1.5: Subject Pronouns
- Page ID
- 415612
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All sentences must have a subject. A subject tells who is performing the action or is being described in a sentence. A subject can be a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually the subject goes before the verb in a sentence.
Sometimes a subject has a specific name, such as María or Juan. Other times the subject can be a subject pronouns. For example, instead of María we can say she or ella. Instead of Juan we can say he or él.
Subject pronouns can be singular or plural. María is a singular subject. María y Juan is a plural subject.
Subject pronouns also denote gender, meaning whether a noun is feminine or masculine.
Subject pronouns can be remembered in this way.
SINGULAR PLURAL
first person, the speaker yo = I nosotros, nosotras = we
second person, person spoken to tú = you, familiar vosotros, vosotras = you all, familiar
third person,person spoken about él = he ellos = they, masculine ella = she ellas = they, feminine usted = you, formal ustedes = you all, formal
There are four different ways to say you in Spanish. In Spanish you consider your relationship with the person or persons with whom you are speaking and decide if you have a familiar or formal relationship. If you are talking to someone you know well, like family or a friend, you use the forms of tú or vosotros or vosotras. Vosotros and Vosotras is mainly used in Spain. Other countries will use ustedes for a plural form of you.
If you are addressing someone with whom you want or need to be more formal, you use the forms of usted or ustedes. Usted and ustedes show more respect and you use them to be more formal and with people like the parents of a friend, a teacher, an employer, or a group of adults.
Usted can be abbreviated Ud. and ustedes can be abbreviated Uds.
Usted and Ustedes are derived from the expressions vuestro merced or vuestra merced and vuestros mercedes or vuestras mercedes, your grace. This is from the medieval era when the different autonomous regions of Spain each had their own king and queen.
Review the subject pronouns that are listed above. Then complete the following exercises.
Prácticas.
A. Translate the following subject pronouns into Spanish.
1. They (a group of males)
2. I
3. She
4. We (a group of females)
5. You (familiar, singular)
6. You (familiar, plural)
7. You (formal, singular)
8. You (formal, plural)
9. He
10. They (a group of females)
11. We (a group of males)
B. Replace these subjects with the appropriate subject pronoun.
1. Juan
2. Juan y Carlos
3. Elena
4. Elena y María
5. Mi madre
6. La profesora
7. Los estudiantes
8. Mis padres
9. Tú y yo
10. La familia
C. Decide which of the Spanish words for YOU is most appropriate, and then write it.
1. Tu mejor amigo
2. La presidenta de la universidad
3. Los estudiantes en tu clase
4. La profesora
5. Todos sus profesores
6. Un grupo de sus amigos
7. Ana, María y Ava
8. el señor González
9. el señor Gómez y la señora Gómez
10. una persona nueva
D. Explain what subject pronouns are and when they are used. Explain why they are used more in English than Spanish.
E. Why are there more forms of the word you in Spanish than English? What do you think of this?