A1.1 - Greetings and Farewells

Personal pronouns

Los pronombres personales

Los pronombres personales de sujeto en español son yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos y ellas.

(Spanish subject personal pronouns are yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos and ellas.)

Personal pronouns: what they do in Spanish

Pronouns replace the subject (the person doing the action): “I, you, he, we…”.

  • Spanish chooses the pronoun by person (1st/2nd/3rd), number (singular/plural), and sometimes gender (masc./fem.).
  • Pronouns help you pick the correct verb form: yo soy, tú eres, nosotros somos.
  • In real Spanish, the pronoun is often omitted because the verb already shows the person.

Fast choice guide: which “you” should I use?

Meaning Spain (common) Latin America (common)
you (1 person), informal tú tú (or vos in some countries)
you (1 person), formal usted usted (often used more broadly)
you (several), informal vosotros / vosotras ustedes (also for informal)
you (several), formal ustedes ustedes
  • Key point: usted and ustedes take 3rd-person verbs (like “he/she/they”).

The most common pitfall: “usted” is grammatically 3rd person

Meaning: “you (formal)”. Grammar: it behaves like “he/she”.

  • Correct: Usted es el señor García.
  • Wrong: Usted eres el señor García.
  • Correct: Ustedes están en la sala de reuniones.
  • Wrong: Ustedes estáis en la sala de reuniones.

Gender & mixed groups: when does it matter?

  • Gender matters in 3rd person singular/plural and in “we/you(pl.)” forms:
  • We: nosotros (mixed/men) / nosotras (all women)
  • You (pl.) in Spain: vosotros (mixed/men) / vosotras (all women)
  • They: ellos (mixed/men) / ellas (all women)

Default rule: if the group is mixed, Spanish uses the masculine plural (nosotros, vosotros, ellos).

Do I always need to say the pronoun?

Often, no. Spanish is a “drop-subject” language.

With pronoun Without pronoun Why you might keep it
Yo soy Marta. Soy Marta. To emphasize “I” (not someone else)
¿Tú estás bien? ¿Estás bien? To contrast (you vs. others) or sound more explicit
Nosotros estamos aquí. Estamos aquí. To clarify who “we” is (e.g., in a meeting)

Self-check: choose the pronoun in 3 steps

  1. Who? me / you / him-her / we / they
  2. How many? one person or a group
  3. Relationship? informal (tú) vs formal (usted)
  • If it’s a group, ask: all women? If yes, choose nosotras/vosotras/ellas. If not, choose the masculine plural.
  • If you use usted/ustedes, remember: the verb is 3rd person (es/está, son/están).

Mini examples for a professional context

  • Introducing yourself: (Yo) soy Laura, del departamento de finanzas.
  • Informal colleague: ¿Tú eres nuevo en el equipo?
  • Client / senior manager: ¿Usted está disponible mañana?
  • To the whole team (neutral, widely used): ¿Ustedes tienen tiempo ahora?
  1. Pronouns agree with the subject’s gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
  2. Use masculine pronouns for a group of all men or a mixed group.
  3. Use "tú" / "vosotros" for informal situations.
  4. Use "usted" / "ustedes" for formal situations.
Persona (Person)Singular (Singular)Plural (Plural)
Primera (First)YoNosotros / Nosotras
Segunda (Second)TúVosotros / Vosotras
Tercera (Third)Él / Ella / UstedEllos / Ellas / Ustedes

Exceptions!

  1. In some Latin American countries, the use of "usted" is more frequent, and it is used both in formal contexts and in many informal contexts.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Buenos días, ___ soy Marta, la nueva compañera de trabajo.

Good morning, ___ I'm Marta, the new coworker.

2. Hola, ¿___ estás bien? Empezamos la clase.

Hello, ___ are you all right? Let's begin the class.

3. Buenas tardes, ¿___ es el señor García?

Good afternoon, ___ are you Mr. García?

4. Hola, ___ estamos en la sala de reuniones. Hasta luego.

Hello, ___ we are in the meeting room. See you later.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences, changing the subject to the correct personal pronoun (I, you, he, she, you (formal), we, you (plural informal), you (plural informal feminine), they (masculine or mixed), they (feminine), you (plural formal)).

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  1. María trabaja en una oficina.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ella trabaja en una oficina.
    (She works in an office.)
  2. El señor García es mi jefe.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Él es mi jefe.
    (He is my boss.)
  3. Hint Hint (Nosotros) Tú y yo somos compañeros de trabajo.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Nosotros somos compañeros de trabajo.
    (We are colleagues.)
  4. La doctora Pérez y la señora Ruiz hablan con el director.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ellas hablan con el director.
    (They are talking with the director.)
  5. Hint Hint (usted) Señor López, ¿cómo está?
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    ¿Cómo está usted?
    (How are you, sir?)
  6. Hint Hint (ustedes) Señor y señora Martín, ¿quieren un café?
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    ¿Quieren ustedes un café?
    (Would you like a coffee, Mr. and Mrs. Martín?)

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