Spanish Subject Pronouns

Usually left out

In Spanish, the verb ending already shows who's doing the action: hablo can only mean I speak. So the pronoun is usually left out. Both versions are correct, but the one without usually sounds more natural.

1. With the pronounWithout (more natural)
2. With the pronoun

   Yo hablo inglés.
   =
   Without (more natural)

   Hablo inglés.

   I speak English.

3. With the pronoun

   Nosotros vivimos en Madrid.
   =
   Without (more natural)

   Vivimos en Madrid.

   We live in Madrid.

4. With the pronoun

   ¿Tú tienes hermanos?
   =
   Without (more natural)

   ¿Tienes hermanos?

   Do you have siblings?

When to use them

1. 1

   For emphasis or contrast

   To stress who, especially when comparing two people.

   • Yo pago, tú no.

     I’m paying, not you.

   • Ella es la que manda.

     She’s the one in charge.

   • Nosotros trabajamos y ellos descansan.

     We work, and they rest.

2. 2

   To avoid confusion

   When the verb form could mean more than one person, like habla (he, she, or you) or hablaba (I, he, she, or you).

   • Ella habla francés, pero él no.

     She speaks French, but he doesn’t.

   • ¿Usted es de aquí?

     Are you from here?

   • Cuando yo era niño, vivíamos en el campo.

     When I was a kid, we lived in the country.

3. 3

   In short answers

   With no verb, the pronoun is all that’s left.

   • ¿Quién quiere café? —Yo.

     Who wants coffee? —Me.

   • Tengo hambre. —Yo también.

     I’m hungry. —Me too.

   • ¿Quién es? —Soy yo.

     Who is it? —It’s me.

Tú or usted?

Spanish has two ways to say you to one person. Tú is informal, and usted is formal. The verb changes too. For when to use each, and everything else that changes with usted, see tú vs. usted.

1. Tú (informal)Usted (formal)
2. Tú (informal)

   ¿Cómo estás?

   How are you?

   vs
   Usted (formal)

   ¿Cómo está usted?

   How are you?

3. Tú (informal)

   Tienes razón.

   You’re right.

   vs
   Usted (formal)

   Usted tiene razón.

   You’re right.

Usted takes the él form

Usted means you, but grammatically it works like él and ella, and ustedes works like ellos. It comes from an old phrase meaning your grace (vuestra merced), which is why it takes the third-person verb.

• tú
  use
  hablasyou speak (informal)
• élellausted
  use
  hablahe speaks, she speaks, you speak (formal)
• ellosellasustedes
  use
  hablanthey speak, you all speak

So the same sentence can be about someone else, or about the person you're talking to:

1. About himTo you (formal)
2. About him

   Él habla muy bien.

   He speaks very well.

   vs
   To you (formal)

   Usted habla muy bien.

   You speak very well.

3. About him

   Ella es de Madrid.

   She’s from Madrid.

   vs
   To you (formal)

   Usted es de Madrid.

   You’re from Madrid.

You all: ustedes and vosotros

For more than one person, Latin America uses ustedes for everyone. Spain splits it: vosotros for friends and family, and ustedes for formal situations.

Talking to a group of friends (informal), Spain uses vosotros, with its own verb forms, and Latin America uses ustedes:

1. Informal: SpainInformal: Latin America
2. Informal: Spain

   ¿Vosotros venís a la fiesta?
   =
   Informal: Latin America

   ¿Ustedes vienen a la fiesta?

   Are you all coming to the party?

3. Informal: Spain

   ¿Qué queréis comer?
   =
   Informal: Latin America

   ¿Qué quieren comer?

   What do you all want to eat?

4. Informal: Spain

   Sois muy simpáticos.
   =
   Informal: Latin America

   Son muy simpáticos.

   You’re all really nice.

In formal situations, like talking to customers or an audience, everyone uses ustedes, in Spain too:

Nosotras, vosotras, ellas

The plural pronouns have feminine forms, for groups made up only of women or girls. For a mixed group, use the masculine, even if there's just one man in it.

Vos

In Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and much of Central America, people use vos instead of tú for the informal you, with verb forms of its own. Tú is understood everywhere, so you don't need to use it, but you'll hear it a lot:

For how the vos forms work, see vos.

Word order: before or after the verb

The subject doesn't have to come first. It can also go right after the verb, or at the end of the sentence. Putting it last shifts the focus onto who, a bit like stressing the word in English.

1. Pronoun firstPronoun after the verb
2. Pronoun first

   Yo lo hice.
   =
   Pronoun after the verb

   Lo hice yo.

   I did it. / It was me who did it.

3. Pronoun first

   Ella paga.
   =
   Pronoun after the verb

   Paga ella.

   She’s paying. / She’s the one paying.

4. Pronoun first

   ¿Tú vienes?
   =
   Pronoun after the verb

   ¿Vienes tú?

   Are you coming?

There's no word for “it”

English needs a subject in every sentence, even a meaningless one like it. Spanish doesn't, so there's no subject pronoun for it: just use the verb.

When it points to something specific, Spanish often uses a demonstrative instead, like esto (this) or eso (that):

After prepositions

After a preposition like para, de, or con, most pronouns stay the same. Only yo and tú change, and con combines with them into one word.

Common mistakes English speakers make

1. 1

   Using usted with the tú form

   Incorrect:Usted tienes razón.

   Correct:Usted tiene razón.

   Usted takes the same verb form as él and ella.

2. 2

   Translating “it” as a subject

   ~Sounds unnatural:Ello es importante.

   Correct:Es importante.

   Spanish doesn't need a subject for it. The verb is enough.

3. 3

   Using yo after a preposition

   Incorrect:Es para yo.

   Correct:Es para mí.

   After a preposition, yo becomes mí.

4. 4

   Saying con tú

   Incorrect:Voy con tú.

   Correct:Voy contigo.

   Con + tú is contigo, and con + yo is conmigo.

5. 5

   Repeating yo in every sentence

   ~Sounds unnatural:Yo me levanto a las siete y yo desayuno.

   Correct:Me levanto a las siete y desayuno.

   The verb already shows who. Save the pronoun for emphasis.

Questions about subject pronouns