B
KEY GRAMMAR CONCEPTS
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words that can take the place of nouns. Nouns are people, animals, places, things or ideas. A subject pronoun can serve as the main actor of a sentence. In English, we use subject pronouns all the time. In Spanish, however, subject pronouns are only used for emphasis or clarity.
Here are the subject pronouns in Spanish and their English equivalents:
Helpful Tip
Did you notice that -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs share some common endings but have different ones as well? Study the endings of the verbs carefully. They provide a clue to help you figure out who the subject is.
There are also two ways to say “you all”: vosotros/vosotras and ustedes (Uds.). In most of Spain, vosotros/vosotras is the familiar plural form used when addressing friends.
Vosotros is used when speaking to a group of male friends or to a group of male and female friends; vosotras is used only when addressing female friends. However, in all other areas of the Spanish-speaking world, Uds. is used to mean “you all,” whether speaking to friends or strangers, to men or women.
EXAMPLES
Yo hablo con Chayanne, pero tú cantas con Shakira.
I talk with Chayanne, but you sing with Shakira.
¿Miguel, Isabel? –¡Nosotros estamos aquí!
Miguel? Isabel? –We’re here!
Ellas no comen hamburguesas en la cafetería.
They don’t eat hamburgers in the cafeteria.
Uds. no limpian el sofá.
You all don’t clean the sofa.
Vosotros vivís en Guadalajara, ¿no?
You all live in Guadalajara, don’t you?
Ramón y Mercedes son amigos; él es de México y ella es de Venezuela.*
Ramón and Mercedes are friends; he is from Mexico, and she is from Venezuela.
NOTE
In this sentence, the listener would be confused without “él” and “ella.”