Subject Pronouns
What’s a pronoun? *Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns Example: We are friends. Nosotros somos amigos.
What’s a subject pronoun? *When the pronoun is the subject (the person doing the action) of the sentence, it is called a subject pronoun. *Subject pronouns tell who (or what) is being described or who (or what) does the action in a sentence. Example: The dolphin is swimming. It is swimming.
Subject Pronouns I we you (you all) he, she, it they Subject pronouns in English: I we you (you all) he, she, it they
Subject Pronouns yo tú nosotros nosotras vosotros vosotras él ellos Subject pronouns in Spanish: nosotros nosotras yo vosotros vosotras tú él ella Ud. (it) ellos ellas Uds.
First person singular pronoun *Yo means I *Yo is used mostly same way in Spanish as in English, when talking about yourself *It is not capitalized unless it’s at the beginning of a sentence Example: I am a crazy cat. Yo soy un gato loco.
Second person singular pronoun *Tú means you (informal or familiar) * Tú is used when speaking to someone (just like in English) Example: You are a student. Tú eres un estudiante.
Third person singular pronouns *Él means he *You must have the accent mark or else it means “the” *Él is used to talk about a guy Example: He is He-Man. Él es He-Man.
Third person singular pronouns *Ella means she *Remember, it’s pronounced “eh-ya” *Ella is used to talk about a girl Example: She is She-ra. Ella es She-ra.
Third person singular pronouns *Usted (Ud.) means you (formal) *Usted is used when talking to someone *Usted “lives” with él and ella in our chart…you will understand why soon! Example: You are the Queen of England. Usted es la Reina de Inglaterra.
First person plural pronouns *Nosotros and nosotras mean we *Nosotros is used when a guy is part of the “we” *Nosotras is used when everyone is a girl *Nosotros and nosotras are used to talk about you and someone else Example: We are friends. Nosotros somos amigos.
Second person plural pronouns *Vosotros and vosotras mean you all *Vosotros is used when a guy is part of the “you all” *Vosotras is used when everyone in the “you all” is a girl *Vosotros and vosotras are used to talk to a group of people *The vosotros form is used only in Spain *The vosotros form is the informal or familiar way of saying “you all” (like tú)
Second person plural pronouns *Vosotros and vosotras are important to recognize and learn, but we won’t use them regularly Example: You all are in Spanish class. Vosotros estáis en la clase de español.
Third person plural pronouns *Ellos means they (with a guy) *Ellos is used when talking about a group of people (with at least one guy) Example: They are the members of One Direction. Ellos son los miembros de One Direction.
Third person plural pronouns *Ellas means they (all girls) *Ellas is used when talking about a group of girls (only girls) Example: They are the members of the Spice Girls. Ellas son los miembros de los Spice Girls.
Third person plural pronouns *Ustedes (Uds.) means you all *Ustedes is the formal version of vosotros/vosotras *Ustedes is used when talking to a group of people Example: You all are teenagers. Ustedes son adolescentes.
Third person plural pronouns *Ustedes is used in most parts of the Spanish-speaking world instead of vosotros *In Spain, ustedes is only used when addressing a group formally *In this class, I will generally used “ustedes” when talking to you as a class