Study the words and then try the Pronouns - Pronombres Quiz.
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. In Spanish, pronouns are both like and different than in English.
Every sentence has a subject. The subject of the sentence is who or what is doing the action in the sentence or is being described.
In English, the subject pronouns are I, you, he/she/it, we, they.
In Spanish there are several other forms of these subject pronouns. As with many other grammatical forms, there are different gender forms of pronouns.
| English Subject Singular Pronoun | Spanish Subject Singular Pronoun | English Subject Plural Pronoun | Spanish Subject Plural Pronoun |
| I | yo | We | nosotros (masculine or mixed
gender group) nosotras (feminine) |
| you | tú (familiar form used
with friends, co-workers, children) ustede (formal form used with superiors, strangers, children to adults) |
you (as in all of you) | ustedes (used in Latin American
countries for both formal and informal, used in Spain for formal) vosotros (informal masculine and mixed gender groups -used in Spain) vosotras (informal feminine - used in Spain) |
| he she |
él ella |
they | ellos (masculine or mixed gender
group) ellas (feminine group) |
| English Direct Object of Preposition Singular Pronoun | Spanish Direct Object of Preposition Singular Pronoun | English Direct Object of Preposition Plural Pronoun | Spanish Direct Object of Preposition Plural Pronoun |
| I | mí | We | nosotros (masculine
or mixed gender group) nosotras (feminine) |
| you | ti (familiar form
used with friends, co-workers, children) usted (formal form used with superiors, strangers, children to adults) |
you (as in all of you) | ustedes (used in
Latin American countries for both formal and informal, used in Spain for
formal) vosotros (informal masculine and mixed gender groups -used in Spain) vosotras (informal feminine - used in Spain) |
| he she |
él ella |
they | ellos (masculine
or mixed gender group) ellas (feminine group) |
There are several prepositions that use the subject pronouns rather than the prepositional pronouns with prepositions. They are:
The object that directly gets or receives the action of the verb is called the direct object. If that direct object noun is replaced by a pronoun, it is a direct object pronoun.
| English Direct Object Singular Pronoun | Spanish Direct Object Singular Pronoun | English Direct Object Plural Pronoun | Spanish Direct Object Plural Pronoun |
| me | me | us | nos |
| you | te (familiar
form used with friends, co-workers, children) lo, la(formal form used with superiors, strangers, children to adults) |
you (as in all of you) | os (informal) los, las (formal masculine and mixed gender groups -used in Spain) |
| he she |
lo la |
them | los (masculine or
mixed gender group) las (feminine group) |
The direct object pronoun comes before the verb in most cases. If the sentence is negative, the pronoun comes between the negative word ("no") and the verb.
When there are two verbs - for example the conjugated verb and an infinitive, you can correctly write it two ways. You can put the direct object pronoun in front of the conjugated verb or attach it to the end of the infinitive.
Lo necessito ver. - I must see it.
Necissito verlo. - I must see it.
The indirect object tells "To whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is performed.
| English Indirect Object Singular Pronoun | Spanish Indirect Object Singular Pronoun | English Indirect Object Plural Pronoun | Spanish Indirect Object Plural Pronoun |
| me | me | us | nos |
| you | te (familiar
form used with friends, co-workers, children) le (formal form used with superiors, strangers, children to adults) |
you (as in all of you) | os (informal) les (formal masculine and mixed gender groups -used in Spain) |
| he she |
le |
them | les |
The indirect object pronoun comes before the verb in most cases. If the sentence is negative, the pronoun comes between the negative word ("no") and the verb.
When there are two verbs - for example the conjugated verb and an infinitive, you can correctly write it two ways. You can put the indirect object pronoun in front of the conjugated verb or attach it to the end of the infinitive.
Le volvo dar un libro
Volvo darle un libro.
When you have both a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun comes first.
Yo le los doy. - I gave them to him.
| English Possessive Singular Pronoun | Spanish Possessive Singular Pronoun | English Possessive Plural Pronoun | Spanish Possessive Plural Pronoun |
| mine | el mío /
la mía los míos / las mías |
ours | el nuestro / la
nuestra los nuestros / las nuestras |
| your, yours | el tuyo
/ la tuya los tuyos / las tuyas (familiar form used with friends, co-workers, children) l suyo / la suya los suyos / las suyas (formal form used with superiors, strangers, children to adults) |
yours (as in all of you) | el vuestro
/ la vuestra los vuestros / las vuestras (Familiar) el suyo / la suya los suyos / las suyas (Formal) |
| his hers |
l suyo / la suya los suyos / las suyas |
theirs | el suyo / la suya los suyos / las suyas |
This list differs slightly in usage from possessive pronoun/adjectives. The list is here:
| English Singular Pronoun - Adjectives | Spanish Singular Pronoun - Adjectives | English Plural Pronoun - Adjectives | Spanish Plural Pronoun - Adjectives |
| my | mi/mis | our | nuestro - nuestra nuestros - nuestras |
| your, yours | tu/tus (familiar form used with friends, co-workers, children) su/sus (formal form used with superiors, strangers, children to adults) |
yours (as in all of you) | vuestro
- vuestra vuestros - vuestras (Familiar) el suyo / la suya los suyos / las suyas (Formal) |
| his her |
su/sus |
theirs | su - sus |
Here are several sample sentences to show the difference in usage;
Mi gato es bonito. - My cat is pretty. (Possessive adjective - pronoun in which my describes the noun cat)
El mio es bonito - Mine is pretty. (The possessive pronoun mine alone with cat inferred).
Another way one can express possession is to say:
El gato es de ella. - The cat is hers.
Notice that the article is not in front of the ella.