Pronouns

Pronouns are used to replace nouns. Pronouns

are usually shorter and quicker ways of
referring to a noun to help make sentences
less repetitive.

Subject pronouns

Subject pronouns are used to replace a noun which is the subject of the verb, in other words, the
person or thing that is doing the action in the sentence.

The words I, you, he, she, we, you and they are subject pronouns, eg Leo juega al

fútbol (Leo plays football) becomes él juega al fútbol (he plays football). Subject pronouns are
mostly used for emphasis in Spanish:

yo I

tú you (singular)

él he

ella she

usted you (formal singular)

nosotros we (all male or a mixed group)

nosotras we (all female)

vosotros you (plural -- all male or a mixed group)

vosotras you (plural -- all female)

ellos they (all male or a mixed group)

ellas they (all female)

 ustedes you (formal plural)

 There are different ways of saying you in Spanish. Use tú to talk to one person and vosotros for
more than one person. Usted and ustedes mean you in formal situations, eg a job interview, talking
to a head teacher, talking to someone you don't know etc.
 The masculine forms nosotros, vosotros and ellos are all used for a mixed group of males and
females, even if there are more females than males in the group.
Question
Replace the subject in bold with the correct subject pronoun.

1. Joel vive en Madrid.
2. Isabella y Elena fueron al cine.
3. Miguel y yo estamos muy contentos.
4. Ana, Susana y Pedro van al mismo colegio.
Hide answer

1. Él vive en Madrid (He lives in Madrid).

2. Ellas fueron al cine (They went to the cinema).
3. Nosotros estamos muy contentos (We are very happy).
4. Ellos van al mismo colegio (They go to the same school).

1.

Object pronouns

There are two types of object pronouns: direct and indirect.

Direct object pronouns

Direct object pronouns are used to replace a noun that is the direct object of the verb, eg I
bought it instead of I bought the book.

me me

te you (singular - informal)

lo him/it/you (singular - formal)

la her/it/you (singular - formal)

nos us

os you (plural - informal)

los/las them/you (plural - formal)

Indirect object pronouns

Indirect object pronouns are used to replace a noun which is not the direct object of the verb, eg I
gave it to them.

me (to) me

te (to) you (singular - informal)

le (to) him/it/you (singular - formal)

nos (to) us

os (to) you (plural - informal)

les (to) them/you (plural - formal)

Direct and indirect object pronouns both come in front of the verb. For example:

Lo hice. (I did it.)

Los compré. (I bought them.)

Le escribí. (I wrote to him.)

Los profesores nos dan muchos deberes. (The teachers give a lot of homework to us.)

They can also go at the end of an infinitive, eg voy a comprarlo(I am going to buy it), tenemos
que darles un regalo (we have to give a present to them).

If there are two pronouns in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun always comes before the
direct object pronoun, eg mis amigos me lo dieron (my friends gave it to me).

Question
 Replace the nouns in bold with the correct object pronoun.

1. Mi hermano tiene el móvil.

2. Compré los zapatos ayer.
3. Mando un mensaje a mi amigo.
4. Voy a comer la manzana.
5. Hice las tareas domésticas.
6. Escribo regularmente a mis abuelos.
Hide answer

1. Mi hermano lo tiene (My brother has it). The direct object pronoun lo replaces the noun el

móvil (mobile phone).
2. Los compré ayer (I bought them yesterday). The direct object pronoun los replaces the
noun los zapatos (shoes).
3. Le mando un mensaje (I send a message to him). The indirect object pronoun le replaces
the noun mi amigo (my friend).
4. Voy a comerla (I am going to eat it). The direct object pronoun la replaces the noun la
manzana (apple). In this case, la voy a comer would also be correct.
5. Las hice (I did them). The direct object pronoun lareplaces the noun las tareas
domésticas (household chores).
6. Les escribo regularmente (I write to them regularly). The indirect object
pronoun les replaces the noun mis abuelos(my grandparents).

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs, when the subject performs an action to itself,
eg me lavo (I wash myself), nos levantamos (we get up).

The reflexive pronoun always comes before the verb.

me myself

te yourself (informal)

se himself, herself, itself, yourself (formal)

nos ourselves
os yourselves (informal)

se themselves, yourselves (formal)

Reflexive pronouns go at the end of the infinitive in the immediate future tense, eg nunca voy a
casarme (I am never going to get married), or when the infinitive follows another verb,
eg queremos sentarnos (we want to sit down).

Question

Put these words into the correct order to make sentences.

1. Jorge gets on very well with his sister.

bien   su   Jorge   su   lleva   hermana   se   muy   con

2. I feel very happy with my friends.

feliz   con   siento   Me   mis   amigos   muy

3. My family and I wake up at seven.

las   Mi   yo   y   despertamos   familia   siete   nos   a

4. The pupils sat down immediately.

inmediatamente   se   Los   sentaron   alumnos

Hide answer

1. Jorge se lleva muy bien con su hermana.

2. Me siento muy feliz con mis amigos.

3. Mi familia y yo nos despertamos a las siete.

4. Los alumnos se sentaron inmediatamente.