Subject Pronouns in
Spanish
Los pronombres
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Pronoun: a word that takes the
place of a noun.
Examples:
He reads a book.
She writes a poem.
They play tennis.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Subject Pronoun: a pronoun
that is used as the subject of a
sentence, such as “I,” “he” or
“we” in English.
Examples:
I study Spanish.
We like Spanish class.
He talks with the teacher.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Los pronombres singulares =
singular pronouns
Ejemplos:
 yo = I
 tú = you (informal)
 usted = you (formal)
 él = he
 ella = she
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Los pronombres plurales =
plural pronouns
nosotros/as = we
Use nosotros when referring to “we,” a group of
males, or males and females, and nosotras for a
group of females.
vosotros/as = you all (informal, used in Spain)
Use vosotros when referring to “you all,” a group
of males, or males and females, and vosotras for a
group of females.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Más pronombres plurales
 ustedes = you all
(formal in Spain, informal and formal in
Latin America)
 ellos = they
(a group of males, or males and females)
 ellas = they
(a group of females)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
There are 4 ways to say “you” in
Spanish, but … they can NOT be used
interchangeably:
Tú is singular – informal and is used when
speaking to a friend, a family member or
someone your age or younger.
Usted is singular – formal and is used when
you are speaking to a stranger, someone
older or someone that deserves respect.
(Like your GREAT Spanish teacher!)
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
4 Ways to Say “You” (cont’d) …
Vosotros/as is plural – familiar and
only used in Spain and in literature.
Ustedes is plural – formal in Spain,
and informal or formal in Latin
America.
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Pronombres = Pronouns
Singular
yo
tú
usted
él, ella
Plural
nosotros/as
vosotros/as
ustedes
ellos/as
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Check Your Knowledge!
yo
tú
usted
él
ella
nosotros/as
vosotros/as
ustedes
ellos
ellas
I
you – informal
you – formal
he
she
we
you all – informal (Spain)
you all – formal / informal
they (males - or males and females)
they – a group of females
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Check Your Knowledge!
Which subject pronoun would you use if
you were speaking to the following people:
tú, usted, or ustedes?
El presidente
El Sr. López
Un amigo
Los maestros
Usted
Usted
Tú
Ustedes
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Check Your Knowledge!
What subject pronoun would you use
if you wanted to speak about …
José
Ana
José y Juan
Ana y María
Ana y Juan
©2010 Teacher’s Discovery
Él
Ella
Ellos
Ellas
Ellos