Subject Pronouns
A0–A2Pronouns 4 min
Subject pronouns name who acts: yo, tú, él, ella, usted, nosotros, ellos, ustedes. The verb ending already names the person, so the pronoun drops unless it marks a contrast: Trabajo en un banco. Yo trabajo y él estudia.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A0: choose A0 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A0: choose A0 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA0–A2
| 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. |
OverviewA0–A1
- A subject pronoun names who does the action: the speaker, the listener or someone else. Ella es médica. — She's a doctor.
- A1Choosing between tú, usted and their plurals: Forms of Address.
- A1After a preposition, the pronouns take other forms: Pronouns after Prepositions.
Form: the pronounsA0–A1
| Pronoun | Refers to |
|---|---|
| yo | the speaker |
| tú | one listener you know well |
| usted | one listener, formally |
| él | a man or a boy |
| ella | a woman or a girl |
| nosotros | the speaker and others |
| nosotras | the speaker and other women |
| vosotros | listeners you know well |
| vosotras | women you know well |
| ustedes | listeners, formally |
| ustedes | any group of listeners |
| ellos | men, or men and women |
| ellas | women only |
A1
- usted and ustedes take the verb forms of él and ellos: ¿Usted vive aquí? / Ustedes trabajan mucho. — Do you live here? / You work a lot.
- A group of men and women takes the masculine forms nosotros and ellos: ¿Ana y Pedro? Ellos también son de Chile. — Ana and Pedro? They're from Chile too.
- Latin America: In Argentina, Uruguay and much of Central America, vos takes the place of tú.
When the pronoun appearsA1–A2
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| No pronoun: the verb ending names the person | Hablo español. | I speak Spanish. |
| Contrast between two people | Yo trabajo y tú estudias. | I work and you study. |
| A2To make the person clear, when él, ella and usted share a verb form | ¿Usted es el profesor? | Are you the teacher? |
| A2A short answer without a verb | ¿Quién habla inglés? — Yo. | Who speaks English? — I do. |
A2
- The weather, the time and “it” as a subject take no pronoun: the verb stands alone. Llueve. / Es tarde. — It's raining. / It's late.
Typical errorsA0–A2
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Tú es Pablo? | ¿Tú eres Pablo? | tú takes its own verb form: eres |
| A1¿Usted hablas inglés? | ¿Usted habla inglés? | usted takes the verb form of él |
| A1Ellas son mis padres. | Ellos son mis padres. | a mother and a father together take the masculine form |
| A2¿Quién es? Es yo. | ¿Quién es? Soy yo. | “it's me” is soy yo: the verb agrees with yo |