Order of Pronouns: 231 and 123

Let’s explore why and when to follow the pronoun orders 231 and 123 when writing personal pronouns.

Order of Pronouns: 231

When using multiple personal pronouns and nouns in a sentence, we should follow the 231 order. This order is explained below:

2: 2nd Person (You, Your)
3: 3rd Person (He, His, Him, She, Her, They, Them, Their, or any noun)
1: 1st Person (I, Me, My, Mine, We, Us, Our, Ours)

Examples:

• You, he, and I will visit Tokyo.
• You, Maeda, and I are going to visit a new school tomorrow.

Order of Pronouns: 123

We follow the 123 order when admitting guilt or accepting responsibility.
Example:

• I, Aaron, and he lied to our manager.

Why We Should Follow the 231 Order for Personal Pronouns

• Politeness: It is polite to prioritize others over oneself. Therefore, the 1st person pronoun should appear last.
• Presence and priority: Among the others, we should prioritize those who are present during the conversation. The 2nd person (you) is always present—after all, you are addressing them directly. In contrast, the 3rd person (he, she, they) may or may not be present. This makes the 2nd person pronoun the most immediate and important, so it comes first.
• Logical order: Once the 2nd and 1st person pronouns have been placed, the 3rd person pronoun naturally fits between them.

Why We Should Follow the 123 Order for Personal Pronouns (When Admitting Guilt)

Owning responsibility: It is best to admit one’s own guilt before involving others. Therefore, the 1st person pronoun (I) should come first.
Direct presence: The 2nd person (you) is directly present, so they should come next in line to accept responsibility.
Remaining person: Finally, the 3rd person (he, she, they)—who may not even be present—comes last.