What does him mean?
“Him” is the objective form of the third-person singular masculine pronoun in standard English. It normally appears where a noun or the subject pronoun “he” could stand as the object of a verb or preposition, as in “I spoke to him” or “She gave him the key.” Although English has eliminated most pronoun-case distinctions, “him” preserves a trace of the older case system: “he” serves as the subject form, while “him” serves as the object form. The pronoun can refer to any male person or figure, and it may also be used for an animal or something personified. Standard usage places it after a verb or preposition; subject uses such as “Him and I did it” are nonstandard in ordinary English but occur in older writing, poetry, regional speech, and deliberately emphatic contexts. The form is useful for recognizing the contrast between subject and objective pronouns and for understanding how English pronoun grammar developed.
pronounAn objective-case third-person singular masculine pronoun used as the object of a preposition or verb, especially to refer to a male person or figure already mentioned.
- Used as an objective-case third-person singular masculine pronoun to refer to a male person, animal, or figure as the object of a clause or preposition.
- In archaic, poetic, or strongly marked nonstandard usage, used as a subject pronoun with particular emphasis.
"She sent the letter to him before the meeting began."
"The manager spoke with him after the interview."
"Him alone could have made the argument, but he declined to speak."
English keeps an old pronoun case alive in “him”: modern speech has abandoned the distinction, but the form still survives after verbs and prepositions.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does him come from?
Modern “him” developed from the Old English dative singular of the masculine personal pronoun “hē,” whose accusative was “hine.” Old English distinguished grammatical cases more extensively than modern English does, and these inflected forms eventually converged on “him.” Related forms in languages such as Dutch, German, and Icelandic reflect the same broader Germanic pronoun system.
Related word forms
How him is actually used
In standard contemporary English, “him” normally follows a verb or preposition; using it as the subject is chiefly literary, archaic, dialectal, or deliberately emphatic.
Easily confused with him
“He” is the subject form used to identify or refer to a male person, whereas “him” is the objective form used after a verb or preposition.
“Him” is the ordinary objective pronoun, while “himself” is the reflexive form used when the subject and object refer to the same person.