Download Subject Pronouns

Los Pronombres
pronouns
Subject Pronouns
• In this presentation we’re going to look
at the form and use of subject pronouns
in Spanish.
Lets Get Started!
• Compare these two sentences
• Jorge es mexicano.
• Él es mexicano.
•In the first sentence, we name the
person who is Mexican.
•In the second sentence, we
replace the person’s name with the
word ‘él’.
And your point is…?!
•A pronoun is a word that replaces a
noun: e.g. Jorge = él.
•Examples of pronouns in English are :
We, You, He, She, It, I & They.
•These particular examples are all
subject pronouns or pronouns used only
when replacing subjects of verbs.
Here are your
subject pronouns
in Spanish!!
Subject Pronouns (Singular)
•I
• You (informal)
• You (formal)
• He
• She
• Yo
• Tú
• Usted (Ud.)
• Él
• Ella
Subject Pronouns (Plural)
• We (males)
• We (females)
• (Vosotros-informal in
Spain)
• You All (informal &
formal)
• They (males)
• They (females)
• Nosotros
• Nosotras
• (Y’all)
• Ustedes (Uds.)
• Ellos
• Ellas
You Who?
• Tú, usted, and ustedes
all mean “you.”
• Use tú with family, friends,
people your age or
younger, and anyone you
call by his or her first
name.
You Who?
• Use usted with adults you
address with a title, such
as señor, señora,
profesor, etc. Usted is a
more formal address and
is usually written as Ud.
Hey, you!
• In most countries, use
ustedes when speaking to
two or more people,
regardless of age or
formality. Ustedes is
usually written as Uds.
That’s confusing!
• Not really, here’s a summary!
• Singular
informal→ tú
formal→ Usted (Ud.)
• Plural
formal & informal→ Ustedes
(Uds.)
Subject Pronouns
For the purposes of
instructions, I will use the
following abbreviations all
year long to distinguish the
different forms of ‘You’.
Be Prepared to Memorize!!!
Abbreviations
You
= Tú
You (F) = Usted/(Ud.)
You (P) = Ustedes/
(Uds)
Masculine or Feminine?
• If a group is made up of
males only or of both
males and females
together, use the
masculine forms:
nosotros or ellos.
Masculine or Feminine?
• Only when a group is
made up of ALL females
do you use the feminine
forms: nosotras or ellas.
Subject Pronouns
• You can combine a
subject pronoun and a
name to form a
subject.
Subject Pronouns
• Alejandro y yo = nosotros
• Carlos y ella = ellos
• Pepe y tú = ustedes
• Lola y ella = ellas
Other Helpful Tips
• Don’t forget the accent
marks!!
• Él (w/ accent) means ‘He’.
• El (w/o accent) means
‘The’.
More Helpful Tips
• Unlike ‘I’ in English, ‘yo’ is
only capitalized when it
begins a sentence:
Mi amigo y yo somos...
One More Point!
• In English we always have to
use a subject pronoun. Look
at these sentences:
Went to the store.
Speaks German.
• Without the pronouns these
sentences make no sense!
Spanish is Different!
• Spanish sentences frequently
drop the subject pronoun
when they are NOT needed to
clarify who we are talking
about:
Somos norteamericanos.
Soy alumna.
And finally…
Did you notice ‘it’ is a subject
pronoun in English?
In Spanish, there is NO word for
‘it’ as a subject. You simply
conjugate the verb in the
él/ella/Ud. form!!!