Los pronombres de sujeto (Subject Pronouns)
In Spanish, just like in English, we use subject pronouns to talk about people, animals, or things that perform an action. Words like yo (I), tú (you), and ellos (they) help us know who is doing the action in a sentence. In this section, you will get to know each subject pronoun and learn how and when to use them.
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Singular | Plural | |
1ra persona | Yo ( I ) | Nosotras ( We , fem.) Nosotros ( We , neutral or masc.) Nosotres ( We , inclusive – can be all genders or inclusive to nonbinary folks) |
2da persona | Tú ( You , informal) Vos ( You , informal ) Note: Vos is an informal subject pronoun, used in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and other Central and South American countries. Usted ( You , formal) | Ustedes ( You all/ All of you , gender neutral) Vosotras ( You all , fem.) Vosotros ( You all , neutral or masc.) Vosotres ( You all – gender inclusive) Note: Vosotros is an informal subject pronoun, used only in Spain. |
3ra persona | Ella ( She ) Él ( He ) Elle ( They , gender inclusive ) | Ellas ( They , fem.) Ellos ( They , all masc. or mixed fem. and masc.) Elles ( They , all gender inclusive) |
¿Formal o informal?
In Spanish, there is a formal and informal speech which is important to learn and use depending on who you are interacting with or in the context in which you find yourself. The primary distinction between formal and informal speech lies in the use of the pronoun tú (informal) and usted (formal) to address someone (the verb conjugation will also change depending on the pronoun used). While, generally, tú is used for close friends and family and usted is used with strangers, superiors or when showing respect to the elderly, it is not uncommon for certain countries to use usted among family members. For example, in Colombia many people use the formal pronoun to talk to their mothers and grandmothers as a sign of respect, while in other countries they use tú.
Remember: In some Spanish-speaking countries vos is a synonym of tú, but keep in mind that it is not short for vosotros.
Note: Spanish is a pro-drop language, but what does that mean?
It means that subject pronouns (like yo, tú, él) can often be left out of a sentence because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. For example, instead of saying yo hablo (I speak), you can simply say hablo, the -o ending already shows that the subject is yo.
However, sometimes the subject pronoun is needed, for example, to avoid confusion, add emphasis, or make a contrast. You will learn more about this in the following sections!