Pronombres personales
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. For example, Saint Martin was born in Lima,
Peru. Saint Martin became a Dominican brother at age 24. Saint Martin took care of the sick.
Saint Martin also took care of animals. Saint Martin set up a school for orphans. Saint Martin
has a parish named after him in Poughkeepsie.
Instead of repeating the same name over and over, we use the pronoun “he” to make our
sentences shorter and to make them sound better. Modern Standard English has seven personal
pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we and they. Spanish, however, has twelve personal pronouns,
making distinctions for gender and honorary titles. They are as follows:
Yo : I. Unlike in English, the Spanish yo is only capitalized when at the beginning of a sentence.
Tú : You. Tú is only used when talking to one person; it is the singular “you.” In most Spanish
speaking countries, tú is informal, meaning that people use this word when talking to friends,
family members and anyone else around your age whom you consider an equal.
Él : He. Always remember to place the accent mark on the e.
Ella : She.
Usted : You. Usted also means “you” yet it is reserved for a single individual for whom the
speaker has respect. It could be translated as “you sir” or “you madam” and is used in
professional situations, especially towards people you don’t know very well or who are much
older and in a position of authority.
Nosotros : We. Unlike English, Spanish specifies the word “we” to mean either a male “we” or a
female “we.” Use nosotros if the group is either all masculine, or has at least one male in it.
Nosotras : We. This “we” is used only when the group consists of all women, no exceptions.
Vosotros : You. Unlike tú and usted that are used when speaking to a single individual, vosotros
is used when speaking to two or more individuals. Like tú, vosotros is often used informally
when talking to groups of friends and family, but can be used when talking to any multitude of
people. Vosotros is only used in European Spanish.
Vosotras : You. Like nosotras, vosotras is used when speaking to two or more women. There
cannot be a single man in the group to use this pronoun. Vosotras is only used in European
Spanish.
Ellos : They. Ellos can refer to either a group of all men or to a mixed group of men and women.
Ellas : They. Ellas is only used when speaking about a group of girls.
Ustedes : You. In Spanish America, ustedes is both a formal and informal “you,” used when
speaking to at least two individuals. In Spain, ustedes is falling into disuse and is only used
politely in very formal situations.
To review, Spanish has four words that translate to “you” in English: tú, usted, vosotros and
ustedes. Additionally, the plural “you,” “we” and “they” have gender specific pronouns:
nosotros/nosotras, vosotros/vosotras, ellos/ellas. It’s important to understand Spanish pronouns
because they are the first step in sentence formation.
Below is a chart that will continuously be used in your studies as you advance in Spanish
courses. A quick review on person: first person refers to the self, second person is the person to
whom you are speaking and third person is used to reference someone who is not present.
Person
First
Singular
Yo (I)
Plural
Nosotros (We, masculine/mixed)
Nosotras (We, feminine)
Tú (You, informal)
Vosotros (You, masculine/mixed)
Vosotras (You, feminine)
Él (He)
Ella (She)
Usted (You, formal)
Ellos (They, masculine/mixed)
Ellas (They feminine)
Ustedes (You, formal)
Second
Third
You may be wondering why usted/ustedes are listed under third person if they mean “you.” As a
sign of respect, these words are used to talk to the person as if they are not present. An English
example would be a waiter at a fancy restaurant asking “Would madam like some champagne?”
instead of saying “you.”Another illustration is a servant addressing the king saying, “Does his
highness request anything from me?” This concept will make more sense as you begin to study
verbs in Spanish.