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Spanish · Grammar · A1

Spanish subject pronouns: yo, tú, usted, and why you can usually drop them

The verb already says who · tap a person
yohabloespañol
The pronoun is optional: the red ending already tells you who.
HabloI-speakespañol.Spanish
AH-bloh es-pah-NYOL · “I speak Spanish.”Why: -o can only be yo.

Short answer: a subject pronoun is the word for who does the action: I, you, she. In Spanish they are yo, tú, él, ella, usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas, ustedes. Because the verb ending already shows the person (hablo can only mean “I speak”), Spanish usually leaves the pronoun out. You add it for contrast or emphasis (Yo trabajo, tú no), or to make él/ella/usted clear. “It” as a subject has no Spanish word at all: Llueve (it’s raining). Spain uses vosotros for “you all” among friends; Latin America uses ustedes for everyone.

Four ways to say “you”

Tú or usted?

INFORMALFORMALONE PERSONSEVERAL túustedvosotrosustedes friends, family, childrenstrangers, older peopleSpain onlyLatin America: for everyone
Usted takes the él/ella verb form (it was once vuestra merced, “your grace”), so ¿Usted habla inglés?, not hablas. In Argentina and Uruguay, vos replaces tú.
tú · informal
¿Tieneshave-youhambre?hunger
TYEH-nes AM-breh · “Are you hungry?”Why: -es ending = tú. No pronoun needed.
usted · formal
¿Tienehaveustedyouhambre?hunger
TYEH-neh oos-TED AM-breh · “Are you hungry? (formal)”Why: usted is often said aloud, to sound polite and avoid confusion with él.
vosotros · Spain
¿Veníscome-you-allesta noche?this night
beh-NEES ES-tah NOH-cheh · “Are you all coming tonight?”Why: Spain only. In Latin America: ¿Vienen esta noche?
vos · Argentina
¿Vosyousabés?know
BOS sah-BES · “Do you know?”Why: vos has its own verb forms, stressed at the end: sabés, tenés, sos.
When to say the pronoun

Yo sí, tú no

Contrast
YoItrabajo,worktúyouno.not
YOH trah-BAH-hoh, TOO NOH · “I work; you don’t.”Why: Two different people: name them.
Emphasis
¡Lo pagoit I-payyo!I
loh PAH-goh YOH · “I’ll pay!”Why: A pronoun after the verb is strong emphasis: “me, I’m paying”.
Clarity
Ellashecomeeatscarne,meatél no.he not
EH-yah KOH-meh KAR-neh, EL NOH · “She eats meat; he doesn’t.”Why: come could be he, she or you: the pronouns sort it out.
No “it”
Esit-isimportante.important
es eem-por-TAN-teh · “It’s important.”Why: Spanish has no subject “it”: just the verb. Same with weather: llueve, nieva.
The full set

All ten, with hablar

PronounSay itEnglishhablar
yoYOHIhablo
túTOOyou (friend)hablas
élELhehabla
ellaEH-yahshehabla
ustedoos-TEDyou (formal)habla
nosotros / nosotrasnoh-SOH-trohswehablamos
vosotros / vosotrasboh-SOH-trohsyou all (Spain)habláis
ellosEH-yohsthey (m. or mixed)hablan
ellasEH-yahsthey (all f.)hablan
ustedesoos-TEH-desyou allhablan
Pronouns after prepositions

Para mí, contigo, entre tú y yo

After a preposition, yo becomes mí and tú becomes ti. The others stay the same. With con you get special forms.

Se for “people” and “one”

Se dice, se habla

How do you say
¿Cómohowse diceis-said“window”?window
KOH-moh seh DEE-theh · “How do you say “window”?”Why: se + 3rd-person verb = one / people.
Signs
Se hablais-spokeninglés.English
seh AH-blah een-GLES · “English spoken.”Why: Common on shop doors.
Rules
Nonotse puedeone-canfumar.smoke
noh seh PWEH-deh foo-MAR · “No smoking.”Why: Literally “one can’t smoke”.
Plural
Se vendenare-soldpisos.flats
seh BEN-den PEE-sohs · “Flats for sale.”Why: The verb agrees with the plural noun.
Keep going

Related guides

habloPresent tense →All the verb endings.lo veoObject pronouns →me, te, lo, la.ustedRegister →When to switch to usted.tu casaPossessives →mi, tu, su.