English grammar has a rule you never think about: every clause needs a subject, and every transitive verb needs an object — even when they add nothing. "I bought a book, then I read it, and it's good." Three pronouns, all predictable. Carry that habit into Chinese and you get 我买了一本书，我看了它，它很好 — grammatical word-by-word, but it reads like a robot. Chinese is a pro-drop, topic-chaining language: once everyone knows what you're talking about, the subject and object just disappear. The natural version is 我买了一本书，看了，很好. This page is about deleting the pronouns your English instinct keeps inserting; the mechanics are at ellipsis and pro-drop.
The core habit: drop what's recoverable
If the listener can already tell who or what you mean, leave it out. A Chinese sentence is happy with no subject, no object, or neither.
我买了一本书，看了，很好。
wǒ mǎi le yì běn shū, kàn le, hěn hǎo
I bought a book, read it, (it's) good. (informal) — subject and object dropped after the first clause.
这个菜很好吃，你尝尝。
zhège cài hěn hǎochī, nǐ chángchang
This dish is delicious — try it. (informal) — 'it' (the dish) is simply omitted after 尝尝.
Compare the over-pronouned version, which no native speaker would produce:
❌ 我买了一本书，我看了它，它很好。
Over-stuffed — the repeated 我 and the two 它 all say what's already obvious. Drop them.
Why Chinese can drop and English can't
English is a subject-prominent language: the grammar is built around filling the subject slot, so much so that it invents dummy pronouns (it rains, there is a problem) just to keep the slot occupied. Chinese is topic-prominent: you establish a topic once, and every following clause is understood to be about that topic until you change it. The topic isn't repeated — it's carried silently forward, a "topic chain." So where English relinks each clause with a pronoun, Chinese just keeps going.
我起床、刷牙、吃早饭，然后就出门了。
wǒ qǐchuáng, shuāyá, chī zǎofàn, ránhòu jiù chūmén le
I get up, brush my teeth, eat breakfast, and then head out. (informal) — one 我 covers all four verbs.
他借了我的车，一直没还。
tā jiè le wǒ de chē, yìzhí méi huán
He borrowed my car and still hasn't returned it. (informal) — 'it' (the car) is dropped as the object of 还.
它 is not English "it"
This is the big one. English "it" is a workhorse — it stands for objects, situations, weather, the whole clause. Chinese 它 (tā) is a narrow word: it's mainly for animals and occasionally for emphasis or contrast. As the plain object of a verb — "I like it," "I read it," "I bought it" — 它 is usually not said at all.
我很喜欢。
wǒ hěn xǐhuan
I really like it. (informal) — after naming the thing, 'it' is dropped, not rendered as 它.
你的手机呢？——找不到了。
nǐ de shǒujī ne? — zhǎo bu dào le
Where's your phone? — Can't find it. (informal) — the object 'it' is simply absent.
Where 它 does earn its place is a genuine animal referent, or a contrast:
那只猫饿了，它一直叫。
nà zhī māo è le, tā yìzhí jiào
The cat's hungry — it keeps meowing. (informal) — 它 is natural here, for an animal as the new clause's subject.
Answers drop the subject, too
A huge source of pronoun overload is answering questions. English says "Yes, I did"; Chinese just echoes the verb — no subject, no "yes."
你吃了吗？——吃了。
nǐ chī le ma? — chī le
Have you eaten? — Yes (I have). (informal) — the answer is bare: no 我, no 'yes'.
你看见我的钥匙了吗？——看见了，在桌子上。
nǐ kànjiàn wǒ de yàoshi le ma? — kànjiàn le, zài zhuōzi shang
Have you seen my keys? — Yes, on the table. (informal) — subject and object both dropped in the reply.
See answering with the echoed verb and the fuller pronoun-drop and 它.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting 它 as a direct object. After the thing is named, "it" is dropped.
❌ 这个电影我看了它。
Unnatural — don't render the object 'it' as 它 here.
✅ 这个电影我看了。
zhège diànyǐng wǒ kàn le
I've seen this movie. (informal) — the topic 这个电影 is fronted, the object slot stays empty.
2. Repeating 我 at the head of every clause.
❌ 我起床，我刷牙，我吃饭。
Robotic — the repeated 我 signals a change of subject each time. Say it once.
✅ 我起床、刷牙、吃饭。
wǒ qǐchuáng, shuāyá, chī fàn
I get up, brush my teeth, and eat. (informal)
3. Using 它 for abstract 'it' (a situation or the whole idea). Chinese usually drops it or restructures.
❌ 下雨了，它很麻烦。
Wrong — 它 can't stand for a situation. Drop it or name the thing: 下雨了，很麻烦。
✅ 下雨了，很麻烦。
xià yǔ le, hěn máfan
It's raining, which is a pain. (informal) — no dummy 它.
4. Re-stating 他/她 when the topic is unchanged.
❌ 他来了，他坐下，他开始说话。
Over-pronouned — one 他 is enough while he stays the topic.
✅ 他来了，坐下，开始说话。
tā lái le, zuòxià, kāishǐ shuōhuà
He came in, sat down, and started talking. (neutral)
Key Takeaways
- Chinese is pro-drop: if the subject or object is recoverable from context, leave it out.
- Set a topic once, then run a topic chain — don't re-say 我/他 at the head of each clause (doing so hints at a new subject).
- 它 ≠ "it". Reserve 它 mainly for animals or emphasis; as a plain object, "it" is normally dropped.
- Abstract/dummy "it" (weather, situations, the whole idea) has no Chinese pronoun — drop or restructure.
- Answer questions by echoing the verb (吃了 / 看见了), not with a subject pronoun.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Personal Pronouns OverviewHSK 1 — The whole system is 我 (wǒ), 你 (nǐ), 他/她/它 (tā) and their -们 plurals — with two enormous simplifications for an English speaker: there's no I/me distinction (one form does subject and object) and no separate possessive pronoun (you just add 的), so word order, not case, marks who does what to whom.
- Ellipsis and Pro-DropHSK 2 — Chinese freely drops any subject or object recoverable from context — 去哪儿？'where [are you] going?', 我买了 'I bought [it]' — so a whole conversation runs with almost no pronouns.