Cheatsheet: Pronouns
Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | yo / tú / él / ella / usted | ¿Tú eres Pablo? | Are you Pablo? |
| Plural | nosotros / nosotras / ellos / ellas / ustedes | Ellos son mis padres. | They're my parents. |
| Plural “you” | ustedes for any group: friends or strangers | ¿Ustedes son hermanos? | Are you brothers? |
| Plural “you” | vosotros / vosotras for friends and family, ustedes for strangers | ¿Vosotros sois hermanos? | Are you brothers? |
| A1Usted | formal “you”: it takes the verb form of él | ¿Usted habla inglés? | Do you speak English? |
| A1No pronoun | the verb ending names the person, so the pronoun drops | Vivo en Lima. | I live in Lima. |
| A1Contrast | the pronoun stays to set two people apart | Yo trabajo y tú estudias. | I work and you study. |
| A1Mixed group | men and women together take nosotros or ellos | ¿Ana y Pedro? Ellos también son de Chile. | Ana and Pedro? They're from Chile too. |
| A2Trap | “it” as a subject has no pronoun: the verb stands alone | Llueve. | It's raining. |
Forms of Address: tú, usted, vosotros, ustedes
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | one person you know well: friends, family, children | ¿Tienes hambre? | Are you hungry? |
| usted | one person, formally: strangers, older people, customers | ¿Tiene usted hora? | Do you have the time? |
| ustedes | any group: friends or strangers | Chicos, ¿tienen hambre? | Guys, are you hungry? |
| vosotros | a group you know well | Chicos, ¿tenéis hambre? | Guys, are you hungry? |
| ustedes | a group, formally | ¿Qué desean, señores? | What would you like? |
| A2Possessive | usted and ustedes take su for “your” | ¿Es su maleta, señor? | Is this your suitcase, sir? |
| A2Object | usted takes lo, la and le, like él and ella | Señora, la llamo mañana. | Madam, I'll call you tomorrow. |
| A2vos | replaces tú in Argentina, Uruguay and Central America | ¿Vos tenés tiempo? | Do you have time? |
| Trap | usted takes the verb form of él, never of tú | ¿Usted es de aquí? | Are you from here? |
Direct Object Pronouns and Personal a
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | me / te / lo / la / nos / los / las | Te quiero. | I love you. |
| Form | os for vosotros | Os espero en casa. | I'll wait for you at home. |
| Gender and number | the pronoun takes the gender and number of the noun | ¿La sopa? La hago yo. | The soup? I'll make it. |
| Position | before a conjugated verb | Lo compro hoy. | I'm buying it today. |
| Position | attached to an infinitive or a gerund, or before the whole phrase | Voy a comprarlo = Lo voy a comprar | I'm going to buy it. |
| Personal a | a before a specific person or a pet | Veo a María. | I can see María. |
| B1Personal a | a before quién / alguien / nadie | No conozco a nadie. | I don't know anybody. |
| An idea | lo replaces an idea or a whole sentence | No lo sé. | I don't know. |
| Trap | tener takes no a, even before people | Tengo dos hermanos. | I have two brothers. |
| Trap | a el → al | Llamo al médico. | I'm calling the doctor. |
Indirect Object Pronouns
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | me / te / le / nos / les | Te mando un mensaje. | I'll send you a message. |
| Form | os for vosotros | Os traigo un regalo. | I'm bringing you a present. |
| Meaning | the person who receives something: to whom, for whom | Le compro flores a mi madre. | I'm buying my mother flowers. |
| No gender | le serves a man, a woman and usted | Le escribo a Ana. | I'm writing to Ana. |
| Doubling | le or les stays beside a + person | Les escribo a mis padres. | I write to my parents. |
| Clarity | a él / a ella / a usted make le clear | Le escribo a ella, no a él. | I'm writing to her, not to him. |
| Position | like the direct object: before the conjugated verb, or attached | Voy a escribirle = Le voy a escribir | I'm going to write to him. |
| Trap | preguntar takes an indirect object: le | Le pregunto a Juan. | I'm asking Juan. |
Two Pronouns Together: se lo
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1Order | indirect object + direct object | ¿El dinero? Te lo doy mañana. | The money? I'll give it to you tomorrow. |
| se | le / les → se before lo / la / los / las | ¿Las llaves? Se las doy a Pedro. | The keys? I'm giving them to Pedro. |
| B1os | os comes first too: os lo, os las | ¿Las fotos? Os las mando hoy. | The photos? I'll send them to you today. |
| Clarity | a él / a ella / a ellos show who se is | Se lo digo a ella. | I'll tell her. |
| B1Position | both before a conjugated verb, side by side | No me lo dice. | He doesn't tell me. |
| B1Position | both attached to an infinitive or a gerund, or both before the phrase | Voy a dártelo = Te lo voy a dar | I'm going to give it to you. |
| B1Command | both attached to an affirmative command | Dámelo. | Give it to me. |
| B1Accent | the verb keeps its stress, so it takes a written accent | dártelo / dándoselo | to give it to you / giving it to him |
| Trap | le never stands before lo: it is always se lo | Se lo explico. | I'll explain it to him. |
Pronouns after Prepositions: mí, ti, conmigo
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | yo → mí, tú → ti | Este café es para mí. | This coffee is for me. |
| Form | the rest as subject forms: él, ella, usted, nosotros, ellos, ustedes | Hablo con ella. | I'm talking to her. |
| Form | vosotros and vosotras keep their form | Es para vosotros. | It's for you. |
| Form | vos keeps its form: para vos, con vos | Esto es para vos. | This is for you. |
| con | conmigo and contigo for “with me” and “with you” (tú) | ¿Vienes conmigo? | Are you coming with me? |
| B1Subject forms | entre / según / excepto take yo and tú | Entre tú y yo. | Between you and me. |
| Emphasis | a mí / a ti go with me / te to stress the person | A mí me encanta. | I love it. |
| Trap | mí takes a written accent; ti never does | Esto es para ti. | This is for you. |