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plPersonal pronouns, such as 我 ‘I, me’, 你 ‘you’, 他 ‘he, him’, etc., can serve as both the subject and object of a sentence. They are used by the speaker to refer to themselves, the person or people being addressed, or the person or things being talked about.
Common Errors
1. Confusion between 我们/我們 and 咱们/咱們
Both 我们/我們 and 咱们/咱們 mean ‘we’, but they can be used differently. 咱们/咱們 always consciously includes the listener and is mainly used in spoken Chinese. It is rarely used in formal or written contexts. In contrast, 我们/我們 does not necessarily include the listener.
*你好好休息吧，咱们明天再来看你。
*你好好休息吧，咱們明天再來看你。
你好好休息吧，我们明天再来看你。
你好好休息吧，我們明天再來看你。
However, native speakers sometimes use 我们/我們 to include the listener in casual or spoken contexts.
同学们，咱们走吧。
同學們，咱們走吧。
同学们，我们一起走吧。
同學們，我們一起走吧。
2. Confusion between 他 and 她
The learners may confuse 他 ‘he, him’ and 她 ‘she, her’ when writing, forgetting their written forms are gender-specific.
*她是我哥哥。
他是我哥哥。
*她是我哥哥。
他是我哥哥。
3. Excessive use of 它
The pronoun ‘it’ occurs much more frequently in English due to the language’s strict requirements for structural completeness. Chinese, by contrast, often reuses nouns instead of the pronoun 它, relying on other referential strategies to avoid ambiguity.
4. Omission of the structural particle 的
In spoken context, it is possible to omit the structural particle 的 in a noun modifier consisting of a personal pronoun. The omission often happens when the noun after the modifier is a family member or a location in daily life such as home, the school and the company. Without knowing the suggestion of the close relationship between the personal pronoun and the noun that is modified, learners may omit the structural particle 的 when it should not be omitted. The instructor can remind learners that the omission can only happen in limited situations to avoid such errors.
*我笔
我的笔
我（的）姐姐/公司/学校
*我筆
我的筆
我（的）姐姐/公司/學校
5. Pragmatic errors or inappropriate usage
The learners may incorrectly use 你 instead of 您 when speaking to someone who deserves respect or politeness.
*请问，你贵姓？
请问，您贵姓？
*請問，你貴姓？
請問，您貴姓？
The learners might mistakenly use 您们/您們 in spoken Chinese, since this form is very rare and mostly limited to formal or written contexts. In speech, it is more natural to use 您 followed by a numeral and the polite measure word 位.
*您们是中国老师吗？
您两位是中国老师吗？
*您們是中國老師嗎？
您兩位是中國老師嗎？
Classroom activity: Mix and match.
whole class.
20 min.
- Printed character components (radicals or printed parts of the characters 我, 你, 他, 她, 它, 我们/我們, 你们/你們, 他们/他們, 她们/她們, 您, 咱们/咱們).
- Visual cards or projected images showing individuals, groups, and interactions (e.g., a person pointing at themselves, two people talking, a family).
- Magnets or Velcro for assembling character parts on the board (optional).
- The teacher lays out the disassembled components of the pronoun characters randomly on a desk or magnetic board.
- The teacher shows an image (e.g., someone pointing to themselves, a person talking to another, or a group of people) to elicit the correct pronoun — such as 我, 你, 他, 她, 它, 我们/我們, 你们/你們, 他们/他們, 她们/她們.
- One or two students go to the desk, select the correct components, and assemble the full character corresponding to the pronoun that matches the image.
- One of the students shows the completed character to the class, pronounces it aloud, and the teacher or peers confirm the pronunciation and meaning.
- After all individual pronouns are introduced, the teacher presents short dialogues that can contain pronouns such as 我们/我們, 咱们/咱們, 你, 您.
- The students repeat the matching and pronunciation activity with these new pronouns, reinforcing the distinction between formal/informal or inclusive/exclusive usages.