Spanish Subject Pronouns

I. Subject Pronouns

Yo

• Do not capitalize yo unless it is the first word in a sentence.
• Ejemplos:
  • Mi mamá y yo fuimos a la tienda. - My mom and I went to the store.
  • Yo fui a la tienda solo. - I went to the store by myself.

Tú vs. Usted

• Use tú when talking to people with whom you are on a first-name basis.
  • Friends
  • Family
  • Small children
  • People younger than you
  • Pets
• Tú is written with a tilde to distinguish it from the possessive adjective tu (your).
• Use usted when talking with people to whom you should show respect.
  • People in authority (police, teachers, bosses, etc.)
  • Strangers
  • Acquaintances
  • Adults
• You can abbreviate usted as Ud. in writing.

Él, Ella

• Él and ella are commonly used in place of a person’s name.
• Él is written with a tilde to differentiate it from the definite article el (the).

Vos

• Vos is used instead of tú in some countries, such as Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
• In some countries, such as Bolivia, Chile, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, you may hear both tú and vos.
• In some countries, such as Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, you will only ever hear tú.

Nosotros, Nosotras

• Use nosotros and nosotras when speaking about a group of which you are a part.
• The difference between nosotros and nosotras is gender.
  • Nosotros is used to refer to a group of men or only a group made up of men and women. Even if there are 99 women and 1 man in a group, you still use nosotros.
  • Nosotras is feminine and is only used when the entire group is female.

Vosotros, Vosotras

• Vosotros and vosotras are used to speak directly to a group of people you’re very familiar with.
• They follow the same gender rules as nosotros and nosotras.
• Vosotros and vosotras are used in Spain, but you won’t hear them in Latin America.

Ustedes

• In Latin America, ustedes is used to speak directly to a group of people in both formal and informal situations.
• In Spain, ustedes is used when talking to a group of people in a formal situation.
• You can abbreviate ustedes as Uds. in writing.

Ellos, Ellas

• Ellos and ellas follow the same gender rules as nosotros, nosotras, vosotros and vosotras.

Source: https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/subject-pronouns-in-spanish

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