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SPANISH PRONOUNS
Just like adjectives, there are different types of spanish pronouns for different situations. The main types of pronouns can be summarized as follows:-
Personal pronouns Personal-subject pronouns I you he/she/it we you(plural) they
Usage (1) When it is clear who is the subject of the sentence, you don't need to use the subject pronoun estudiamos español - we are studying Spanish This is unlike English where you always have to use the pronoum. (2) When there is obviously a need for clarity she eats meat but he only eats fish - ella come carne pero el come pescado solo (3) When emphasis is required they really don't want it - ellos si que no le quieren (4) When used after 'ser' It's us - somos nosotros (5) Used in comparisons with que or como Juan is older than you - Juan es mas viejo que tú (6) When used after some prepositions The presents are for me - Los regalos son para yo (7) When using plural subject pronouns which are a mix of male and female, you have to use the male pronouns nosotros, vosotros, ellos
Personal-direct object pronouns If it is clear who or what is involved, then direct object pronouns can be used in place of the noun. Their house is very large, do you know it - Su casa es muy grande, la conoce
Usage (1) The direct object usually is positioned before the verb the men saw us - los hombres nos vieron (2) If the pronoun is the object of an infinitive or gerund it must be added to the end of the verb to form one word can you help us - puede ayudarnos; you will understand by doing it - hacerlo entenderás (3) When instructing or ordering, the pronoun also joins onto the end of the verb do it immediately - hacerlo en seguida (4) When an infinitive comes after another verb, you can join the pronoun at the end of the infinitive or put it before the verb they are going to do it - van hacerlo OR lo van a hacer
Personal-indirect object pronouns These replace nouns which are the indirect object of the verb. They often express to whom or for whom the action is done and what...to or what...for I gave him a drink - le di una bebida To whom did I give a drink? - him (indirect object) we bought some presents for them - les compramos unos regalos For whom did we buy the presents? - them (indirect object)
So, generally the pronouns above replace the prepositions 'a' and 'para' and a noun. he is reading for his children - Está leyendo para sus ninos, becomes he is reading for them - les está leyendo I sent a letter to a friend - Envié un carta a mi amigo becomes I sent a letter to him - Le envié una carta Usage (1) The indirect object pronouns come before the verb I am coming to see you - estoy viniendo le ver Have you visited them before - Les has visitado antes They never visit us - Ellos nada nos visitan (2) Indirect object pronouns can be found in some popular phrases which use reflexive verbs I lost my mobile phone - Se me perdí el móvil The object pronoun le can mean to him, to her, to you, and les can mean to them and to you. Also se can mean all of these. To clarify which is meant, a el, a ella or a usted can be added to the sentence eg we speak to him from time to time - A el le hablamos de vez en cuando (3) If a noun which is an object comes before the verb, then the related object pronoun must also be used and placed before the verb. We often see your parents - A sus padres, los vemos al menudo (4) In sentence constructions with definite articles and clothing or parts of the body, indirect object pronouns are often used when you might think a possessive adjective would be used. my leg is painful - me duele el pie his scarf was very long - La bufanda le estaba muy largo Pronouns after prepositions In Spanish the pronouns used with prepositions are based on the subject pronouns but with changes to the forms for: me, you, himself, herself, yourself, themselves, and yourselves.
These pronouns are used in expressions such as:- by her; for me; they walked towards him. es para nosotros - it's for us ella fue corrienda hacia mí - she was running towards me Pienso en ella - I think about her No hemos sabido nada de ellos - we have never heard from them Ella regressará sin él - she will return without him Usage (1) In addition to their use with prepositions, these pronouns are used when emphasis is required will she do it for you - va hacerló para ti? they are visiting me not you - me hacen una visita, no a ti (2) When used with the conjunction, con, the forms mí, ti and sé change to conmigo, contigo, and consigo would you like to dance with me - le gustaría bailar conmigo I hope to meet up with you tomorrow - espero reunir contigo mañana he took it with him - lo cogió consigo (3) A few prepositions take the subject pronouns yo and tú instead of the object pronouns mí and ti. These are: entre; hasta; menos; salvo and según. según - according to eg según yo - according to me menos - except eg todos menos tú - everybody except you entre - among, between eg entre nosotros y ellos - between us and them salvo - except eg todos salvo vosotras - everybody except you hasta - even, including eg hasta ella puede ir - even she can go Possessive Pronouns These are pronouns which show belonging such as: mine, yours, his and hers, ours and yours
Examples: your house is bigger than mine - tu casa es mas grande que la mía they think the car is yours - piensen que el coche es el tuyo your work was better than his - su trabaja fue mejor que el suyo their journey was longer than ours - su viaje fue mucho tiempo que la nuestra the bicycle is much more expensive than theirs - la bicicleta es muchisimo caro que la suya our wines are better than theirs - nuestros vinos son mejor que los suyos his dogs can run faster than mine - sus perros pueden correr mas rapido que los míos Usage (1) Possessive pronouns agree with what they are describing la suya can mean: its; his; hers; yours and theirs but can only be used to replace a feminine singular noun (2) Often el suyo is replaced with el de usted his car and yours - su coche y el de usted The same applies to la suya, los suyos, las suyas Indefinite Pronouns There are only a few of these general pronouns. They refer to things and people in a non-specific way.
Relative Pronouns These pronouns are related to a person or thing stated in the same sentence. The most familiar relative pronoun is que which can mean: that; which; who; and whom el equipo que ganó el campeonato - the team that won the championship la casa que compramos - the house which we are buying la chica que consiguió el trabajo - the girl who got the job In formal speech or writing, the pronouns change from the simple que to the following:-
the city centre, which is usually very lively, is quiet this year - el centro el cual (el que) es normalmente muy vivo, es tranquilo este año my daughter, the one who speaks Spanish, got married in Italy - mi hija, la cual (la que) habla espanol, se casó en Italia the workmen who repaired the roof, were very polite - los trabajadores los cuales (los que) repararon el techo, estaban muy educado the meals, which had been prepared too quickly, were not very tasty - las comidas, las cuales (las que) habian preparado demasiado rapido, no eran muy sabroso *The neuter form, lo que, is used when referring to the whole of the previous part of the sentence or referring to something without gender, meaning 'what'. Todo está tranquilo, lo que me parece raro = Everything is quiet, which seems strange Relative pronouns with prepositions In sentences where the pronoun is the object of a preposition such as: con,de,por,en; the pronoun forms que and quien are used. es la ciudad en que pensaba - it is the city which I was thinking about son el equipo con que trabajo - they are the team with whom I work Raphael es el chico a quien ella escribía - Raphael is the boy to whom she was writing fue el emperor por quien los soldados fueron preparado a mourir - it was the emperor who the soldiers were prepared to die for The Relative pronoun 'whose' 'Whose' is translated as: cuyo, cuya, cuyos and cuyas, depending on the noun it relates to. They all set up an ownership clause. Maria, cuyo coche es muy grande, tiene un empleo importante -Maria whose car is very large, has an important job. Miguel cuya madre es de Madrid, habla español excelente - Miguel whose mother is from Madrid, speaks excellent Spanish el equipo cuyos aficionados estan loco, gaño el campeoneto - the team whose fans are crazy, won the championship son los chicos cuyas madres estan muy amable - they are the boys whose mothers are very friendly Interrogative pronouns These are pronouns used in questions.
qué dicen - what are they saying qué quiere a hacer - what do you want to do por qué quieren a saber - why do they want to know por qué tenemos que ir allí - why must we go there cual de estos coches le gustaria alquilar - which of these cars would you like to hire cuales son el mejor - which ones are the best quién es el directora - who is the director con quién va al partido - who are you going to the match with a quién vas a darlo - to whom are you going to give it a quién conoces - whom did you know de quién es el libro - whose is the book cuanto es el pan - how much is the bread cuantos caminaron - how many were walking Demonstrative pronouns These pronouns are used to replace a noun with: this, that, these and those
Usage (1) The pronouns must agree with the noun they are representing (2) Use ese/esa for things which are quite near, but aquel/aquella when they are further away Examples these cars and those over there - éstos coches y aquéllos ahí that shirt is smarter than this one - esa camisa es más elegante que ésta which wine do you prefer-this one here - qué vino prefieres-éste aqui these children and those - estos ninos y aquéllos |
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