We use personal pronouns to talk about people without naming them. They substitute the noun and are usually used for emphasis or to avoid confusion. The personal pronouns are presented below.
yo
I
tú
you
él
he, him or it
ella
she, her, or it
usted (Ud.)
you (formal)
nosotros (as)
we, us
vosotros (as)*
you all
ellos
they
ellas
they (females)
ustedes (Uds.)
you all (formal)
*vosotros (as) are mainly used in Spain.
Yo quiero un teléfono celular. I want a cell phone.
Tú tienes que aprender las palabras. You have to learn the words.
¿Está él o ella aquí hoy?
Is he or she here today?
Usted va a trabajar con Marta. You're going to work with Marta.
Nosotros diremos la verdad. We will tell the truth.
¿En qué ciudad viven ellos?
What city do they live in?
Ellas van a bajar del carro. They're going to get out of the car.
Ustedes fueron muy imprudentes. You all were very imprudent.
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We use personal1pronouns2 to talk about people. They are usually used to make emphasis on the person or to avoid confusion. They can be used as subject pronouns and object pronouns.
Used as Subject Pronouns
Personal pronouns are considered subject pronouns when they tell us who does the action in the sentence.
Yo quiero bailar. I want to dance. Nosotros necesitamos más tiempo. We need more time. Usted no tiene por qué estar enojado. You don’t have any reason to be angry.
Subject pronouns are not always needed because the verb tells the story in Spanish. This means that the verb ending tells us who we are talking about.6
Yo quiero comer. I want to eat. (emphasis on “I”) Quiero comer.7
I want to eat.
Nosotros necesitamos dinero. We need money. (emphasis on “we”) Necesitamos dinero.8
We need money.
Él no come las verduras. He doesn’t eat vegetables. (emphasis on “he”) No come las verduras.
He doesn’t eat vegetables.
See the following example in a phrase:
Hay una chica que se llama Julia; ella tiene muchos zapatos, pero está triste porque quiere tener más zapatos.
There is a girl named Julia; she has a lot of shoes, but [she] is sad because she wants to have more shoes.9
Used as Object Pronouns
We use personal pronouns as object pronouns when they receive the action from the noun, they can go after the verb adding a preposition.10
Vamos a hablar conél.
We’re going to talk withhim. Mis abuelos no trajeron nada paramí.11
My grandparents didn’t bring anything forme. Entretú y yo, ese señor está loco. Betweenyou and me, that guy is crazy. Julia piensa que todo tiene que ver conella.
Julia thinks that everything has to do withher.
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