Learn Spanish- Personal Pronouns or Subject Pronouns- Los Pronombres Personales

Personal Pronouns or Subject Pronouns

Los Pronombres Personales

 We are going to learn the personal pronouns or subject pronouns. Before we do so, we are

going to talk about the subject and the pronoun.

The subject (el sujeto) usually tells us who or what is doing the action in a sentence.

A pronoun ( un pronombre) is a word that we use instead of a noun.

Hence, a personal pronoun is designating the person speaking (I,we), the person spoken to (you), or the person or thing spoken about (he, she, it, they).

Example: The girl threw the ball.

                  She (the girl) threw the ball.

Is it formal or informal?

¡Hola!

¿Qué tal?

(Answer in the video)

Buenas tardes.

¿Cómo está?

(Answer in the video)

Informal Dialogue

-¿Cómo estás?

-Bien ¿Y tú?

¿Y tú? Means (And you?)

as in How are you?

Tú means you in Spanish

What about “I”?

Yo means I in Spanish.

Yo means I in Spanish.

Tú means you in Spanish.

Tú means you in Spanish.

Usted (Ud.) means you (formal)

tú ( you informal) is used with friends, kids, and teens, etc.

usted (you formal) is used to show respect: adults, people you don”t know well.

So, What about un niño?

Which one would you choose, tú or usted?

What about un doctor?

tú or usted?

What about un perro?

tú or usted?

So, now we know:

yo (I)

tú (you)

usted (you) formal

What about ” he”?

él (he)

ella (she)

  Let's review this:

Singular

yo (I)

tú (you) informal

usted (Ud.) (you) formal

él (he)

ella (she)

  What about “we”? 

                         nosotros (we [male]) used with a group of guys or men.

                            nosotras (we [female]) used with a group of women or girls.

What happens when we have a group of men and females together?

Do we say nosotros y nosotras? (we[ male and females])

No, in Spanish, when we have a mixture of guys and girls we use:

Watch video for answer!

If a group is one guy and one girl, what do we use?

____________________

What about five men and twenty females?

____________________

What about one guy among one thousand females?

____________________

What about “they”?

                       ellos (they [males])

                       ellas (they [females only])

What if we have a mixed group of males and females?

Then we use:

                       ellos (they[ males and females])

Let's see if we can remember:

                         él is he

                        ellos is they for the males.

                         ella is she 

                       ellas is they for females only.

In the Americas we have to forms for “you”:

tú (you) informal

usted (you) formal

However in Spain, instead of “tú “, they use: 

                     vosotros (you) informal for males and males and females.

                        vosotras (you) informal for females only.

When they want to be polite and show respect:

                       usted (you singular) formal

                       ustedes (you plural) formal

In the Americas::

                       ustedes (you plural) formal

Let's review the plural forms:

nosotros, nosotras (we)

vosotros, vosotras (you [familiar])

ustedes (Uds.) (you [formal])

ellos (they)

ellas (they [females only])

So, let's review one more time:

One person (Singular)

yo (I)

tú (you) (informal)

usted (Ud.) (you [formal])

él (he)

ella (she)

More than one person plural

nosotros (we [male and female])

nosotras (we [female])

vosotros (you [informal])

vosotras (you [informal])

ustedes (you [formal])

ellos (they)

ellas (they females only)

Let's see if you understood it all!

Cierto or Falso ( True or False)

There is only one word for “you” in Spanish.

Watch video for answer!

Yo means “you” in Spanish.

Watch video for answer!

With which of these would you use “usted”?

                              The president of Colombia.

                                A professor

                               Your sister

                              Your cat

 

Which personal pronouns do we use to talk about guys and girls mixed?

Yo

 nosotros

 nosotras

tú

 vosotros

 ellos

ella

 usted 

 ustedes

Which of the following are personal pronouns in Spanish?

Yo                                  nosotros                          nosotras

tú                                  vosotros                              ellos

ella                                   usted                              ustedes

él                                 vosotras                               ellas

Bits and Pieces

The abbreviations of:

usted= Ud. Or Vds.

Ustedes= Uds. Vds.

In Argentina and Paraguay “vos” is used instead of “tú”. Other countries use both.

If you are not sure whether to use “tú” or “usted”, it is best to use “usted”.

The other person can always give you permission to talk in the “tú” form.