⇒ Subject pronouns are pronouns that identify who or what is performing the action of a verb.
⇒ Telling a story can get tiring pretty quickly if you have to keep saying every person's name over and over
⇒ This is where personal pronouns like subject pronouns come in handy.
⇒ Subject pronouns often replace a subject noun and can be classified several different ways: by person (first, second, or third person), number (singular or plural), gender (male or female), and formality (formal or informal).
⇒ Luckily, we've provided a snazzy chart so you have all the Spanish subject pronouns in one place.
⇒ While subject pronouns can be used to replace a person's name, many native speakers of Spanish rarely use them at all. This is because Spanish verb endings tell you who the subject is.
| Spanish | English | Person | Number | Gender | Formality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | I | first person | singular | -- | -- |
| nosotros | we | first person | plural | masculine | -- |
| nosotras | we | first person | plural | feminine | -- |
| tú | you | second person | singular | -- | informal |
| usted | you | second person | singular | -- | formal |
| ustedes | you | second person | plural | -- | formal (Spain), both formal and informal (Latin America) |
| vosotros | you | second person | plural | masculine | informal (Spain) |
| vosotras | you | second person | plural | feminine | informal (Spain) |
| él | he | third person | singular | masculine | -- |
| ella | she | third person | singular | feminine | -- |
| ellos | they | third person | plural | masculine | -- |
| ellas | they | third person | plural | feminine |
⇒ It isn't necessary to capitalize yo in Spanish unless it is the first word in a sentence.
| Mi mamá y yo fuimos a la tienda.My mom and I went to the store. |
| Yo fui a la tienda solo.I went to the store by myself. |
⇒ When you are talking directly to a child, a relative, a friend, a peer, or a pet, you should use tú, the informal singular second person.
⇒ Tú is written with a tilde to distinguish it from the possessive adjective tu (your)
⇒ Usted is used to directly address someone older, a person you do not know, a superior, or someone to whom you would like to show respect.
⇒ You can abbreviate usted as Ud. in writing.
⇒ Él and ella are commonly used in place of a person's name.
⇒ Él is written with a tilde to differentiate it from the definite article el (the)
⇒ Use nosotros or nosotras when speaking about a group of which you are a part.
⇒ The difference between nosotros and nosotras is gender.
⇒ Vosotros and vosotras are used to speak directly to a group of people you are very familiar with.
⇒ Vosotros and vosotras follow the same rules for gender as nosotros and nosotras.
⇒ Vosotros and vosotras are used in Spain, but you won't hear them in Latin America.
⇒ In Latin America, ustedes is used to speak directly to a group of people in both formal and informal situations.
⇒ In Spain, ustedes is used when talking to a group of people in a formal situation.
⇒ You can abbreviate ustedes as Uds. in writing.
⇒ Ellos and ellas follow the same rules for gender as nosotros, nosotras, vosotros and vosotras.