Subject Pronouns in Spanish – Lesson 9

What are subject pronouns?

Subject pronouns are the little words we use instead of a name, to say who is doing something. In English: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

Spanish has its own set, and a few more than English, because Spanish makes a difference between formal and informal, and between masculine and feminine groups. You’ll use them in almost every sentence from now on, so this is an important one!

All Spanish subject pronouns

English	Spanish
I	yo
you (informal, singular)	tú
you (formal, singular)	usted
he	él
she	ella
we	nosotros / nosotras
you all (informal, plural)	vosotros / vosotras (Spain only)
you all (formal, plural)	ustedes
they	ellos / ellas

Let’s go through them one by one. Say every word out loud: it really helps you remember them.

Yo: I

Because Spanish is spoken in so many countries, you’ll hear yo pronounced in different ways: like “yo”, almost like “jo” (with a little d-sound in front), or even “sho” in Argentina. They’re all correct. My advice: copy the accent of the people around you.

Tú and usted: you (one person)

In English, “you” is just “you”, whether you’re talking to your best friend or your grandmother. Spanish has two words for it:

Notice the accent on tú. Without it, tu means “your”.

Él and ella: he and she

Write él with an accent! Remember lesson 6? Without the accent, el means “the”.

And ella is pronounced “EH-ya”, not “EL-la”: the double l sounds like a y.

What about “it”?

There’s no Spanish subject pronoun for “it”. That’s because in Spanish, every noun is masculine or feminine, so there’s nothing “genderless” to point to. A table is la mesa, so it’s a “she”; a car is el coche, so it’s a “he”. In practice, you usually just leave the pronoun out (more on that below).

Nosotros and nosotras: we

Just like in lesson 6, a mixed group uses the masculine form. So most of the time you’ll use nosotros. Only when everyone in the group is female, you say nosotras.

Vosotros and ustedes: you all

Here’s where Spain and Latin America are different. In English you might say “you guys” or “you all”. In Spanish:

In Spain, you use vosotros (or vosotras for all women) with friends, and ustedes in formal situations.

In Latin America, vosotros isn’t used in daily life. People simply say ustedes to every group, friends or not.

Ellos and ellas: they

See the pattern? These are simply the plural of él and ella. And again: a mixed group is ellos.

Spain vs Latin America

English	Spain	Latin America
I	yo	yo
you (informal)	tú	tú
you (formal)	usted	usted
he / she	él / ella	él / ella
we	nosotros / nosotras	nosotros / nosotras
you all (informal)	vosotros / vosotras	ustedes
you all (formal)	ustedes	ustedes
they	ellos / ellas	ellos / ellas

Only one row is different. So the difference is smaller than people think!

Good to know: Spanish often drops the pronoun

In Spanish, the verb ending often already shows who’s doing something. That’s why native speakers leave the pronoun out a lot. You’ve already seen this in lesson 4:

We’ll see exactly how this works when we start with verbs in the next lesson.

Recap: Spanish subject pronouns

Spanish	English
yo	I
tú	you (informal, singular)
usted	you (formal, singular)
él / ella	he / she
nosotros / nosotras	we
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■

+ 3 more words & phrases

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Practice: which pronoun do you use?

Think about it, say it out loud, then click to check.

1. I

yo

2. You, talking to your best friend

tú

3. You, talking to your friend’s grandmother

usted: formal.

4. She

ella

5. We, a group of only women

nosotras

6. We, a group of men and women

nosotros: a mixed group uses the masculine form.

7. You guys, talking to friends in Mexico

ustedes: Latin America uses ustedes for every group.

8. You guys, talking to friends in Spain

vosotros (or vosotras if they’re all women).

9. They, a group of only men

ellos

Quiz: Spanish subject pronouns

10 questions. Can you get them all?

Frequently asked questions

Should I learn vosotros?

If you’re going to Spain, yes. If you’re learning for Latin America, it’s enough to recognize it when you hear it (in Spanish movies or series, for example). You can always use ustedes, and you’ll be understood everywhere.

When should I use usted instead of tú?

Use usted with older people, people you don’t know in formal situations, or in professional settings like a bank or a doctor. With friends, family, and people your age, use tú. If you’re not sure, start with usted: people will tell you if you can switch to tú.

Do Spanish speakers always use subject pronouns?

No, they often leave them out because the verb already shows who you mean. You’ll learn exactly how that works in the next lessons about verbs.

Before you go to the next lesson

Make sure you know these pronouns by heart before you move on. You’ll see them in every lesson from now on, starting with the next one: our first yellow lesson, an introduction to Spanish verbs. Grab the free reference sheet below, with the Spain and Latin America versions side by side. ¡Hasta luego!