Subject pronouns In this presentation, we’re going to look at the form and use of the subject pronouns in Spanish. In this presentation, we’re going to look at the form and use of the subject pronouns in Spanish.

And your point is…?  A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun: Jorge = él.  Examples of pronouns in English are: “I, you, he, she, it, we, they.”  Some pronouns have different forms to talk about the same person: “I, me, my, mine, myself.” For right now, we are going to look at one of these forms, but we’ll get to the other forms soon.

Subject Pronouns (Singular)  Yo  Tú  Usted (Ud.)  Él  Ella IIII  You (informal)  You (formal) He  She

Subject Pronouns (Plural)  Nosotros  Nosotras  Vosotros  Vosotras  Ustedes (Uds.)  Ellos  Ellas  We (males)  We (females)  You All (informal)  You All (formal)  They (males)  They (females)

Yo  This 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: ej. Mi amigo y yo…

Tú & usted In Spanish, things are a bit more complicated. There are several ways to express the concept of “you”: tú: one person of about the same age (or younger) that you know quite well. usted (abbreviated Ud.): one person who is older than you, who has a higher social or economic rank, and/or is someone you have just met.

Él y ella These pronouns are used in the same way as their English counterparts: Jorge y Ana son mexicanos. Él es de Guadalajara y ella es de Acapulco. Don’t forget to put the accent mark on “él” (although you rarely see an accent on a capital letter).

Nosotros/nosotras  Nosotros y nosotras  Likewise, 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.”  As is the case with “ellos, ellas,” use the masculine pronoun if it refers to a mixed group:

Wait! There is more! When we want to talk to more than one person (“all of you” or “y’all”), we can use: ustedes (abbreviated Uds.): this is used in most cases, regardless of whether the group you are addressing consists of “tú” or “usted.” vosotros/vosotras: this is used only in Spain and only when everyone in the group is “tú.” We won’t be studying this pronoun form, but just learn to recognize it when you see it.

Ellas/Ellos In English, we have one word to express the idea of “they,” but in Spanish, we distinguish between “they” for masculine and feminine: Jorge y Juan son mexicanos. Ellos son de Guadalajara. Ana y Gloria son mexicanas. Ellas son de Acapulco. Ana y Gloria son mexicanas. Ellas son de Acapulco. If the group is mixed (masculine and feminine), use the masculine pronoun: Jorge y Ana son mexicanos. Ellos son estudiantes en la universidad.

That’s all, folks!