Subject
Pronouns
Subject
Pronouns
In this presentation, we will study the
subject pronouns along with the verb
ser (to be) in Spanish.
Subject Pronouns
¡Empezamos! Let’s get started!
Compare these two sentences.
Carlos 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 pronoun él (he).
• In other words….
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun.
Jorge = él.
Examples of subject pronouns in English are: I,
you, he, she, it, we, they.
Subject pronouns replace the noun in a
sentence.
Example: John is nice.
He is nice.
It works the same in Spanish.
Juan es amable. Él es amable.
los pronombres
The Spanish subject pronouns are:
I
= yo
you = tú
he
she
you
we
they
you
(use when talking to one person you call by their first name)
= él
= ella
= usted (Ud) (use when taking to one person you call by their last name)
= nosotros, nosotras
= ellas, ellos
= ustedes (Uds.) (use when taking to more than one person)
Yo = I
Yo means “I” and it used in the same
way as it is used in English.
Yo soy americano.
Yo soy estudiante.
Note: yo is not capitalized unless it starts a
sentence.
Mi amigo y yo…….
Él and ella
These pronouns are used the same as their English counterparts.
Carlos y Luisa son mexicanos. Él es de Acapulco y ella es
de Cabo San Lucas.
Don’t forget to put the accent
mark on él.
Ellos and ellas
In English we have one way to say ‘they’ but in Spanish we
distinguish between masculine and feminine.
Carlos y Diego son americanos.
Ellos son americanos.
Carmen y Ana son americanas.
Ellas son americanas.
Remember: if the group is mixed, you use the
masculine form.
David y Carla son americanos.
Ellos son americanos.
Nosotros y nosotras
In English we have one way to say ‘we’ but in Spanish we distinguish
between masculine and feminine when saying ‘we’.
Diego: Pablo y yo somos de Omaha, Ne.
Nosotros somos de Omaha, Ne.
Ana:
Claudia y yo somos americanas.
Nosotras somos americanas.
Again: if you have a mixed group, remember
to use the masculine forms.
Juan: Mi hermana y yo vivimos en Omaha.
Nosotros vivimos en Omaha.
Hey, you!
In English we use ‘you’ to speak to:
•One person
•Many people
•A person older or younger than us
•A person the same age
•A person of higher ranking (president, boss)
In Spanish things are not that simple!
Tú & usted
There is more than one form of ‘you’ in Spanish. You
must learn each form.
Tú: use when talking to one person that is younger
OR someone that you know well enough to call them
by their first name.
Usted: (abbreviated Ud.) use when talking to someone
older, of higher rank or anyone that you might call my
their last name.
Wait! There’s more!
When you want to speak to more than one person as
in ‘you all’, we have other forms of ‘you’.
Ustedes: (abbreviated Uds) use when speaking to
more than one person. You may use this form either
when taking to someone you call by their first name
(informal) or when you call them by their last name
(formal).
There is another form vosotros/vosotras but we will
not be learning this form. Just be award that it does
exist in case you see it somewhere.
Is that confusing?
It’s easy, let’s review.
It is all the word ‘you’.
Singular:
informal – tú
formal - usted
Plural:
informal and formal: ustedes
One more point!
•In English, we always have to use the subject
pronoun: (I, we, you etc.) Look at these sentences.
Am American.
Went to the store.
Speaks German.
•Without the subject pronoun, it is often impossible to
tell who you are talking about.
Speaks German….does that mean “I”, “he”,
“we”, “You”, etc.
Spanish is different!
•Look at these sentences:
Soy americano.
Eres americano. Es americano.
Somos americanos. Son americanos.
•The verb in each sentence changes and therefore
gives us imformation about who the subject is.
Soy = I, therefore Soy americano.= I am American.
Eres = you, therefore Eres americano. = You are American.
Es = he, she, it
Somos = we
Son = they
•Because the verb makes it clear who the subject is,
the subject pronoun if often dropped in Spanish. You
will have to get used to looking at a sentence in a
whole new way.
¡Practicamos! Let’s practice!
Choose the correct subject pronoun!
• _____ eres profesora
yo
• _____ somos amigos
tú
• _____ es doctor
él
• _____ son estudiantes
ella
• _____ soy policia
nosotros
• _____ es profesora
nosotras
• _____ eres bueno
ustedes
• _____ somos altas
usted
¡Practicamos! Let’s practice!
Choose the correct subject pronoun!
• __ tú _ eres profesora
yo
• nosotros somos amigos
tú
• __ él _ es doctor
él
• ustedes son estudiantes
ella
• yo__ soy policia
nosotros
• ella _ es profesora
nosotras
• tú __ eres bueno
ustedes
• nosotras _ somos altas
usted
The verb ‘ser’ = to be
The verb ‘ser’ is one of the
most important verbs in the
Spanish language. Be sure
you learn it well!
Proud to be
an American.
To be
Look at the English forms of this verb.
I am
You are
He is
She is
“To be or not to be”
We are
They are
Notice, that this very verb does not have a pattern to reflect the
subject pronoun changes. You must memorize the verb forms. That
means this verb is irregular.
The Spanish verb ‘ser’ (to be) is also irregular. You must
memorize the verb forms! Know them well!
Ser = to be
yo soy = I am
tú eres = you are
él es
= he is
ella es
= she is
usted es = you are
nosotros/as somos = we are
ellos/ellas son= they are
ustedes son = you’all are
Atención!
Unlike English, Spanish
sentences do not always
require a subject.
The verb tells us enough
about the subject that we
only need to pay attention to
the verb to know who the
sentence is about.
For example:
Soy de Miami.
Soy is paired up with “yo”, so we
know the person is speaking
about himself/herself. The
subject ‘yo’ does not need to
appear in the sentence.
And in English:
English verbs do not tell you
who the subject is. Live in Miami
does not tell you who lives in
Miami. In English we must use
the subject.
I live in Miami.
He lives in Miami.
Trust me on this one!
All Spanish verbs change but
fortunately most verbs have a
predictable pattern of change.
The verb ‘ser’ is an exception and
must be memorized.
Ser is an important verb. I’m
reminding you again—memorize it
all!
So, let’s practice!
Yo ______________ estudiante.
An the answer is….
Yo ____soy______ estudiante.
Another….
Tú__________ estudiante.
An the answer is….
Tú__eres_____ estudiante.
Still more….
Yo _________ de Chicago.
Mi mamá ________ de Omaha y
Mi papá _________ de Washington.
Nosotros _________ una familia.
Did you know them?….
Yo __soy____ de Chicago.
Mi mamá __es____ de Omaha y
Mi papá ___es____ de Washington.
Nosotros __somos____ una familia.
In review:
Here are the forms again. Learn
them well!
yo
soy
tú
eres
él
es
ella
es
usted
es
nosotros/nosotras
ellos
son
ellas
son
ustedes
son
somos
Good job!
Buen trabajo!
¡Hasta la vista!