?”
Objects usually come after the verb.
- John plays soccer every Saturday (John play what? soccer).
- She practices tennis in the evening (She practices what? tennis).
- Dogs bark at strangers. (Dogs bark at who? à strangers)
- My friends and I watch movies on Friday night (My friends and I watch what? movies)
- They do their homework on time. (They do what? homework).
Subjects vs. Objects: A Side-by-Side Look
| Sentence | Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary reads a book. | Mary | reads | a book |
| The teacher helps the student. | The teacher | helps | the student |
| They built a house. | They | built | a house |
| We study grammar. | We | study | grammar |
Notice that the subject comes before the verb, and the object usually comes after the verb.
Object Pronouns
In English, we often replace the object with an object pronoun so we don’t repeat words too much.
| Subject Pronouns | Object Pronouns |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| you | you |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| it | it |
| we | us |
| they | them |
- I am a teacher. Students call me Alan.
- You are my friend. I will help you.
- He plays soccer. Everyone likes him.
- She is my girlfriend. I love her.
- It rains a lot in April. I love it.
- We watched a scary movie. It scared us.
- They drive to school. I ride with them.
🔗 Read Our Guide on Subject Pronouns
Objects After Prepositions
In English, prepositions (words like to, for, with, at, in, on, about, from) are always followed by an object. This object can be a noun, a noun phrase, or an object pronoun.
Examples with nouns and noun phrases
- She is talking to the teacher.
- We study with classmates.
- The book is on the table.
- I study at night.
- They complain about the homework.
- My computer is in my backpack.
- I buy flowers for my girlfriend.
Examples with pronouns
When a pronoun follows a preposition, we always use the object pronoun, not the subject pronoun.
❌ She is talking to he.
✅ She is talking to him.
❌ The gift is for I.
✅The gift is for me.
❌ We went with they.
✅ We went with them.
❌ The message is from we.
✅ This message is from us.
👉 Grammar Tip!
Preposition + Object (noun or object pronoun)
Common Mistakes ESL Students Make
1. Mixing up pronouns
❌ Me like pizza.
✅ I like pizza. (Subject = I)
❌ He gave she a gift.
✅ He gave her a gift. (Object = her)
2. Forgetting the object when the verb needs one
❌ She put on.
✅ She put on her jacket. (Object = her jacket)
❌ The teacher talks to.
✅ The teacher talks to the students.
👉 Grammar Tip!
When the subject is another person or people and yourself, you put yourself last.
Karina and I are students.
When the object is another person or people and yourself, you also put yourself last.
Our teacher gave Gabriel and me extra homework!
🔗 Read Our Complete Guide on Pronouns
Let’s Practice!
Exercise A
Identify the subject and object in each sentence.
- The children are students.
- My mother makes dinner every night.
- We listen to music at the gym.
- The students look at TikTok during class.
- Tom helps his father cut the grass.
Exercise B
Fill in the blank with the correct word.
- ______ went to the park yesterday. (I / Me)
- She helped ______ with my homework. (I / Me)
- ______ are my best friends. (They / Them)
- The teacher spoke to ______ after class. (they / them)
- He is taller than ______. (I / me)
- ______ really likes soccer. (He / Him)
- Can you come with ______ to the store? (we / us)
- This gift is for ______. (she / her)
- ______ am very tired today. (I / Me)
- I called ______ last night. (he / him)
- My parents invited ______ to dinner. (we / us)
- The dog is playing with ______. (it / it)
- ______ are very smart students. (You / Your / Yours)
- She lives next to ______. (they / them)
- The teacher explained the lesson to ______. (we / us)
Scoring & Feedback
🔵 17 – 20 correct
Excellent work! 🎉You really understand the subject and the object. Keep using them in your everyday conversations and writing.
🟢 14 – 16 correct
Great job! ✅ You have a good understanding of the subject and the object. Review the ones you missed.
🟡 7 – 13 correct
Good effort! 💪You’re learning, and that’s what matters. Take a moment to review the examples and do the quiz again.
🔴 0–6 correct
No worries! 🌱 Subjects and Objects can be tricky at first. Go back and review the examples in the lesson.
Want more reading, writing, listening, and speaking practice? Check out the Essential English series on Amazon!
Conclusion
The subject and object are like two sides of a conversation: one does the action, and the other receives it. Once you can tell them apart, your grammar and sentence-building skills will improve quickly. Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be able to spot the subject and object in any sentence! Subscribe for updated content from Beyond English!