Subject pronouns tell us who does the action in a sentence and they sometimes can be left out in Spanish because the verb endings give the clue.
List
Subject pronouns are short words like yo, tú, and ella that identify the speaker, listener, or others performing the action.
| Spanish Word(s) | English Word(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | I | |
| tú | you (informal) | |
| usted | you (formal) | |
| él | he | |
| ella | she | |
| nosotros | we (masculine/mixed) | |
| nosotras | we (feminine) | |
| vosotros | you all (informal, Spain) | |
| vosotras | you all (informal, feminine, Spain) | |
| ustedes | you all (formal or Latin America) | |
| ellos | they (masculine/mixed) | |
| ellas | they (feminine) | |
| tú / vos | you (informal) |
I am going to the market this morning.
Usage
Use subject pronouns to emphasize who does the action, to clarify, or in cases where dropping them would confuse the meaning; otherwise they can be omitted because verb endings show the subject.
Special Cases
In Latin America vos replaces tú in some countries and in Spain vosotros is used for informal plural while Latin America uses ustedes for all plural you; choose pronouns based on region and formality.
Region Vocabulary
| Spanish Word(s) | English Word(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| tú | you (informal) | |
| vos | you (informal, Latin America) | |
| vosotros | you all (informal, Spain) | |
| ustedes | you all (formal or Latin America) |
Summary
Subject pronouns like yo, tú, and ella identify who does the action; they can be left out when the verb ending makes the subject clear and regional choices affect which forms you use.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025