👤 Pronouns - Pronombres
Beginner Spanish · Subject pronouns
Spanish Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns tell you who is doing an action. Spanish uses words such as yo, tú, él, and ella, but speakers often leave the pronoun out when the verb already makes the subject clear.
Your next small win: recognize the main Spanish subject pronouns, match them with the right verb forms, choose between tú and usted, and understand when a pronoun can be omitted.
Start with singular subjects
Core Subject Pronouns
I
you, informal singular
he
she
you, formal singular
I study Spanish.
You work here.
He lives in Madrid.
She speaks Spanish.
Notice the accents: tú means “you,” while tu can mean “your.” Él means “he,” while el is the masculine singular article “the.”
Name the singular pronouns
Say “I, you informal, he, she, and you formal” in Spanish.
yo, tú, él, ella, usted
Talk about groups
Plural Subject Pronouns
we
you all
they, masculine or mixed group
they, feminine group
We cook together.
You all speak very well.
They are friends.
Vosotros and regional usage
you all, informal plural used mainly in Spain
In most of Latin America, ustedes is the usual plural form of “you.” In Spain, vosotros and vosotras are commonly used for informal plural “you,” while ustedes can be used in more formal contexts.
Choose the group pronoun
Say “we,” “you all,” and “they” for an all-female group.
nosotros / nosotras
ustedes
ellas
The subject and verb work together
Match the Verb to the Subject
Changing the subject often changes the verb form too.
I speak.
You speak.
She speaks.
We speak.
You all speak.
They speak.
Usted: although usted means “you,” it uses third-person singular verb forms. Compare tú hablas with usted habla.
I am a student.
He has a dog.
We live here.
Match three subjects and verbs
Complete the ideas with the right forms of hablar: yo, tú, and ella.
Yo hablo.
Tú hablas.
Ella habla.
Use pronouns naturally
When Do You Say the Pronoun?
Spanish often leaves subject pronouns unstated because the verb form already gives useful information about the subject.
I speak Spanish.
I speak Spanish.
Both examples mean “I speak Spanish.” The pronoun can be useful for emphasis, contrast, or clarity, but it is often unnecessary when the subject is already clear.
Tú and usted
What is your name? Informal.
How are you? Formal.
Formality varies: when people use tú or usted depends on region, relationship, age, setting, and local custom. Treat them as different ways of addressing one person, not as a rigid universal rule.
Meeting someone
What is your name?
My name is Ana. And you?
My name is Carlos.
Speaking formally
How are you?
Very well, thank you. And you?
More useful pronoun questions
Where do you all live?
What are they doing?
Say it with and without the pronoun
Say “I study Spanish” once with yo and once without it.
Yo estudio español.
Estudio español.
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Subject Pronouns
Choose the answer that best fits each situation. Focus on pronoun meaning, verb agreement, formal and informal address, and when the pronoun can be omitted.
Practice complete
You can match Spanish subject pronouns with useful verb forms.
A few pronoun patterns to revisit
One last step: create four sentences without choices.
Write one sentence with yo, one with tú, one with nosotros or nosotras, and one with ellos or ellas. Make each verb match its subject.
Yo estudio español.
Tú trabajas aquí.
Nosotros cocinamos juntos.
Ellas son amigas.
You want to say “I study Spanish.” Which sentence has the correct subject and verb?
- Yo estudio español.
- Tú estudias español.
- Ella estudia español.
- Nosotros estudiamos español.
Yo means “I,” and the matching form used here is estudio.
Yo estudio español.
You are speaking informally to one person and want to say “You work here.” Which sentence fits?
- Tú trabajas aquí.
- Yo trabajo aquí.
- Usted trabaja aquí.
- Ustedes trabajan aquí.
Tú is the informal singular subject, and trabajas matches tú.
Tú trabajas aquí.
Which pronoun means “we”?
- nosotros / nosotras
- ellos / ellas
- ustedes
- usted
Nosotros and nosotras mean “we.”
nosotros / nosotras = we
You are talking about an all-female group. Which pronoun means “they”?
- ellas
- ellos
- ustedes
- nosotras
Ellas is used for an all-female group. Ellos is used for masculine or mixed groups.
ellas = they, feminine group
You want to ask one person “How are you?” using the formal form taught in the lesson. What do you ask?
- ¿Cómo está usted?
- ¿Cómo estás tú?
- ¿Cómo están ustedes?
- ¿Cómo están ellos?
Usted is the formal singular pronoun and uses the third-person singular form está.
¿Cómo está usted?
Which sentence correctly matches él with tener?
- Él tiene un perro.
- Él tengo un perro.
- Él tienes un perro.
- Él tenemos un perro.
Él uses the third-person singular form tiene.
Él tiene un perro.
You and another person live here. Which sentence correctly uses nosotros?
- Nosotros vivimos aquí.
- Nosotros vive aquí.
- Nosotros viven aquí.
- Nosotros vives aquí.
Nosotros means “we,” and vivimos is the matching verb form.
Nosotros vivimos aquí.
The subject is already clear and you want to say “I speak Spanish.” Which shorter sentence is natural?
- Hablo español.
- Hablas español.
- Habla español.
- Hablan español.
Spanish can omit yo because the verb form hablo already identifies the speaker as the subject.
Hablo español.