Pronouns — los pronombres
Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition. Spanish has more pronoun types than English, and their position in the sentence follows strict rules.
Subject pronouns
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | yo | nosotros/as |
| 2nd | tú (informal) / usted (Ud., formal) | vosotros/as (Spain) / ustedes (Uds.) |
| 3rd | él / ella | ellos / ellas |
When to omit: Subject pronouns are usually omitted in Spanish because the verb ending shows the subject: Hablo español (not Yo hablo español unless for emphasis or contrast).
Direct object pronouns (DOPs)
Replace the direct object (thing receiving the action):
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | me | nos |
| 2nd | te | os |
| 3rd masc. | lo | los |
| 3rd fem. | la | las |
Position: before the conjugated verb (Lo veo) or attached to the infinitive/gerund (Quiero verlo / Estoy viéndolo).
Indirect object pronouns (IOPs)
Replace the indirect object (person affected):
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | me | nos |
| 2nd | te | os |
| 3rd | le | les |
When IOP and DOP both appear, IOP comes first: Me lo dio. (He gave it to me.) When both are third-person, le/les → se: Se lo di a ella. (I gave it to her.)
Reflexive pronouns
| me | te | se | nos | os | se |
|---|
Used with reflexive verbs (levantarse, ducharse, llamarse).
Relative pronouns
- que — that/which/who (most common): El libro que leí era bueno.
- quien / quienes — who (after preposition, referring to people): La chica con quien hablo.
- lo que — what / that which (neuter): Lo que me gusta es el fútbol.
- el cual / la cual — which (formal, after prepositions): La ciudad en la cual vivía.
Demonstrative pronouns
| Masc. | Fem. | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| this (near) | este | esta | esto |
| that (mid) | ese | esa | eso |
| that (far) | aquel | aquella | aquello |
Note: In modern Spanish the written accent on demonstrative pronouns (éste, ése) is no longer required by the RAE.
Disjunctive (stressed) pronouns — after prepositions
para mí, para ti, para él/ella/usted, para nosotros, para vosotros, para ellos/ustedes Exception: con + mí/ti → conmigo / contigo
Model phrases
- Lo veo todos los días. — I see him/it every day. (DOP lo)
- Le dije la verdad. — I told him/her the truth. (IOP le)
- Dámelo. — Give it to me. (imperative + two attached pronouns)
- Lo que más me gusta es el deporte. — What I like most is sport.
- Eso no me parece justo. — That doesn't seem fair to me.
⚠Common mistakes
- Using le/les instead of lo/la/los/las for direct objects: Le vi (I saw him) — technically valid in Spain (leísmo) but technically the DOP is Lo vi. AQA accepts both but be consistent.
- Forgetting to change le → se when followed by another 3rd person pronoun: le lo di → se lo di.
- Placing pronouns after conjugated verb: Veo lo → wrong; must be Lo veo.
- Using subject pronoun unnecessarily: Yo voy al mercado sounds emphatic/contrastive — omit unless needed.
- Confusing este (this, adjective) with este (this one, pronoun) — same form; context clarifies.
AI-generated · claude-opus-4-7 · v3-deep-spanish