Subject Pronouns in Spanish
Spanish Grammar Rules: Pronombres Personales
The subject pronouns in Spanish are:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | yo | nosotros, nosotras |
| 2nd Person | tú, usted | vosotros, vosotras, ustedes |
| 3rd Person | él, ella | ellos, ellas |
1st Person = the person who is speaking
2nd Person = the person you are speaking to or listening to
3rd Person = the person you are talking about
An explanation of what each Personal Pronoun is:
| Personal Pronoun | Situation | |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | I | = it refers to yourself |
| Tú | You | = the person you are speaking to - informal (family or friend) |
| Vos | You | = you in Argentina |
| Usted | You | = the person you are speaking to - formal (respect, older people) |
| Él | He | = man or boy (another person) |
| Ella | She | = woman or girl (another person) |
| Nosotros * | We | = tú + yo OR Usted + yo |
| Nosotras * | We (fem) | = tú + yo OR Usted + yo (both are women / girls) |
| Vosotros | You | = tú + tú (this is not used much in Latin America) |
| Vosotras | You (fem) | = tú + tú (only women - this is not used much in Latin America) |
| Ellos ** | They | = él + él OR él + ella |
| Ellas ** | They (fem) | = ella + ella (only women or girls) |
| Ustedes | You | = Usted + Usted (= tú + tú in Latin America) |
* Nosotros vs Nosotras
There are two ways of saying "We" in Spanish depending on who is speaking or in the "group".
If there is at least one man (or boy) in the "group" of people, then "We" will be Nosotros in Spanish.
If there are only women (or girls) in the group, and no men, then "We" will be Nosotras in Spanish.
You (man) + Man = Nosotros (= yo + él)
You (man) + Woman = Nosotros (= yo + ella)
You (woman) + Man = Nosotros (= yo + él)
You (woman) + Woman = Nosotras (= yo + ella)
** Ellos vs Ellas
The same applies to "They" (ellos or ellos). If there is one or more men in the group, then it will be ellos.
If everyone in the group is female, then you would use ellas.
Subject Pronouns in Spanish - Summary Charts
Next Activities
Try our interactive Spanish Grammar Games to practice Subject Pronouns:
Game: Choose the correct Personal Pronoun for the Verb
Game: Choose the English translation of the Personal Pronoun that appears in Spanish
You may want to check out the difference between Tú and Tu in Spanish.
Ver nuestra página de los pronombres personales en español.
For Teachers and Parents
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