SER
and
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
Do you know what’s meant by 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd
person?
1st person is the person who is speaking – I
2nd is the person to whom one is speaking – you
3rd is the person about whom one is speaking -- he,
she, it
I, you, he, she, it are all singular pronouns. Each refers
to one person. But we also have plural pronouns:
1st person plural = I + another person = we
2nd person plural = you + another person = y’all
3rd person plural = he/she/it + another person = they
These pronouns are called SUBJECT PRONOUNS:
I
you
he, she, it
we
y’all
they
What that means is that these pronouns are used
as the SUBJECT of the sentence:
I read a book. (Not *Me read a book.)
You read a book. (Not *Your read a book.)
He reads a book. (Not *Him reads a book.)
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
singular
I
you
he, she, it
plural
we
y’all
they
Pronouns are always, always, ALWAYS in this
order. When you learn pronouns in any
language, this is the order in which you’ll find
them. When you learn the verbs that go with
the pronouns, the verbs will always, always,
ALWAYS be in this order.
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
singular
_____
_____
_____
plural
______
______
______
Question: How often are pronouns found in this
order?
Answer: Always, always, ALWAYS.
Click here to go to a brief practice exercise.
Following are the Spanish subject pronouns:
yo
tú
él, ella
nosotros
vosotros
ellos
They correspond to the English subject pronouns:
I
you
he, she
we
y’all
they
Spanish has two additional pronouns: usted (Ud.) and ustedes
(Uds.).
“Ud.” means “you.”
“Uds.” means “y’all.”
“Ud.” is used with people to whom you should show respect,
people who are older than you are or in a position of authority.
It’s pretty safe to say that if you call the person
Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss/Dr./Prof. + last name rather than by his first
name, you should use “Ud.” rather than “tú.” If you call the
person by his first name, you should probably use “tú” with him.
“Uds.” is used in Spain to show respect just like Ud. is. However,
“vosotros,” the familiar form you use with friends (people you
address by their first name), doesn’t exist in Latin America, and
they use “Uds.” no matter who they’re talking to.
In spite of the fact that “Ud.” means the same
thing “tú” does (“you”), it’s treated like a third
person pronoun:
yo
tú
él, ella, Ud.
nosotros
vosotros
ellos
What that means is that anything that applies to
the third person (like verb endings and OBJECT
pronouns) also applies to “Ud.”
The same is true of “Uds.” Even though it means
the same thing as “vosotros” (“y’all”), it goes
with the 3rd person plural:
yo
tú
él, ella, Ud.
nosotros
vosotros
ellos, Uds.
One more note about subject pronouns: the
-os in three of them can change to –as if
every member of the group is female:
yo
tú
él, ella, Ud.
nosotros, nosotras
vosotros, vosotras
ellos, ellas, Uds.
SER
“Ser” means “to be.” It’s the most irregular
verb there is in both English and Spanish.
am
are
is
are
are
are
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
I
you
he, she
we
y’all
they
am
are
is
are
are
are
yo
tú
él, ella
nosotros
vosotros
ellos
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
Just as “I” takes the verb that’s in its position
(“am”), “yo” takes the verb that’s in its position
(“soy”). In other words, “yo soy” is “I am,” “tú
eres” is “you are,” etc.
However, you don’t have to use the pronouns. Look at the
Spanish forms of “ser”:
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
All of them are different. So “soy” all by itself means “I am.” “Soy
alto” means “I am tall.” “Eres” all by itself means “you are.”
“Soy” can never mean anything but “I am,” and “eres” can
never mean anything but “you are.” You never have to use a
subject pronoun in Spanish, because when you look at the
verb, you know what the subject has to be.
If you say “yo soy,” it doesn’t mean “I am”; it means “I am.” In
other words, it emphasizes the pronoun. However, you can
say “él es” or “ella es” or “Ud. es” or “ellos son” or “Uds. son”
to clarify the subject. That is, “soy” can mean only “I am,” so
the only time you use “yo” is if you want to emphasize it, but
“es” can mean “he is,” “she is,” or “you are,” so you can use
the pronoun to show whether you mean “he,” “she,” or “you.”
In your homework, I’ll give you a subject and a blank. You’ll put in
the correct form of “ser”:
son
Ellos _______
es
Juan _______
(Note: “Juan” is the same as “él.”)
somos (Note: “Elena y yo” is the same as “nosotros.”)
Elena y yo ______
es
Ud. ___________
eres
Tú ___________
Click here to go to your “ser” homework.