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Personal Pronouns

CEFR A1 · Lesson 6 of 11

Subject pronouns tell you who's doing the action — but in Spanish, the verb ending often does that job already.

Subject pronouns tell you who is doing the action — but in Spanish, the verb ending already carries that information, so pronouns are often left out entirely.

Subject pronouns
SpanishEnglish
yoI
you (informal)
ustedyou (formal)
él / ellahe / she
nosotros / nosotraswe
vosotros / vosotrasyou all (informal, Spain)
ustedesyou all (formal, and everywhere in Latin America)
ellos / ellasthey

Why they're often dropped

Spanish verb endings already show who's acting, so hablo alone means "I speak" — adding yo is optional. Subject pronouns are mainly used for:

  • Emphasis: Yo no dije eso. (I didn't say that.)
  • Contrast: Yo trabajo, tú descansas. (I work, you rest.)
  • Clarity: when the verb form alone could mean more than one person (e.g. él/ella/usted all use "habla").
Hablo español.I speak Spanish. (no pronoun needed)
Nosotras somos hermanas.We are sisters. (all-female "we")
Ustedes son mis estudiantes.You all are my students.
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Regional note: vosotros is used mainly in Spain. Across Latin America, ustedes covers "you all" in both formal and informal situations.

Practice

Check your understanding

1.Which pronoun means "we" for a group of women only?

2.The informal plural "you all," used mainly in Spain, is:

3.True or false: in Spanish, you must always say the subject pronoun before the verb.

4.Choose the formal, singular "you":

5.Which pronoun means "he"?

6.Which pronoun is used across Latin America instead of "vosotros"?

7.True or false: "ella" and "usted" use the same verb form ("habla").

8.The verb ending in "hablamos" already implies which pronoun?

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