SUBJECT PRONOUNS

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a

noun.
WHAT IS A PRONOUN?
 It’s a word used instead of a noun (or a phrase
containing a noun)
Example: `He', `it', `who', and `anything' are
pronouns.
 When the pronoun is the subject (the person
doing the action) of the sentence, it is called a
Subject Pronoun.
Example: Bob is swimming. He is swimming.
WHAT ARE THE ENGLISH SUBJECT PRONOUNS?

Singular Plural

1st person I We

2nd person You You (all)

3rd person He, She, It They

ENGLISH SUBJECT PRONOUNS AND THEIR
SPANISH EQUIVALENTS
 Spanish subject pronouns are similar to English,
but there are some differences.

Singular Plural

1st We = nosotros (m)

I = Yo
person Nosotras (f)

You (plural, familiar) =

2nd
You (familiar) = tú vosotros
person
vosotras

He = él They (m) = Ellos

3rd
She = ella They (f) = Ellas
person
You (formal) = Usted (Ud.) You (plural) = Ustedes (Uds.)
 THE FIRST PERSON SINGULAR PRONOUN
“YO”
 “Yo” 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:
 Mi amigo y yo…
 SECOND PERSON SINGULAR PRONOUN
TÚ

 Tú means you (familiar/

informal)
 Used when talking to
someone familiar
 We’ll learn more about
this in a moment.
 3RD PERSON SINGULAR MASCULINE
ÉL
 Él = he
 It is used when talking ABOUT a boy/guy/man.

 used in the same way as its English counterpart:

 Jorge es mexicano. Él es de Guadalajara.
 DON’T forget the accent mark. If you do, you are
actually writing the Spanish word for “the”
 él = he el = the
 3RD PERSON SINGULAR FEMININE
ELLA

 Ella = she
 It is used when talking ABOUT a girl/woman.

 used in the same way as its English counterpart:

 Rosa es mexicana. Ella es de Acapulco.
 Please pronounce it correctly.
 It sounds like (eh-yah) not (el-lah)
 Remember ll= y sound.
 FORMAL YOU
USTED (UD.)
 Usted means you (formal)
 Used when talking to someone you should respect.

 Abbriviated Capital U lower case d period. (Ud.)

 Considered a 3rd person singular pronoun.

 We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a moment.

 THE FIRST PERSON PLURAL PRONOUN
“NOSOTROS / NOSOTRAS”
 Use nosotros/ nosotras to talk about
a group of people that includes you.
 in English we have one word to talk
about “we,” but in Spanish, we
distinguish between “we” masculine
and feminine:
 Juan: “Nosotros vivimos en Buenos
Aires.”
 Juana: “Nosotras vivimos en La Paz.”
 use the masculine pronoun if it refers
to a mixed group:
 Juan: “Nosotros vivimos en Buenos
Aires.”
 Juana: “Nosotros vivimos en La Paz.”
 3RD PERSON PLURAL MASCULINE
ELLOS
 Ellos = They (masculine)
 It is used when talking
ABOUT a group of
boys/guys/men or a mixed
group.
 used in the same way as its
English counterpart:
 Ellos son de Guadalajara.
 Please pronounce it correctly.
 It sounds like (eh-yohs) not (el-
lohs)
 Remember ll= y sound.
 3RD PERSON PLURAL FEMININE
ELLAS

 Ellas = They (feminine)

 It is used when talking ABOUT a group of only females.

 used in the same way as its English counterpart:

 Ellas son amigas también (also).
 Please pronounce it correctly.
 It sounds like (eh-yahs) not (el-lahs)
 Remember ll= y sound.
 FORMAL YOU PLURAL
USTEDES (UDS.)
 Abbriviated Capital “U”, lower case “d”, lower
case “s” period. (Uds.)
 Considered a 3rd person plural pronoun.

 We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a

moment.
YOU, YOU, AND YOU
 In English, there is only one “YOU”. It is
singular and plural, masculine and feminine,
formal and informal
 Note: y’all or you all is not standard English, but we
will use it to help learn the Spanish forms of “you”.
 In Spanish there are 5 ways to express “you”
 tú
 usted (Ud.)
 vosotros
 vosotras
 ustedes (Uds.)
DIFFERENCES – YOU: TÚ VS. USTED
 Let’s look at the singular forms first. Each one
has a specific time when it used. If you use the
wrong one, it can be offensive to the person with
whom you are speaking.

Tú = you (informal/familiar) Usted (Ud.) = you (formal)

Use “tú” when talking to people Use “Usted” when talking with people
with whom you are on a first to whom you should show respect.
name basis. People in authority
friends (police, teachers, bosses, etc.)
family Strangers
small children Acquaintances
people younger than you Adults
pets
DIFFERENCES – Y’ALL
 In Spanish there are three ways to say “all of you”
 Vosotros
 Vosotras
 Ustedes (Uds.)

 Vosotros/vosotras are the plural forms of tú. Ustedes

is the plural form of usted.
 Vosotros is used when talking to a familiar group of
males or a mixed group.
 Vosotras is the feminine form of vosotros and is used
when the entire group is female
 These two familiar forms are used primarily in Spain.
DIFFERENCES – Y’ALL
 The plural you form “ustedes (Uds.)” Is used
differently in Spain and Latin America.
 In Spain, vosotros/as is used when talking to an
informal group. Uds. is used to address a formal
group.
 In Latin America, Uds. is generally used in both
formal and informal situations. (They don’t use
vosotros/as)
 REVIEW
Yo = I Nosotros/as = we
First person singular First person plural
Not capitalized unless the first distinguish between “we” masculine
word of the sentence and feminine
Used to talk ABOUT yourself Used to talk ABOUT yourself and
friends
Tú = You (singular, informal/familiar) Vosotros/as = You (singular, familiar)
Second person Singular Second person Plural
Use it to talk TO a person that is a Use it to talk TO a group of friends or
friend or family member family members.
Third person singular Third person plural
Él = he Ellos = They (masculine)
Don’t forget the accent It is used when talking ABOUT a group
Use it to talk ABOUT a guy. of boys/guys/men or a mixed group.
Ella = she Ellas = They (feminine)
Use it to talk ABOUT a girl. It is used when talking ABOUT a group
Watch the pronunciation. of only females.
Ud. = You (singular, formal) Uds. = You (plural)
Use it to talk TO a person that is due Use it to talk TO a group of people
respect.