Subject Pronouns

Pronouns are used to replace nouns and are usually used to avoid repetition. The subject pronouns are used for personal nouns such as I, you, them, etc.

There are some special notes that need to be mentioned when discussing subject pronouns in Spanish:

1. Spanish differentiates between formal and familiar "you", whereas English does not. Therefore you need to know when to use the formal or the familiar. In general, tú (or vos, see note #2 below) is used with friends/peers, children, and pets. Usted would be used with strangers, persons of authority, and elders.

2. The pronoun "vos" is used in certain Latin American countries instead of "tú". The singular familiar pronoun for "you" that is taught in the United States is almost always "tú".

3. The pronoun "vosotros" is used in Spain only, not in Latin America. In Latin America, the plural familiar form for "you" will be "ustedes". Therefore, they use "ustedes" for both the formal and familiar plural.

4. Spanish is a pro-drop language, meaning that the subject pronouns "yo", "tú", "nosotros", & "vosotros" are not required in a sentence as they are easily understood by the verb endings. 

5. Note that while in English 'it' is used a lot in Spanish it is not. Spanish sticks with the actual name of the noun, no replacement


English: The car needs repairs = it needs repairs
vs
Spanish: El carro necesita reparaciones = el carro necesita reparaciones


Still, Spanish does have an 'it' translation which is 'eso' or 'esa' but as you will see from most Spanish grammar books it will not be listed.

	singular	plural
first person	yo	nosotros
second person	tú; vos*	vosotros
third person	él, ella, usted	ellos, ellas, ustedes

yo tú, vos él ella usted nosotros vosotros ellos ellas ustedes

I you (familiar singular) he she you (formal singular)we you (familiar plural) they (masculine, or any group including a male) they (feminine) you (plural)

Make sure to send me questions or comments,

Luis