“We” and “us” are both first-person plural pronouns in English. They refer to the speaker and at least one other person. Although they refer to the same group of people, they are used in different grammatical positions in a sentence. Understanding the difference between we and us is important for speaking and writing correct English.
1. What “We” Means
We is a subject pronoun. A subject pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence, meaning it performs the action of the verb.
Subject pronouns usually come before the verb.
Other subject pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, they.
Structure
We + verb
Examples
- We are studying English.
(“We” is the subject doing the action of studying.) - We live in Japan.
The group that includes the speaker lives in Japan. - We watched a movie last night.
- We will start the meeting at 10 a.m.
- We like playing basketball.
In each example, we is the group doing the action.
“We” With Other People
Sometimes we includes the speaker and specific people.
Examples:
- Tom and I went to the store. → We went to the store.
- My sister and I are tired. → We are tired.
Here, we replaces two or more people including the speaker.
2. What “Us” Means
Us is an object pronoun. An object pronoun receives the action of the verb.
Object pronouns usually come after the verb or after a preposition.
Other object pronouns include me, you, him, her, it, them.
Structure
verb + us
or
preposition + us
Examples
- The teacher helped us.
(“Us” receives the action of helped.) - They invited us to the party.
- She called us yesterday.
- The coach gave us new uniforms.
- The guide showed us the city.
In each sentence, someone does something to “us.”
3. “Us” After Prepositions
A very common place for us is after prepositions.
Common prepositions include to, for, with, about, from, between, among, near, around.
Examples
- She sat with us.
- The gift is for us.
- They spoke about us.
- The teacher stood between us.
- He walked with us to the station.
After a preposition, English always uses object pronouns, not subject pronouns.
Correct:
- for us
- with us
Incorrect:
- ❌ for we
- ❌ with we
4. Comparing “We” and “Us”
The easiest way to remember the difference is:
| Pronoun | Type | Function |
|---|---|---|
| We | Subject pronoun | Does the action |
| Us | Object pronoun | Receives the action |
Example Pair
We called them.
- We = subject
- them = object
They called us.
- They = subject
- us = object
Another example:
We saw the teacher.
The teacher saw us.
Notice how the pronouns change depending on the position in the sentence.
5. “We” and “Us” With Compound Subjects or Objects
Sometimes we or us appears with other people.
Subject Example (use we)
Sarah and we went to the park. ❌ (incorrect)
Sarah and I went to the park. ✔
But when replacing the subject:
We went to the park.
Object Example (use us)
The teacher helped Tom and us. ✔
The teacher helped we. ❌
More examples:
- They invited my friends and us.
- The coach spoke to us and the other players.
6. “Let’s” (Let Us)
Another common use of us appears in the expression let’s.
Let’s is a contraction of let us.
It is used to make suggestions.
Examples:
- Let’s go to the park.
- Let’s study English together.
- Let’s watch a movie tonight.
Here, us includes the speaker and the listener.
7. Inclusive vs Exclusive “We”
Sometimes we can include the listener, and sometimes it does not.
Inclusive “We”
Includes the speaker and the listener.
Example:
We should start the meeting now.
This means you and I and others.
Exclusive “We”
Includes the speaker and other people, but not the listener.
Example:
A teacher talking to a student:
We will grade your test tomorrow.
Here, we means the teachers, not the student.
Context usually makes the meaning clear.
8. Common Mistakes
Mistake 1
❌ Us went to the store.
✔ We went to the store.
Mistake 2
❌ She gave we homework.
✔ She gave us homework.
Mistake 3
❌ The gift is for we.
✔ The gift is for us.
A helpful tip is to remove the other person from the sentence.
Example:
The teacher helped Tom and us.
Test it:
- The teacher helped us ✔
- The teacher helped we ❌
So us is correct.
9. Summary
We and us both refer to the speaker and other people, but they have different grammatical roles.
- We is a subject pronoun used before a verb.
- We are learning English.
- Us is an object pronoun used after a verb or preposition.
- The teacher helped us.
Remember this simple rule:
We do the action.
Us receive the action.
we と us はどちらも 一人称複数代名詞 (first-person plural pronouns) です。つまり、話している人（話者）と少なくとももう一人以上の人を指します。
ただし、この2つは同じ人たちを指していても、文の中での役割（文法上の位置）が違います。正しく英語を話したり書いたりするためには、この違いを理解することが大切です。
1. 「we」の意味
we は 主格代名詞（subject pronoun） です。
主格代名詞とは、文の主語として使われ、動作を行う人を表します。
主語は通常 動詞の前に置かれます。
他の主格代名詞には次のものがあります。
- I
- you
- he
- she
- it
- they
文の形
We + 動詞
例文
- We are studying English.
私たちは英語を勉強しています。 - We live in Japan.
私たちは日本に住んでいます。 - We watched a movie last night.
私たちは昨夜映画を見ました。 - We will start the meeting at 10 a.m.
私たちは午前10時に会議を始めます。 - We like playing basketball.
私たちはバスケットボールをするのが好きです。
これらの文では、we が動作をしている主体です。
2. 「us」の意味
us は 目的格代名詞（object pronoun） です。
目的格代名詞は 動詞の動作を受ける側を表します。
目的語は通常、動詞の後または前置詞の後に置かれます。
他の目的格代名詞には次のものがあります。
- me
- you
- him
- her
- it
- them
文の形
動詞 + us
または
前置詞 + us
例文
- The teacher helped us.
先生は私たちを助けました。 - They invited us to the party.
彼らは私たちをパーティーに招待しました。 - She called us yesterday.
彼女は昨日私たちに電話しました。 - The coach gave us new uniforms.
コーチは私たちに新しいユニフォームをくれました。 - The guide showed us the city.
ガイドは私たちに街を案内してくれました。
ここでは、us は動作を受ける側になっています。
3. 前置詞の後の「us」
us は 前置詞の後にとてもよく使われます。
よく使われる前置詞：
- to
- for
- with
- about
- from
- between
- among
- near
- around
例文
- She sat with us.
彼女は私たちと一緒に座りました。 - The gift is for us.
そのプレゼントは私たちのためです。 - They spoke about us.
彼らは私たちについて話しました。 - The teacher stood between us.
先生は私たちの間に立ちました。 - He walked with us to the station.
彼は私たちと一緒に駅まで歩きました。
前置詞の後では、必ず 目的格代名詞 を使います。
正しい例
- for us
- with us
間違い
- ❌ for we
- ❌ with we
4. 「we」と「us」の違い
覚えやすいポイントは次の通りです。
| 代名詞 | 種類 | 役割 |
|---|---|---|
| we | 主格 | 動作をする |
| us | 目的格 | 動作を受ける |
例
We called them.
私たちは彼らに電話しました。
（we = 主語）
They called us.
彼らは私たちに電話しました。
（us = 目的語）
もう一つの例：
We saw the teacher.
私たちは先生を見ました。
The teacher saw us.
先生は私たちを見ました。
文の中の位置によって代名詞が変わることが分かります。
5. 複数の人と一緒に使う場合
we や us は、他の人と一緒に使われることがあります。
主語の場合（we）
❌ Sarah and we went to the park.
正しくは
✔ Sarah and I went to the park.
しかし、代名詞だけにすると
✔ We went to the park.
目的語の場合（us）
✔ The teacher helped Tom and us.
❌ The teacher helped we.
他の例：
- They invited my friends and us.
- The coach spoke to us and the other players.
6. 「let’s（let us）」の使い方
us は let’s の中にも使われています。
let’s = let us
これは 提案をする時に使います。
例：
- Let’s go to the park.
公園に行きましょう。 - Let’s study English together.
一緒に英語を勉強しましょう。 - Let’s watch a movie tonight.
今夜映画を見ましょう。
ここでは us は話し手と聞き手の両方を含みます。
7. Inclusive “we” と Exclusive “we”
we には2つの意味の使い方があります。
Inclusive we（聞き手を含む）
話し手 ＋ 聞き手
例：
We should start the meeting now.
私たちは今会議を始めるべきです。
Exclusive we（聞き手を含まない）
話し手 ＋ 他の人
例：
先生が生徒に言う場合
We will grade your test tomorrow.
私たちはあなたのテストを明日採点します。
ここでの we は先生たちを意味します。
8. よくある間違い
❌ Us went to the store.
✔ We went to the store.
❌ She gave we homework.
✔ She gave us homework.
❌ The gift is for we.
✔ The gift is for us.
覚えるコツは、他の人の名前を消して考えることです。
例：
The teacher helped Tom and us.
Tom を消すと
The teacher helped us. ✔
The teacher helped we. ❌
だから us が正しいと分かります。
まとめ
we と us はどちらも 話し手を含む複数の人を表しますが、文の中での役割が違います。
- we → 主語（動作をする）
- We are learning English.
- us → 目的語（動作を受ける）
- The teacher helped us.
覚えやすいルール：
We do the action.
Us receive the action.
