Spanish Subject Pronouns

I. Subject Pronouns

SingularPlural
1st personI = yoWe = Nosotros/as
2nd personYou (familiar) = túYou (plural, familiar) = Vosotros/as \n *only used in Spain
3rd personYou (formal) = Usted (Ud.) \n He =él \n She =ellaYou (plural) = Ustedes (Uds.) \n They =ellos/as

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