Pronouns are used to replace nouns and are usually used to avoid repetition. The subject pronouns are used for personal nouns such as I, you, them, etc.
There are some special notes that need to be mentioned when discussing subject pronouns in Spanish:
1. Spanish differentiates between formal and familiar “you”, whereas English does not. Therefore you need to know when to use the formal or the familiar. In general, tú (or vos, see note #2 below) is used with friends/peers, children, and pets. Usted would be used with strangers, persons of authority, and elders.
2. The pronoun “vos” is used in certain Latin American countries instead of “tú”. The singular familiar pronoun for “you” that is taught in the United States is almost always “tú”.
3. The pronoun “vosotros” is used in Spain only, not in Latin America. In Latin America, the plural familiar form for “you” will be “ustedes”. Therefore, they use “ustedes” for both the formal and familiar plural.
4. Spanish is a pro-drop language, meaning that the subject pronouns “yo”, “tú”, “nosotros”, & “vosotros” are not required in a sentence as they are easily understood by the verb endings. Note that this is different from French, which always requires the use of the subject pronoun.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| first person | yo | nosotros |
| second person | tú; vos* | vosotros |
| third person | él, ella, usted | ellos, ellas, ustedes |
| yo tú, vos él ella usted nosotros vosotros ellos ellas ustedes | I you (familiar singular) he she you (formal singular) we you (familiar plural) they (masculine, or any group including a male) they (feminine) you (plural) |