Ultralingua Dictionary Login
Subject pronouns
The subject pronouns are as follow:
- first person singular: yo
- second person singular (familiar): tú*
- second person singular (formal): usted
- third person singular: él, ella
- first person plural: nosotros, nosostras
- second person plural (familiar): vosotros, vosotras**
- second person plural (formal): ustedes
- third person plural: ellos, ellas
The form of the subject pronoun will determine the conjugation
of the verb; the verb is said to agree with the subject or
subject pronoun:
- Ellos trabajan mucho. (They work hard.)
- Nosotros estudiamos el español. (We study Spanish.)
It should also be noted that the subject pronouns, widely used in English, are less commonly used in Spanish. A good rule of thumb is to be sure to use subject pronouns whenever their absence might result in ambiguity or whenever the speaker wishes to attach special emphasis to the utterance.
* This pronoun (tú) is used in relatively informal situations where the speaker wishes to diminish the distance between him/herself and the listener. There is another familiar singular subject pronoun used in parts of Latin America that derives from the plural vosotros/vosotras form. It is vos. This subject pronoun requires an unconventional verb form (i.e. hablás, sabés, sos, etc.) and will not be included in these pages.
** The vosotros/vosotras subject pronouns, which are used primarily in a familiar sense, are used mostly in Spain. In Latin America the ustedes form is used for both familiar and formal situations.
See also
Object pronouns
Personal pronoun chart
Present indicative
Reflexive
pronouns
Verbs
