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. 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 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd person. In English “I” and “we” are 1 st person. “I” is 1 st person, singular and “we” is 1 st person plural. Let’s take a look at how subject pronouns are organized in English.

English Subject Pronouns I you he she it we they 1 st person 3 rd person 2 nd person Singular Plural

Spanish Subject Pronouns 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.

Spanish Subject Pronouns yo Tú Ud. él ella nosotros nosotras (vosotros) (vosotras) Uds. ` ellos ellas 1 st person 2 nd person 3 rd person SingularPlural

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** 1 st person 2 nd person 3 rd person Plural Singular

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.

1 st 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…

2 nd 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 2 nd person singular pronoun, but uses the 3 rd person singular verb forms. We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a moment. 2 nd person singular pronoun “Usted (Ud.)”

3 rd 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”

3 rd 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. 1 st person plural pronoun “Nosotros / Nosotras” 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. 2 nd person plural pronoun “Vosotros / Vosotras”

Usted means you you formal Abbreviated - Uds. Considered a 2 rd person plural pronoun, but uses the 3 rd person singular verb forms. We’ll learn more about this pronoun in a moment. 2 nd person plural pronoun “Ustedes (Uds.)”

3 rd 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.

3 rd 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.) Strangers Acquaintances Adults

¿ Tú o usted?

María Tú

Señor Gómez Usted

Señora Ibarra Usted

Eduardo Tú

Juanita Tú

Doctora Martínez Usted

Señor González Usted

Carla Tú

la policía Usted

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 TúMaría

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.) TúMaría

Señor Gómez y tú Ustedes (Uds.)

Señora Ibarra y usted Ustedes

Eduardo y tú (in Latin America) Ustedes (Uds.) Tú Eduardo

Eduardo y tú (boy) (in Spain) Tú Eduardo 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, 3 rd 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, 1 st person pl Ellos, 3 rd person pl Él, 3 rd person sing Ellas, 3 rd person pl Vosotros, Vosotras, 2 nd person pl Ella, 1 st 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______________________________ Él, 3 rd person sing Ella 3 rd person sing Ustedes, 2 nd person pl Nosotros, Nosotras, 1 st person pl Él 2 nd person sing Ellos, 3 rd person pl

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) _____________________________ Ellas, 3 rd person pl Ellos, 3 rd person pl Nosotras, 1 st person pl Vosotros, Vosotras, 2 nd person pl Él, 3 rd person sing Nosotros, Nosotras, 1 st person pl Ellas, 3 rd person pl Vosotros, Vosotras, 2 nd person pl