Subject Pronouns

Personal subject pronouns (Los pronombres personales de sujeto) are words that substitute nouns (someone or something). Let's take a look at them.

Subject Pronouns - Usage

Rule 1: Subject pronouns are used for a variety of reasons. Their main function is to identify a noun in our speech. They can also be used on some occasions to avoid repetition.

Subject Pronouns - Form

Rule 2: Spanish personal pronouns are divided in the following way:

Note: Usted is the formal form of tú, so it is used with the second person. However, because of its conjugation, it is grouped with the third person, which makes it easier to learn. The same is true for ustedes.

Cultural note: In Spain, vosotros and vosotras are used. Is used informally with family, friends, and close people. Ustedes, on the other hand, is used to address a group of people more formally, which is not the case in Latin America.

*In several Latin American countries such as Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Panamá, the pronoun vos is used instead of tú or usted.

Number

Rule 3: As you can see in chart 1.1, pronouns are divided into singular or plural. Plural pronouns are simply the pluralized version of singular pronouns. So yo becomes nosotros, nosotras, tú becomes ustedes, vosotros, vosotras, and él, ella, becomes ellos, ellas.

Gender

Rule 4: Some pronouns in Spanish have gender - they are either masculine or feminine. These are:

Note: In the past, when there was a group of people that included women and men, a masculine pronoun was used to address the whole group. This is known as a generic masculine.

However, with the introduction of inclusive language, this practice has started to disappear in some Spanish-speaking countries. Instead, pronouns are either omitted or both are mentioned.

It is worth mentioning, however, that the generic masculine is still present and used by many speakers.

Dropping the Pronoun

Rule 5: Spanish is a pro-drop language, this means that unless you want to be emphatic or contrast some idea, it is not necessary to include the pronouns all the time because the verb already carries this information. This is why sometimes you will see the subject pronoun in parenthesis.

Note. This rule generally does not apply to usted. Since it has the same conjugation as él or ella, it is important to differentiate it and to emphasize the formality that this pronoun implies.