Us Pronoun: Meaning, Usage & Examples

Meaning 1：the speaker and others (us)

us 🔊

/ʌs/

pron.

The person who is speaking or writing and one or more other people.

the speaker and others 🔊

➕

/ðə ˈspiːkər ænd ˈʌðərz/

pron.

Used as the object of a verb or preposition to refer to the speaker or writer together with another person or other people.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'ūs', accusative/dative plural of 'wē' (we).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'us' as the short, simple way to say 'you and me together'.

📖 Example

My cousin sent us a lovely postcard from her trip to the mountains. 🔊 My cousin sent us a lovely postcard from her trip to the mountains.

🔗 Collocations

between us – shared privately or confidentially by two or more people

for us – intended to benefit or be enjoyed by the group including the speaker

all of us – every person in the group including the speaker

🔄 Synonyms

we (pron.) – Subject form corresponding to 'us'; refers to the speaker and others.

ourselves (pron.) – Reflexive form used when the subject and object are the same group.

🚫 Antonyms

them (pron.) – Refers to other people, not including the speaker or the speaker's group.

🌱 Derivatives

ours (pron.) – Belonging to or connected with the speaker and one or more other people.

ourselves (pron.) – Used to refer to the speaker and other people when they are the object of an action.

📖 Cultural Story

The pronoun 'us' has remained remarkably stable for over 1,000 years, originating in Proto-Germanic *uns and appearing in Old English as 'ūs'. It is cognate with German 'uns' and Dutch 'ons'.