Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are the words we use to replace the name of the person or thing performing an action — "I", "you", "he", "she", "we", "they" in English. Spanish has more subject pronouns than English because it distinguishes between formal and informal address, and between masculine and feminine groups.

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The Complete List

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	yo (I)	nosotros/nosotras (we)
2nd informal	tú (you)	vosotros/vosotras (you all)
2nd formal	usted (you)	ustedes (you all)
3rd	él (he), ella (she)	ellos/ellas (they)

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Breaking Down Each Pronoun

Yo — I

• Always written in lowercase (unless it starts a sentence)
• Unlike English "I", yo is not capitalised in the middle of a sentence
• Yo soy estudiante. — I am a student.

Tú — You (Informal, Singular)

• Used with friends, family, children, peers, and people your own age
• Always has an accent mark: tú (pronoun) vs tu (possessive — your)
• ¿Tú hablas español? — Do you speak Spanish?

Él / Ella — He / She

• Él carries an accent to distinguish it from el (the article)
• Él es mi hermano. — He is my brother.
• Ella es profesora. — She is a teacher.

Usted — You (Formal, Singular)

• Used to show respect: with strangers, elders, authority figures, and in professional settings
• Abbreviated as Ud. or Vd.
• Takes third-person verb forms (same as él/ella)
• ¿Usted habla inglés? — Do you speak English? (formal)

Tip: When in doubt, use usted. It is always better to be too polite than too informal.

Nosotros / Nosotras — We

• Nosotros — we (all-male or mixed group)
• Nosotras — we (all-female group)
• Nosotros somos de España. — We are from Spain.

Vosotros / Vosotras — You All (Informal)

• Used only in Spain
• Vosotros — you all (all-male or mixed group)
• Vosotras — you all (all-female group)
• ¿Vosotros sois amigos? — Are you all friends?

Ustedes — You All (Formal, or Universal in Latin America)

• In Spain: formal "you all" (paired with vosotros for informal)
• In Latin America: the only "you all" — used for both formal and informal situations
• Abbreviated as Uds. or Vds.
• Takes third-person plural verb forms (same as ellos/ellas)
• ¿Ustedes son de México? — Are you all from Mexico?

Ellos / Ellas — They

• Ellos — they (all-male or mixed group)
• Ellas — they (all-female group)
• Ellos viven en Barcelona. — They live in Barcelona.

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Tú vs Usted: The Key Distinction

One of the most important concepts in Spanish is the difference between informal and formal "you".

	Tú	Usted
Register	Informal	Formal
Verb form	2nd person singular	3rd person singular
Used with	Friends, family, children, peers	Strangers, elders, bosses, officials
Abbreviation	—	Ud. / Vd.
Example	¿Tú quieres café?	¿Usted quiere café?

When to Use Tú

• With friends and family
• With children and young people
• Among students and colleagues of similar age
• In casual, everyday settings
• When someone says trátame de tú (address me informally)

When to Use Usted

• With people you have just met (especially older people)
• In professional or business settings
• With authority figures (police, judges, doctors in formal contexts)
• When you want to show respect or distance
• In customer service (shops, restaurants, hotels)