Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

I, you, he, she, it, we, they - the one doing the action.

Mastered by: ASHA has children using pronouns in the 2-to-3-year band
Practice items: 85
Sections: 10

Play it

Each one opens full screen, already set to this skill.

The rule, explainedShow ↓

When the person is DOING the action, use I, you, he, she, it, we or they.

He is on the swing. She is making lunch. They are playing.

My brother is swinging. He is swinging high.
The twins are here. They are playing tag.

Watch for: "Him is swinging" - a done-to word doing the job of a doing word.

What this skill is

Subject pronouns stand in for the person doing the action, and they go in front of the verb: she runs, they laughed. English has a separate set for this job, which is why "her runs" sounds wrong even though it is perfectly understandable.

What to expect

Children often use their own name before they use "I" ("Mia do it"), and mixing up he and she is extremely common well into the fourth year - often long after the child clearly knows the difference between boys and girls. Gender is not the hard part; retrieving the right little word fast enough is.

Try this at home

Use photographs of people the child knows. Family photos make he and she concrete in a way that pictures of strangers do not, and give you a reason to say the names alongside the pronouns.

When to refer

No pronouns at all by 3, or still substituting names for all pronouns after about 3;6.

Print it

Subject Pronouns worksheet85 items across 10 sections, with answer key · PDF

Put it into practice

Tap any item below to open it full screen, one at a time, so a child can answer without reading the answer first.

These activities are a starting point, not the practice itself. A structured task is a good way to introduce a form and to find out whether a child has it yet. What actually moves it into everyday speech is using it in the real world and in ordinary play — which means the four things below matter more than finishing the list.

Recast
Say their sentence back correctly, without asking them to repeat it. Child: “he goed.” You: “he went! Where did he go?”
Expand
Add one or two words to what they said and hand it back. Child: “big truck.” You: “a big red truck!”
Simplify what you ask
Cut a long instruction into single steps and say them in the order they happen, rather than repeating the long one louder.
Follow their lead
Use whatever they are already playing with. A form practiced on something they chose is the one that shows up again tomorrow.

Play it in a game ASHA Practice Portal