Nominative Case | Pronouns & Examples
Nominative case (aka subjective case) is one of the three cases for English nouns and pronouns, and it’s used for a subject or a predicate nominative. The nominative case pronouns (aka subject pronouns) are “I,” “we,” “she,” “he,” “it,” “they,” “you,” and “who.”
| Nominative case nouns | Nominative case pronouns | |
| Subject | Miley bought herself flowers. | She painted her nails bright red. |
| Predicate nominative | The student with the highest grade is Ben. | The best singers at karaoke last night were you and I. |
Learning about nominative case helps you use the correct version of English nouns and pronouns (e.g., “I” or “me”). For example, when a pronoun is an object rather than a subject, it needs to be in the objective case (e.g., “me”). The following tips and examples show when the nominative case is necessary and how to use it correctly.
What is nominative case?
The nominative case is the correct case for a noun or pronoun that is the subject of a verb. For example, in “She wrote two books last year,” the correct pronoun is “she” (not “her”) because it’s the subject of the verb “wrote.”
In formal contexts, nominative case is also used for predicate nominatives, which go after the verb “be” and rename the subject. For example, in “The winners are Silas and I,” the predicate nominative “Silas and I” renames the subject “winners.”
Another way to define nominative case is by comparing it to the two other cases in English—objective case and genitive case. (Objective case includes dative case and accusative case, which are different in some languages but the same in English.)
| Case | Use | Pronouns/nouns | Examples in sentences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative case | Subject | Subject pronouns: I, we, she, he, it, they, who | She and Carlos have been best friends for many years. |
| Predicate nominative | The owners of this restaurant are he and Carmen. | ||
| Objective case | Direct objects | Object pronouns: Me, us, her, him, it, them, whom | Check the eggs for cracks before you buy them. |
| Indirect objects | The barista gave us free coffee. | ||
| Object of a preposition | With whom am I speaking? | ||
| Genitive case | Possession | Possessive nouns (e.g., “neighbor’s”) | There are two packages on Fran’s front porch. |
| Possessive adjectives: My, our, your, her, his, its, their, whose | What are your favorite pizza toppings? | ||
| Possessive pronouns: Mine, ours, yours, hers, his, theirs, whose | The blue jacket is mine. |
Nouns and pronouns in English both have different forms for nominative case versus genitive case (e.g., “Rabbit” and “they” are nominative, but “rabbit’s” with an apostrophe + “-s” and “their” are genitive).
Nominative case pronouns
The pronouns in nominative case are “I,” “we,” “you,” “she,” “he,” “it,” “they,” and “who.” When a pronoun is a sentence subject or a predicate nominative, use the nominative case rather than objective case or genitive case.
| Pronoun | Number | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-person pronouns | I | Singular | The first guests to arrive were Katarina and I. |
| We | Plural | Where are we going on vacation? | |
| Second-person pronoun | You | Singular or plural | If you like tea, you will love matcha. |
| Third-person pronouns | She | Singular | She and Willie Nelson are both 91 years old. |
| He | Singular | He makes pottery in his spare time. | |
| They | Singular or plural | Pear trees smell terrible when they bloom. | |
| It | Singular | The new car is so comfortable because it has leather seats. | |
| Relative pronoun | Who | Singular or plural | I admire people who ask for help. |
Common nominative case errors
To use nominative case correctly, watch out for three types of errors:
- Using “whom” as the subject of a verb
- Object pronouns in compound subjects
- Genitive case for plural nominatives
Errors with who vs whom
Confusion about “who” or “whom” is one of the most common nominative case errors. It can be tempting to use “whom” as a subject in academic writing because it sounds formal. “Who” (not “whom”) is the correct choice for the subject of a verb. Use “who” where it would also make sense to use “he” or “she.”
- Whom is your favorite author?
- Who is your favorite author?
- Banksy is the artist whom painted this mural.
- Banksy is the artist who painted this mural.
Errors with object pronouns in compound subjects
Another common mistake is to use objective case pronouns in compound subjects. Even when a pronoun is part of a compound subject (e.g., “James and I”), use the nominative case (e.g., “he,” “she,” and “me”).
- Him and Kieran flew to Poland to film a movie.
- He and Kieran flew to Poland to film a movie.
- Me and Tara worked together for many years.
- Tara and I worked together for many years.
Errors with genitive case for plural nominatives
Finally, plural nouns in the nominative case don’t need apostrophes. Only nouns in the genitive case (aka possessive case) need apostrophes. You only need genitive case for a noun that owns another noun in the sentence.
- Our cat’s love shrimp and salmon.
- Our cats love shrimp and salmon.
- The oldest cat’s favorite food is cantaloupe.
Frequently asked questions about nominative case
- Is it this is she or this is her?
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It can be “this is she” or “this is her” depending on the context. In formal contexts—such as answering the phone at work—use a nominative case pronoun for a predicate nominative after “is.”
- Caller: “Hi, I’m returning a call from Dr. Jones.”
- Sarah: “This is she.”
In everyday situations, though, “this is her” is perfectly fine (“My grandmother sent me this photograph, and this is her next to the tree”).
The QuillBot paraphrasing tool is an excellent resource when you’re exploring formal and informal ways to use pronouns.
- Is it you and me or you and I?
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It can be you and me or you and I depending on the sentence. “You and I” is correct for a sentence subject because it’s in the nominative case (e.g., “You and I should have lunch”).
“You and me” is correct when you need the accusative case for a direct object or the dative case for an indirect object or object of a preposition (e.g., “The restaurant reserved a special table just for you and me”).
Use the subject pronoun “I” for nominative case and the object pronoun “me” for the accusative/dative case (aka the objective case).
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker for help with pronouns? It can show you which pronouns are correct in any piece of writing.
- Is it him and I or him and me?
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“Him and I” is incorrect, but you can use “him and me.” “Him” and “me” are both object pronouns, so they can be used together when you need the objective case (which includes the dative case and the accusative case).
- Dative case: The neighbors play volleyball with him and me every Saturday.
- Accusative case: They asked him and me to water their garden during their vacation.
The subject pronoun “I,” which is one of the nominative case pronouns, cannot be combined with the object pronoun “him.” “I” can only be a subject or a predicate nominative.
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly find and fix errors—such as “him and I”—in your writing.
- Is it her and I or she and I?
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“Her and I” is not correct, but you can use “she and I” because they’re both nominative case pronouns that can be part of a compound subject (e.g., “She and I lived together during college”).
“Her” is not a nominative case pronoun but rather, an object pronoun. You can say “her and me” when you need the objective case (which includes the dative case and the accusative case).
- Dative case: The teacher gave her and me extra credit.
- Accusative case: Mom took her and me out to dinner.
When you combine two pronouns with “and,” they need to be in the same case.
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can instantly find and fix errors—such as “her and I”—in your writing.
