First Person and Third Person Pronouns in British English

First Person Pronouns

First person pronouns are used by a speaker to refer to themselves. In British English, the primary first person pronouns are:

• I - singular subjective pronoun (e.g., I am going to the store.)
• me - singular objective pronoun (e.g., He saw me at the park.)
• my - singular possessive pronoun (e.g., This is my book.)
• mine - singular possessive pronoun used independently (e.g., This book is mine.)
• we - plural subjective pronoun (e.g., We are enjoying the concert.)
• us - plural objective pronoun (e.g., They invited us to the party.)
• our - plural possessive pronoun (e.g., This is our house.)
• ours - plural possessive pronoun used independently (e.g., This property is ours.)

Third Person Pronouns

Third person pronouns refer to someone or something other than the speaker or the listener. In British English, the primary third person pronouns include:

• he - singular masculine subjective pronoun (e.g., He is my brother.)
• him - singular masculine objective pronoun (e.g., I spoke to him yesterday.)
• his - singular masculine possessive pronoun (e.g., This is his bag.)
• she - singular feminine subjective pronoun (e.g., She is my sister.)
• her - singular feminine objective pronoun (e.g., I called her last night.)
• hers - singular feminine possessive pronoun (e.g., That book is hers.)
• it - singular neutral subjective pronoun (e.g., It is raining outside.)
• its - singular neutral possessive pronoun (e.g., The dog chased its tail.)
• they - plural subjective pronoun (also used for singular non-binary reference, e.g., They are my friends.)
• them - plural objective pronoun (e.g., I saw them at the mall.)
• their - plural possessive pronoun (e.g., That is their project.)
• theirs - plural possessive pronoun used independently (e.g., Those papers are theirs.)

Summary

In summary, understanding first person and third person pronouns is essential for effective communication in British English. First person pronouns relate to the speaker, while third person pronouns refer to others. Familiarity with these pronouns can enhance both spoken and written English proficiency.