Severn Spanish

Subject pronouns I

 

Understanding subject pronouns

Pronouns are words used to replace nouns (or other pronouns). A subject pronoun is a specific type of pronoun that replaces nouns (or pronouns) that are the subject(s) of a verb.

Examples:

1. Marco walks. He walks.

2. Julia and Roberta eat. They eat.

 

The subject pronouns in Spanish

The subject pronouns in English and Spanish are roughly the same, but Spanish makes a few more distinctions about number and gender than English does. Take a look at this chart below, but don't worry if it is totally confusing at first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are three things (in one case, four) that you need to take into consideration when working with subject pronouns: point of view (POV), number, gender, and (sometimes) formality.

Point of view

POV refers to the perspective of the sentence. It can be first person, which means the speaker is talking about himself and uses pronouns like "I" and "we." It can be second person, which means the speaker is talking directly to someone else and uses "you." Finally, it can be third person, which means the speaker is talking about someone or something and uses pronouns like "he," "she," "it," and "they."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number

Number with pronouns is the same as number with nouns: something can be singular (one) or plural (two or more). This means that if your subject consists of one person or thing, you need a singular pronoun, and if it consists of two or more people, you need a plural pronoun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gender

Again, gender with nouns and pronouns is the same. Remember that in a group, if there is even one male, the masculine pronoun must be used. Some subject pronouns don't specify a gender (yo, tú, usted, ustedes), but the majority do. The main difference in this category between Spanish and English is that in Spanish, the plural forms of some pronouns differentiate between males and females. In English, "they" can mean any gender of things, but in Spanish, you have to specify whether those things are male, female, or a mix (which is the same as male).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formality

This is the hardest to understand, because the concept does not really exist in English. In Spanish, tú and usted are both singular forms of "you," but they are used in completely different circumstances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If in doubt, default to usted -- it's more polite, and if someone wants you to "tutear" him or her (use tú when speaking to him or her), he or she will tell you.

The same is true for vosotros/vosotras and ustedes. However, vosotros/vosotras is used only in Spain. In almost all of Latin America, ustedes is used for plural "you," regardless of formality. You may or may not learn more about vosotros/vosotras in a class, but it's good to be aware of. You won't be expected to use it in any examples or practice exercises on this site.

 

Examples

Now let's practice replacing some nouns (and pronouns) with subject pronouns. Remember the four things you need to consider, and use them to gradually eliminate options until you are left with the correct pronoun.

1. Marta

POV -- We are talking about Marta, not to her, so this is 3rd person.

Choices left: él, ella, ellos/ellas

Number -- There is only one person involved, so this is singular.

Choices left: él, ella

Gender -- Marta is a girl, so the gender is feminine.

Choices left: ella

2. Juan y Margarita

POV -- We are talking about Juan and Margarita, so this is 3rd person.

Choices left: él, ella, ellos/ellas

Number -- There are two people involved, so this is plural.

Choices left: ellos/ellas

Gender -- There is one boy involved, so the gender has to be masculine.

Choices left: ellos

3. tú y yo

POV -- This one is tricky. It looks like there is second person (tú) and first person (yo). A trick to remember is to look for first person first, second person second, and third person third. So if you find first person, that is the POV. Therefore this subject is 1st person.

Choices left: yo, nosotros/nosotras

Number -- There are two people involved, so plural.

Choices left: nosotros/nosotras

Gender -- There is no gender specified for this subject, because both subject pronouns could be either gender. It is safest to default to the masculine, however.

Choices left: nosotros

4. Rico y usted

POV -- Look for first person first. There are no first person pronouns, so move on to look for second person. Usted is a second person pronoun, so this subject is 2nd person.

Choices left: tú, usted, ustedes

Number -- There are two people involved, so plural.

Choices left: ustedes

In this case, you don't even need to worry about gender, since ustedes does not specify gender.

 

Practice