# us

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/us
Updated: 2026-07-09

## Senses

### 1. me and others

pronoun · CEFR A1

the word you use to talk about yourself and one or more other people together.

For teachers: the objective case of the first-person plural pronoun 'we', used as the direct or indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition.

- The teacher asked us to sit down and open our books.
- The manager invited us to participate in the strategy meeting, ensuring that our department's concerns were heard by the executive board.

### 2. people in general

pronoun · CEFR B1

people in general, including the speaker and the listener.

For teachers: used to refer to humanity or a general group of people with whom the speaker identifies.

- Nature provides us with everything we need to survive.
- History teaches us that economic cycles are inevitable, yet each generation believes it can avoid the mistakes of the past.

### 3. me

pronoun · CEFR C1 · British English · Dialect · Informal

a casual way to say 'me' in some parts of the UK.

For teachers: used as a first-person singular object pronoun in place of 'me'.

- Give us a look at that newspaper when you're finished.
- He leaned over the counter and whispered, 'Pass us the keys before anyone notices they're missing.'

### 4. we as a group

determiner · CEFR B2

used before a noun to describe a group that the speaker belongs to.

For teachers: functions as a determiner to specify a group that includes the speaker, typically in the objective case.

- It is a difficult time for us students during exam week.
- The new policy has caused significant concern among us residents who have lived in the neighborhood for decades.

### 6. our relationship

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal

the romantic connection or bond between two people.

For teachers: the abstract concept of a shared identity or relationship between the speaker and another person.

- I don't want to argue; I just want to focus on us.
- After years of prioritizing their careers, they finally decided to take a sabbatical to work on the 'us' part of their lives.

## Examples

- Please come and sit with us.
- Our manager asked us to finish the report before the weekend so she could review it on Monday.
- The decision affects all of us equally, regardless of our individual roles within the organization or our length of service.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.