PUNTO DE
GRAMÁTICA 2
Spanish Subject Pronouns
How they compare with English Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns
• A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
• A subject pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun that serves as the subject of a sentence.
Subject Pronouns in General
English and Spanish both make use of subject pronouns. They can be organized as 1st , 2nd, and 3rd person. In English “I” and “we” are 1st person. “I” is 1st person, singular and “we” is 1st person plural. Let’s take a look at how subject pronouns are organized in English.
English Subject Pronouns
I
you you
he
she
it
we
they
1st person
3rd person
2nd person
Singular Plural
Spanish Subject Pronouns
In general, Spanish subject pronouns are similar to English pronouns. The major differences are: Spanish has four ways of saying “you”. They are not interchangeable and do not mean the same thing. Also, we do not use “it” as a pronoun often in Spanish. One other major difference involves the use of gender. Let’s take a look.
Spanish Subject Pronouns
yo
Tú
Ud.
él
ella
nosotros
nosotras
(vosotros) (vosotras)
Uds.
ellos
ellas
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular Plural
Let’s compare
I = yo
you = tú
you = Ud.
he = él
she = ella
they = ellos*
they = ellas**
*mixed group or all guys **all girls
you = vosotros* you = vosotras**
you = Uds.
we = nosotros*
we = nosotras**1st person
2nd person
3rd person
PluralSingular
Now it is time to learn.
• If you want to learn Spanish, you will need to learn the subject pronouns.
• You can often tell what the subject is by the verb. Therefore in Spanish, it is not always necessary to include the subject.
• Memorize these subject pronouns.
1st person singular pronoun “YO”
• “Yo” means “I” and is used in the same way as in English. – Yo soy americano. – Yo soy estudiante.
• Note that it is not capitalized unless it starts a sentence: – Mi amigo y yo…
2nd person singular pronoun “TÚ”• Tú means you
(familiar/ informal)
• Used when talking TO someone familiar
• We’ll learn more about this in a moment.
• Usted means you (formal)• Used when talking TO someone you should
respect.• Abbreviated - Ud.• Considered a 2nd person singular pronoun,
but uses the 3rd person singular verb forms. • We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a
moment.
2nd person singular pronoun “Usted (Ud.)”
3rd person singular masculine “ÉL”
• Él = he• It is used when talking ABOUT a
boy/guy/man.• used in the same way as its English
counterpart:– Jorge es mexicano. Él es de Guadalajara.
• DON’T forget the accent mark. If you do, you are actually writing the Spanish word for “the”
3rd person singular feminine “ELLA”
• Ella = she• It is used when talking ABOUT a
girl/woman.• used in the same way as its English
counterpart:– Rosa es mexicana. Ella es de
Acapulco.• Please pronounce it correctly.
– It sounds like (eh-yah) not (el-lah)
• Use nosotros/ nosotras to talk ABOUT a group of people that includes you.
• In English we have one word to talk about “we,” but in Spanish, we distinguish between “we” masculine and feminine:
• Juan: “Mi hermano y yo somos de Argentina. Nosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.”
• Juana: “Mi hermana y yo somos de Bolivia. Nosotras vivimos en La Paz.”
• Use the masculine pronoun if it refers to a mixed group:
• Juan: “Mi hermano, mi novia, y yo somos de Argentina. Nosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.”
• Juana: “Mi hermana, mis padres, y yo somos de Bolivia. Nosotros vivimos en La Paz.
1st person plural pronoun “Nosotros / Nosotras”
yo
yo
• Use vosotros/ vosotras to talk TO a group of people that includes the word you’”.
• In English we have one word to talk about “you all,” but in Spanish, we distinguish between “you all” masculine and feminine:
• Juan: “Mi hermano y tú sois de Argentina. Vosotros vivís en Buenos Aires.”
• Juana: “Mi hermana y tú sois de Bolivia. Vosotras vivimos en La Paz.”
• Use the masculine pronoun if it refers to a mixed group:
• Juan: “Mi hermano, mi novia, y tú sois de Argentina. Vosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.”
• Juana: “Mi hermana, mis padres, y tú sois de Bolivia. Vosotros vivimos en La Paz.
2nd person plural pronoun “Vosotros / Vosotras”
• Usted means you you formal• Abbreviated - Uds.• Considered a 2rd person plural
pronoun, but uses the 3rd person singular verb forms.
• We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a moment.
2nd person plural pronoun “Ustedes (Uds.)”
3rd person Plural masculine“Ellos”
• Ellos = They (masculine)• It is used when talking ABOUT
a group of boys/guys/men or a mixed group.
• Used in the same way as its English counterpart:
• Jorge y Pepe son mexicanos. Ellos son de Guadalajara.
• Jorge y Ana son alumnos. Ellos son amigos también.
• Please pronounce it correctly. • It sounds like (eh-yohs) not
(el-lohs)• Remember ll= y sound.
3rd person plural feminine“Ellas”
• Ellas = They (feminine)• It is used when talking ABOUT a group of
only females.• used in the same way as its English
counterpart:• Sofía y Ana son estudiantes. Ellas son amigas
también.
• Please pronounce it correctly. – It sounds like (eh-yahs) not (el-lahs)– Remember ll= y sound.
YOU, You, and You?• In English, there is only one “YOU”. It is
singular and plural, masculine and feminine, formal and informal
• Note: y’all or you all is not standard English, but we will use it to help learn the Spanish forms of “you”.
• In Spanish there are 5 ways to express “you”
• tú• usted (Ud.)• vosotros• vosotras• ustedes (Uds.)
• Let’s look at the singular forms first. Each one has a specific time when it used. If you use the wrong one, it can be offensive to the person with whom you are speaking.
Tú vs. Usted
Tú = you (informal/familiar)
Use “tú” when talking to people with whom you are on a first name basis. friends family small children people younger than you pets
Usted (Ud.) = you (formal)
Use “Usted” when talking with people to whom you should show respect. People in authority (police, teachers, bosses, etc.)
StrangersAcquaintancesAdults
¿ Tú o usted?
María
Tú
Señor Gómez
Usted
Señora Ibarra
Usted
Eduardo
Tú
Juanita
Tú
Doctora Martínez
Usted
Señor GonzálezUsted
CarlaTú
la policíaUsted
• In Spanish there are three ways to say “all of you” or “you all”– Vosotros– Vosotras– Ustedes (Uds.)
• Vosotros/vosotras are the plural forms of tú used primarily in Spain.
• Ustedes is the plural form of usted in Latin America.
• Vosotros is used when talking to a familiar group of males or a mixed group.
• Vosotras is used when the entire group is female.
Differences – Y’all
¿Ustedes (Uds.), vosotros o vosotras?
María y tú (boy) (in Spain)
Vosotros
Tú María
Silvia y tú (girl) (in Spain)
Vosotras
Tú Silvia
Silvia y tú(in Latin America)
Tú Silvia
Ustedes (Uds.)
María y tú(in Latin America)
Ustedes (Uds.)
Tú María
Señor Gómez y tú
Ustedes (Uds.)
Señora Ibarra y usted
Ustedes
Eduardo y tú(in Latin America)Ustedes
(Uds.)
TúEduardo
Eduardo y tú (boy)
(in Spain)
TúEduardo
Vosotros
Eduardo y tú (girl) (in
Spain)Vosotros
Tú
Eduardo
Doctora Martínez y tú
Ustedes (Uds.)
Señor González y usted
Ustedes (Uds.)
Determine what subject pronoun can be used to replace the following subjects. Ejemplo: Chancho y Verónica Ellos, 3rd person plural 1. María y yo _____________________________
2. Juan, Julio, y Sofía _____________________________ 3. Los gatos ______________________________ 4. Mi amigo, Francisco ______________________________ 5. Las chicas ______________________________ 6. Tú y María (Spain) _____________________________ 7. Alma ______________________________
Nosotros, Nosotras, 1st person pl
Ellos, 3rd person pl
Ellos, 3rd person pl
Él, 3rd person sing
Ellas, 3rd person pl
Vosotros, Vosotras, 2nd person pl
Ella, 1st person sing
8. Carlos ______________________________ 9. Silvia ______________________________ 10. Sr. Martinez y usted ____________________________‘ 11. Usted y yo ______________________________ 12. El Señor Salsa ______________________________ 13. Los maestros ______________________________ 14. Los estudiantes ______________________________
Él, 3rd person sing
Ella 3rd person sing
Ustedes, 2nd person pl
Nosotros, Nosotras, 1st person pl
Él 2nd person sing
Ellos, 3rd person pl
Ellos, 3rd person pl
15. Marta y ella ______________________________ 16. Marta y Juan ______________________________ 17. Marta y yo (Graciela) ____________________________
18. Carmen y tú (Spain) ____________________________ 19. Sancho ______________________________ 20. Tú y yo (Mario) ______________________________ 21. Luisa y Marisela ______________________________
22. Tú, tú y tú (Spain) _____________________________
Ellas, 3rd person pl
Ellos, 3rd person pl
Nosotras, 1st person pl
Vosotros, Vosotras, 2nd person pl
Él, 3rd person sing
Nosotros, Nosotras, 1st person pl
Ellas, 3rd person pl
Vosotros, Vosotras, 2nd person pl