Spanish Grammar Podcast

Subject Pronouns (free mini version)

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The subject of this episode is Subject Pronouns.

To understand this topic, it may be helpful to review a few grammar terms. A "verb" is an action word, such as "run" or "eat," and the "infinitive" is the main form of the verb, such as "to run" or "to eat." The "subject" of a sentence performs the action of the verb, and the infinitive changes to accommodate the subject of the sentence. For example, "John runs." The subject of the sentence is "John," the infinitive is "to run" and the verb form is "runs." John runs.

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. We might say, "John runs," or we might use a pronoun and say "He runs." "He" is a pronoun that takes the place of the noun "John." If a pronoun functions as the subject of a sentence, then we call it a "subject pronoun," and that's the topic of this episode, "subject pronouns."

In English, the subject pronouns are, "I, you, he, she, we, you-all, and they." Listen now as I say the subject pronouns in Spanish, followed by their English counterparts.

yo - I
tú - you (familiar)
usted - you (formal)
él - he
ella - she
nosotros/nosotras - we
ustedes - you-all (formal)
vosotros/vosotras - you-all (familiar)
ellos/ellas - they

The only way to become comfortable with the subject pronouns is to practice using them. Remember, there are lots of practice activities on our website. For now, just listen as I say the subject pronouns one more time.

yo
tú
él, ella, usted
nosotros/nosotras
vosotros/vosotras
ellos/ellas ustedes

That wraps up our mini-episode on Subject Pronouns. Remember, there is lots of practice available on our website.