interrogativos ):
Relative pronouns used as question words. To differentiate relative and interrogative pronouns, the latter are spelled with accent marks: qué, cuál, cuáles, quién, and quiénes.
8. Exclamation pronouns ( pronombres exclamativos ): The same five pronouns, but used in exclamations. For example: ¡Qúe bonito! (How pretty!)
Numeral pronouns, or numerals used as pronouns, are covered in Chapter 3. Relative and interrogative pronouns are reviewed in Chapter 2, which explains the structure of the Spanish question and exclamation.
It’s Personal
There are four types of personal pronouns: subject pronouns, direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, and reflexive pronouns. Subject pronouns are pronouns representing nouns that serve as the subject of the verb.
Subject Pronouns
singular
plural
yo (I)
nosotros, nosotras (we)
tú (you, informal)
vosotros, vosotras (you, informal in Spain)
usted (you, formal)
ustedes (you)
él, ella, ello (he, she, it)
ellos, ellas (they)
Subject pronouns in English and Spanish differ in a few important ways. First of all, subject pronouns are often dropped in Spanish. The explanation is simple: If the verb is present, its ending will reflect the person and number of its subject, so that it is obvious what the subject pronoun would be. This means yo busco (I look for) can simply be stated as busco. The –o ending makes it clear the subject pronoun is yo . Even in the third person singular, where the subject pronoun could be él, ella, ello, or usted, the pronoun is dropped when the subject is obvious from context:
Dolores es de Madrid. Es madrileña.
Dolores is from Madrid. She is a madrileña .
Also note that some of the Spanish subject pronouns reflect the gender of the noun they represent, which does not occur in English (except in the case of “he” and “she”): nosotras is a feminine form of “we,” vosotras is a feminine form of the informal “you” used in Spain, and ellas is a feminine form of “they.” As you’ve already learned, when speaking of a mixed-gender group, the masculine form should be used.
ESSENTIAL
The equivalent of “it,” ello, is a neuter form rarely encountered in modern Spanish. Here’s an example of how it might be used: Como consecuencia de ello, estamos vencidos. (As a consequence [of it], we’re conquered.)
Hey, You!
Arguably the most important difference between subject pronouns (and other personal pronouns) in English and Spanish is the use of the second person pronouns. In English, “you” is used any time you address another person or group of people, regardless of whether you’re being casual or polite. In Spanish, you’ll need to choose one of several different pronouns depending on the situation at hand.
When addressing one person, you have to choose between a casual and a polite “you.” When speaking to friends or people much younger than yourself, you can use the casual form, tú. In all other cases, it’s best to err on the side of politeness and choose the polite form, usted. If the person you’re speaking with finds this form too formal, he’ll invite you to switch to tú. (The verb for speaking in the tú form is tutearse.)
In most of Argentina and Uruguay, as well as in a few other regions of Latin America, vos is used instead of tú in addressing a person informally. When this occurs, the verb ending is different as well. For example, in the present tense, “you have” is vos tenés and not tú tienes.
In the plural, your pronoun usage will depend on whether you’re speaking Spanish in Spain or in Latin America. In Spain, there are two more words meaning “you”: vosotros (or vosotras for feminine nouns) is the informal form, the plural equivalent of tú, whereas ustedes is the more formal version, the plural of usted . In Latin America, no distinction is made between formal and informal address in the plural. When speaking to more than one person, Latin Americans always use