Subject pronouns

1. Subject pronouns • In this presentation, we’re going to look at the form and use of the subject pronouns in Spanish.

2. Let’s get started! • Compare these two sentences: • Jorge 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 word él.

3. And your point is…? • A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun: Jorge = él. • Examples of pronouns in English are: “I, you, he, she, it, we, they.” • Some pronouns have different forms to talk about the same person: “I, me, my, mine, myself.” For right now, we are going to look at one of these forms, but we’ll get to the other forms soon.

4. Los pronombres • Here are the subject pronouns in Spanish: • I = yo • you = tú (informal) • you = usted (Ud.) (formal) • he = él • she = ella • we = nosotros, nosotras • you = vosotros, vosotras (informal) • you = ustedes (Uds.) (formal) • they = ellos, ellas

5. Yo • This means “I” and is used in the same way as in English. • Yo soy americano. • Yo soy estudiante. • Note that it is not capitalized unless it starts a sentence: • Mi amigo y yo…

6. Él y ella • These pronouns are used in the same way as their English counterparts: • Jorge y Ana son mexicanos. Él es de Guadalajara y ella es de Acapulco. • Don’t forget to put the accent mark on “él” (although you rarely see an accent on a capital letter).

7. Ellos y ellas • In English, we have one word to express the idea of “they,” but in Spanish, we distinguish between “they” for masculine and feminine: • Jorge y Juan son mexicanos. Ellos son de Guadalajara. • Ana y Gloria son mexicanas. Ellas son de Acapulco. • If the group is mixed (masculine and feminine), use the masculine pronoun: • Jorge y Ana son mexicanos. Ellos son estudiantes en la universidad.

8. Nosotros y nosotras • Likewise, in English we have one word to talk about “we,” but in Spanish, we distinguish between “we” masculine and feminine: • Juan: “Mi hermano y yo somos de Argentina. Nosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.” • Juana: “Mi hermana y yo somos de Bolivia. Nosotras vivimos en La Paz.” • As is the case with “ellos, ellas,” use the masculine pronoun if it refers to a mixed group: • Juan: “Mi hermano, mi novia, y yo somos de Argentina. Nosotros vivimos en Buenos Aires.” • Juana: “Mi hermana, mis padres, y yo somos de Bolivia. Nosotros vivimos en La Paz.

9. Hey, you! • In English, we use the word “you” to talk to: • One person • Many people • A person much older than we are • A person much younger than we are • A person about the same age as we are • A person with a higher social or economic rank (president, judge, mayor, boss, priest, lawyer, professor…) • A person with a lower social or economic rank)

10. Tú & usted • In Spanish, things aren’t quite that simple. There are several ways to express the concept of “you”: • tú: one person of about the same age (or younger) that you know quite well. • usted (abbreviated Ud.): one person who is older than you, who has a higher social or economic rank, and/or is someone you have just met.

11. Wait! There’s more! • When we want to talk to more than one person (“all of you” or “y’all”), we can use: • ustedes (abbreviated Uds.): this is used in most cases, regardless of whether the group you are addressing consists of “tú” or “usted.” • vosotros/vosotras: this is used only in Spain and only when everyone in the group is “tú.”

12. That’s confusing! • Not really! Here’s a summary: • Singular • Informal: tú • Formal: usted • Plural • Informal: vosotros/vosotras (*Spain) • Formal/informal: ustedes (*Latin America)

13. One more point! • In English, we always have to use a subject pronoun. Look at these sentences: • Went to the store. • Speaks German. • Like classical music. • Without the subject pronoun, we don’t know who we are talking about. The verb doesn’t give us enough information: “like” can refer to I, you, we, or they.

14. Spanish is different! • Look at these sentences in Spanish: • Soy de Chicago. • Eres estudiante. • Es mexicana. • Somos atletas. • Son hermanos. • The verb does give us enough information: “soy” matches “yo,”“eres” refers to “tú,”“es” goes with “él/ella/Ud.,”“somos” matches “nosotros,” and “son” is paired with “ellos, ellas, Uds.” • As such, Spanish sentences frequently drop the subject pronoun in writing and speech; they are not needed to clarify who we are talking about.

15. Let’s practice! • Rewrite each sentence with an appropriate subject pronoun. • _____ estudio español. • _____ eres estudiante. • Juan es mi amigo. _____ es de Chile. • Marta es muy inteligente. _____ estudia física y química. • Mis hermanos y yo somos atletas. _______ jugamos al vólibol y al fútbol. • Mis hermanos juegan al béisbol también [also]. ______ son muy atléticos.

16. How did you do? • Yo estudio español. • Tú eres estudiante. • Juan es mi amigo. (Él) es de Chile. • Marta es muy inteligente. (Ella) estudia física y química. • Mis hermanos y yo somos atletas. (Nosotros) jugamos al vólibol y al fútbol. • Mis hermanos juegan al béisbol también [also]. (Ellos) son muy atléticos.

17. That’s a wrap! • We’ve seen the subject pronoun forms and uses. Keep an eye and an ear open for them as you proceed in your Spanish classes.