Pronombre

From Latin pronomen, from pro (in place of) and nomen (name)

The pronombre (pronoun) is the word that replaces a noun. It refers to people, animals, or things without naming them — it takes the place that the name would occupy.

Accidentes gramaticales of the pronombre

These are the variations a pronoun can take. There are three:

1. Género (Gender)

Some pronouns can be masculine or feminine. Spanish also has a neutro (neuter) form that English pronouns sometimes overlap with ("it").

Examples

  • Masculine: él, nosotros, ellos, éste, ése, aquél, mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro, uno, varios...
  • Feminine: ella, nosotras, ellas, ésta, ésa, aquélla, mía, tuya, suya, nuestra, vuestra, una, varias...
  • Neuter: esto, eso, aquello.

2. Número (Number)

Some pronouns can be singular or plural.

Examples

  • Singular: él, ella, éste, ése, aquél, mío, tuyo, la, le, se, quién, cuanto, primero, uno, cinco...
  • Plural: ellos, ellas, nosotros, ustedes, éstos, ésos, aquéllos, míos, tuyos, las, les, se, nos, quiénes, cuantos...

3. Persona (Person)

Persona tells us whether the word refers to the speaker, the listener, or the person or thing being talked about. Some pronouns change according to the person.

  • First person (primera persona): the speaker.
  • Second person (segunda persona): the listener.
  • Third person (tercera persona): the person or thing being talked about.

Examples

  • 1st person: Yo, mí, nos, nosotros...
  • 2nd person: Tú, te, ti, vos, ustedes...
  • 3rd person: Él, ella, le, la, se, ellos, ellas...

Types of pronombres

1. Pronombre personal (Personal pronoun)

The pronoun used to replace a specific person, animal, or thing.

In Spanish the personal pronoun is often dropped, because the verb ending already tells you who is acting. Escribo means "I write"; escribes means "you write".

Examples

  • Yo escribo. ("I write.")
  • Tú estudias. ("You study.")
  • Ella se fue. ("She left.")

The main personal pronouns are:

  • 1st person singular: YO ("I")
  • 2nd person singular: TÚ ("you", informal)
  • 3rd person singular: ÉL, ELLA, ELLO ("he, she, it")
  • 1st person plural: NOSOTROS, NOSOTRAS ("we")
  • 2nd person plural: USTEDES ("you all")
  • 3rd person plural: ELLOS, ELLAS ("they")

Each of these has pronoun variants used in different grammatical positions:

  • 1st person singular: ME, MÍ, CONMIGO ("me, with me")
  • 2nd person singular: TE, TI, CONTIGO, VOS, and formal USTED, SE, LE
  • 3rd person singular: SÍ, SE, CONSIGO, LO, LA, LE ("himself, herself, him, her")
  • 1st person plural: NOS ("us")
  • 2nd person plural: SE, and regional VOSOTROS, VOSOTRAS, VOS, OS (used in parts of Argentina, Spain, and Maracaibo, among others)
  • 3rd person plural: LOS, LAS, LES, SÍ, SE

Note

Some pronoun variants attach directly to a verb (verbo). This is very common in Spanish and is different from English, where the pronoun always stands as a separate word.

  • Comerlo ("to eat it")
  • salirse ("to leave / get out")
  • vendiéndole ("selling to him/her")
  • darle ("to give to him/her")
  • llevarlos ("to take them")
  • dámelo ("give it to me")

2. Pronombre reflexivo (Reflexive pronoun)

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject both performs and receives the action. The forms are: ME, TE, SE, NOS.

Examples

  • Yo me limpio. ("I clean myself.")
  • Ella se peina. ("She combs her hair.")
  • Tú te vistes. ("You get dressed.")
  • Nosotros nos arreglamos. ("We tidy ourselves up.")

3. Pronombre demostrativo (Demonstrative pronoun)

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out things, animals, or people without naming them. They indicate the position of the name being referred to.

ÉSTE, ÉSTA, ÉSTOS, ÉSTAS are used for something close to the speaker. (Roughly English "this one / these".)

Examples

  • Éste me gusta. ("I like this one.")
  • Ésta es mi libreta. ("This is my notebook.")
  • Éstos están malos. ("These are bad.")
  • Éstas son de mejor calidad. ("These are better quality.")

ÉSE, ÉSA, ÉSOS, ÉSAS are used for something close to the listener.

Examples

  • Ése fue el que te pedí. ("That was the one I asked you for.")
  • Ésa ponla aquí. ("That one, put it here.")
  • Ésos son mis hermanos. ("Those are my brothers.")
  • Ésas están bien. ("Those ones are fine.")

AQUÉL, AQUÉLLA, AQUÉLLOS, AQUÉLLAS are used for something far from both speaker and listener. (Roughly English "that one over there / those".)

Examples

  • Aquél que está allá es mi padrino. ("That one over there is my godfather.")
  • Tráeme aquélla del patio. ("Bring me that one from the yard.")
  • Aquéllos estaban dañados. ("Those over there were damaged.")
  • Aquéllas eran de mi mamá. ("Those were my mom's.")

Note

Demonstrative pronouns differ from demonstrative adjectives in that they replace the noun rather than accompany it. The pronouns traditionally carry a written accent while the adjectives do not.

The neutro (neuter) pronouns have no gender or number, and they do not take an accent mark. They are: ESTO, ESO, AQUELLO.

Examples

  • Esto es lo que yo quería. ("This is what I wanted.")
  • Eso lo hizo José. ("José did that.")
  • Aquello es mío. ("That over there is mine.")

4. Pronombre recíproco (Reciprocal pronoun)

These express that two or more people do or feel the same thing to one another. The forms are: NOS and SE.

Examples

  • Nosotros nos comprendemos en los problemas. ("We understand each other in troubles.")
  • Ustedes se ayudan mucho en los ejercicios. ("You help each other a lot with the exercises.")
  • Ana y Maritza se tienen mucho cariño. ("Ana and Maritza are very fond of each other.")
  • Nos vemos a menudo. ("We see each other often.")

5. Pronombre interrogativo y exclamativo (Interrogative and exclamatory pronoun)

These express beings or things whose identity is unknown. They appear in questions or exclamations. They always carry a written accent:

Examples

PronounSentences
QUÉ
("what")		¿Qué trajeron para almorzar?
("What did they bring for lunch?")
¡Qué de peces tienes en tu pecera!
("What a lot of fish you have in your fish tank!")
QUIÉN, QUIÉNES
("who")		¿Quiénes vienen a la fiesta?
("Who [plural] is coming to the party?")
¡Quién lo iba a decir!
("Who would have thought!")
CÓMO
("how")		¿Cómo es ella?
("What is she like?")
Quieren saber cómo llegaste hasta aquí.
("They want to know how you got here.")
¡Cómo le gusta!
("How he loves it!")
CUÁL, CUÁLES
("which")		¿Cuál tendría en mente?
("Which one did he have in mind?")
¿Cuáles te gustan?
("Which ones do you like?")
CUÁNTO, CUÁNTA,
CUÁNTOS, CUÁNTAS
("how much / how many")		¿Cuánto trajiste?
("How much did you bring?")
¿Cuántas hay?
("How many are there?")
¡Cuánto me falta!
("How much I still have to go!")
¡Cuánto rieron por haber ganado!
("How they laughed because they won!")

Note

Interrogative pronouns also appear in indirect questions, which have no question marks but still carry the sense of a question.

  • No escuché qué me dijiste. ("I didn't hear what you said to me.")
  • Quería saber cuáles eran las ideas de su amigo. ("He wanted to know which ideas were his friend's.")

6. Pronombre indefinido (Indefinite pronoun)

These refer to beings or things whose identity or quantity is vague. Common ones: ALGUIEN ("someone"), NADIE ("nobody"), ALGO ("something"), NADA ("nothing"), CUALQUIERA ("anyone"), ALGUNO(S), ALGUNA(S) ("some"), NINGUNO, NINGUNA ("none"), VARIOS, VARIAS ("several"), etc.

Examples

  • Alguien interpretó bien ese papel. ("Someone played that role well.")
  • Algo me dice que hiciste lo debido. ("Something tells me you did the right thing.")
  • No quiero ver a nadie. ("I don't want to see anyone.")
  • Cualquiera puede hacer eso. ("Anyone can do that.")

7. Pronombre relativo (Relative pronoun)

Relative pronouns refer back to a noun or pronoun already mentioned or known.

Examples

  • Éste es el niño que deseabas conocer. ("This is the boy that you wanted to meet.")
  • Lo que pasó debemos solucionarlo. ("What happened, we need to solve it.")

The relative pronouns are:

QUE ("that, which"),
CUAL, CUALES ("which"),
QUIEN, QUIENES ("who"),
CUYO, CUYA, CUYOS, CUYAS ("whose"),
CUANTO, CUANTA, CUANTOS, CUANTAS ("as much / as many as").

Examples

  • El señor que lleva el portafolio es sospechoso.
    ("The man who's carrying the briefcase looks suspicious.")
  • Todo cuanto dice de mí es falso.
    ("Everything he says about me is false.")
  • Fue él quien me llevó al aeropuerto.
    ("He was the one who took me to the airport.")
  • Las casas cuantas remodelaron, están a la venta.
    ("All the houses they remodeled are up for sale.")
  • La niña cuya madre está de viaje, hoy está con la tía.
    ("The girl whose mother is away is with her aunt today.")
  • Buscaba esas cosas, las cuales se suelen olvidar.
    ("She was looking for those things, which are often forgotten.")
  • Las personas quienes entendieron el tema, lo explicaron bien.
    ("The people who understood the topic explained it well.")
  • Las madres cuyas hijas fueron felicitadas, están muy orgullosas.
    ("The mothers whose daughters were congratulated are very proud.")

The pronouns que, cual, and cuales are often preceded by el, la, los, las, or lo, forming a single unit.

Examples

  • Dime lo que has decidido.
    ("Tell me what you've decided.")
  • Los que llegaron tarde, no sabían el horario.
    ("Those who arrived late didn't know the schedule.")
  • Ese carro, el cual no es mío, es superveloz.
    ("That car, which isn't mine, is super fast.")
  • Habemos los que sí hicimos el proyecto.
    ("There are those of us who did do the project.")

8. Pronombre posesivo (Possessive pronoun)

Possessive pronouns replace the noun to show possession.

Important

The gender and number match the thing possessed, not the owner.

Example

Look at this example:

¿De quién es esa casa? Mía. ("Whose is that house? Mine.")

... the pronoun mía is feminine singular because casa is feminine singular. The owner is the first person speaker.

One owner:

Examples

PersonFormsExample
1st person singularMÍO, MÍAEl carro es mío.
("The car is mine.")
2nd person singularTUYO, TUYALa casa es tuya.
("The house is yours.")
3rd person singularSUYO, SUYAEl carro es suyo.
("The car is his/hers.")
1st person pluralMÍOS, MÍASLas casas son mías.
("The houses are mine.")
2nd person pluralTUYOS, TUYASLos carros son tuyos.
("The cars are yours.")
3rd person pluralSUYOS, SUYASLas casas son suyas.
("The houses are his/hers.")

Several owners:

Examples

PersonFormsExample
1st p. singularNUESTRO, NUESTRAEl carro es nuestro.
("The car is ours.")
2nd p. singularVUESTRO, VUESTRA (DE UDS.)La casa es vuestra (de uds.).
("The house is yours [plural].")
3rd p. singularSUYO, SUYAEl carro es suyo.
("The car is theirs.")
1st p. pluralNUESTROS, NUESTRASLas casas son nuestras.
("The houses are ours.")
2nd p. pluralVUESTROS, VUESTRAS (DE UDS.)Los carros son de ustedes.
("The cars are yours [plural].")
3rd p. pluralSUYOS, SUYASLas casas son suyas.
("The houses are theirs.")

More examples:

Examples

  • El de allá es el nuestro. ("The one over there is ours.")
  • Los tuyos te mandan saludos. ("Your folks send their regards.")
  • Vi que Arturo guardaba el suyo. ("I saw that Arturo was putting his away.")
  • Eso es mío. ("That's mine.")

9. Pronombre numeral (Numerical pronoun)

Numerical pronouns replace the noun with a number or order idea. They can be:

Cardinales (cardinal): show a number — UNO, DOS, TRES, etc.

Examples

  • Dos salieron raspados. ("Two of them got scratched.")
  • Él tiene un diccionario y ella tres. ("He has one dictionary and she has three.")

Ordinales (ordinal): show order — PRIMERO, SEGUNDO, TERCERO, etc.

Examples

  • Venezuela quedó de primera en pesca submarina. ("Venezuela came in first in underwater fishing.")
  • La segunda en el concurso es mi prima. ("Second place in the contest is my cousin.")

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