PUNTO DE GRAMÁTICA 2. Spanish Subject Pronouns How they compare with English Subject Pronouns.

PUNTO DE

GRAMÁTICA 2

Spanish Subject Pronouns

How they compare with English Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns

• A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.

• A subject pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun that serves as the subject of a sentence.

Subject Pronouns in General

English and Spanish both make use of subject pronouns. They can be organized as 1st , 2nd, and 3rd person. In English “I” and “we” are 1st person. “I” is 1st person, singular and “we” is 1st person plural. Let’s take a look at how subject pronouns are organized in English.

English Subject Pronouns

I

you you

he

she

it

we

they

1st person

3rd person

2nd person

Singular Plural


In general, Spanish subject pronouns are similar to English pronouns. The major differences are: Spanish has four ways of saying “you”. They are not interchangeable and do not mean the same thing. Also, we do not use “it” as a pronoun often in Spanish. One other major difference involves the use of gender. Let’s take a look.


yo

Tú

Ud.

él

ella

nosotros

nosotras

(vosotros) (vosotras)

Uds.

ellos

ellas

1st person

2nd person

3rd person

Singular Plural

Let’s compare

I = yo

you = tú

you = Ud.

he = él

she = ella

they = ellos*

they = ellas**

*mixed group or all guys **all girls

you = vosotros* you = vosotras**

you = Uds.

we = nosotros*

we = nosotras**1st person

2nd person

3rd person

PluralSingular

Now it is time to learn.

• If you want to learn Spanish, you will need to learn the subject pronouns.

• You can often tell what the subject is by the verb. Therefore in Spanish, it is not always necessary to include the subject.

• Memorize these subject pronouns.

1st 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…

2nd person singular pronoun “TÚ”• Tú means you

(familiar/ informal)

• Used when talking TO someone familiar

• We’ll learn more about this in a moment.

• Usted means you (formal)• Used when talking TO someone you should

respect.• Abbreviated - Ud.• Considered a 2nd person singular pronoun,

but uses the 3rd person singular verb forms. • We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a

moment.

2nd person singular pronoun “Usted (Ud.)”

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”

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)

• 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: “Mi hermano y yo somos de Argentina. Nosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.”

• Juana: “Mi hermana y yo somos de Bolivia. Nosotras vivimos en La Paz.”

• Use the masculine pronoun if it refers to a mixed group:

• Juan: “Mi hermano, mi novia, y yo somos de Argentina. Nosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.”

• Juana: “Mi hermana, mis padres, y yo somos de Bolivia. Nosotros vivimos en La Paz.

1st person plural pronoun “Nosotros / Nosotras”

yo

yo

• Use vosotros/ vosotras to talk TO a group of people that includes the word you’”.

• In English we have one word to talk about “you all,” but in Spanish, we distinguish between “you all” masculine and feminine:

• Juan: “Mi hermano y tú sois de Argentina. Vosotros vivís en Buenos Aires.”

• Juana: “Mi hermana y tú sois de Bolivia. Vosotras vivimos en La Paz.”

• Use the masculine pronoun if it refers to a mixed group:

• Juan: “Mi hermano, mi novia, y tú sois de Argentina. Vosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.”

• Juana: “Mi hermana, mis padres, y tú sois de Bolivia. Vosotros vivimos en La Paz.

2nd person plural pronoun “Vosotros / Vosotras”

• Usted means you you formal• Abbreviated - Uds.• Considered a 2rd person plural

pronoun, but uses the 3rd person singular verb forms.

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

2nd person plural pronoun “Ustedes (Uds.)”

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:

• Jorge y Pepe son mexicanos. Ellos son de Guadalajara.

• Jorge y Ana son alumnos. Ellos son amigos también.

• 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:• Sofía y Ana son estudiantes. Ellas son amigas

también.

• Please pronounce it correctly. – It sounds like (eh-yahs) not (el-lahs)– Remember ll= y sound.

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.)

• 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 vs. Usted

Tú = you (informal/familiar)

Use “tú” when talking to people with whom you are on a first name basis. friends family small children people younger than you pets

Usted (Ud.) = you (formal)

Use “Usted” when talking with people to whom you should show respect. People in authority (police, teachers, bosses, etc.)

StrangersAcquaintancesAdults

¿ Tú o usted?

María

Tú

Señor Gómez

Usted

Señora Ibarra

Usted

Eduardo

Tú

Juanita

Tú

Doctora Martínez

Usted

Señor GonzálezUsted

CarlaTú

la policíaUsted

• In Spanish there are three ways to say “all of you” or “you all”– Vosotros– Vosotras– Ustedes (Uds.)

• Vosotros/vosotras are the plural forms of tú used primarily in Spain.

• Ustedes is the plural form of usted in Latin America.

• Vosotros is used when talking to a familiar group of males or a mixed group.

• Vosotras is used when the entire group is female.

Differences – Y’all

¿Ustedes (Uds.), vosotros o vosotras?

María y tú (boy) (in Spain)

Vosotros

Tú María

Silvia y tú (girl) (in Spain)

Vosotras

Tú Silvia

Silvia y tú(in Latin America)

Tú Silvia

Ustedes (Uds.)

María y tú(in Latin America)

Ustedes (Uds.)

Tú María

Señor Gómez y tú

Ustedes (Uds.)

Señora Ibarra y usted

Ustedes

Eduardo y tú(in Latin America)Ustedes

(Uds.)

TúEduardo

Eduardo y tú (boy)

(in Spain)

TúEduardo

Vosotros

Eduardo y tú (girl) (in

Spain)Vosotros

Tú

Eduardo

Doctora Martínez y tú

Ustedes (Uds.)

Señor González y usted

Ustedes (Uds.)

Determine what subject pronoun can be used to replace the following subjects. Ejemplo: Chancho y Verónica Ellos, 3rd person plural 1. María y yo _____________________________

2. Juan, Julio, y Sofía _____________________________ 3. Los gatos ______________________________ 4. Mi amigo, Francisco ______________________________ 5. Las chicas ______________________________ 6. Tú y María (Spain) _____________________________ 7. Alma ______________________________

Nosotros, Nosotras, 1st person pl

Ellos, 3rd person pl


Él, 3rd person sing

Ellas, 3rd person pl

Vosotros, Vosotras, 2nd person pl

Ella, 1st person sing

8. Carlos ______________________________ 9. Silvia ______________________________ 10. Sr. Martinez y usted ____________________________‘ 11. Usted y yo ______________________________ 12. El Señor Salsa ______________________________ 13. Los maestros ______________________________ 14. Los estudiantes ______________________________


Ella 3rd person sing

Ustedes, 2nd person pl


Él 2nd person sing



15. Marta y ella ______________________________ 16. Marta y Juan ______________________________ 17. Marta y yo (Graciela) ____________________________

18. Carmen y tú (Spain) ____________________________ 19. Sancho ______________________________ 20. Tú y yo (Mario) ______________________________ 21. Luisa y Marisela ______________________________

22. Tú, tú y tú (Spain) _____________________________



Nosotras, 1st person pl






PUNTO DE GRAMÁTICA 2. Spanish Subject Pronouns How they compare with English Subject Pronouns.

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