SER and

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

Do you know what’s meant by 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person?

1st person is the person who is speaking – I2nd is the person to whom one is speaking – you3rd is the person about whom one is speaking -- he, she, it

I, you, he, she, it are all singular pronouns. Each refers to one person. But we also have plural pronouns:

1st person plural = I + another person = we2nd person plural = you + another person = y’all3rd person plural = he/she/it + another person = they

These pronouns are called SUBJECT PRONOUNS:

I we

you

he, she, it they, y’all*

What that means is that these pronouns are used as the SUBJECT of the sentence:

I read a book. (Not *Me read a book.)

You read a book. (Not *Your read a book.)

He reads a book. (Not *Him reads a book.)

singular plural

1st person I we

2nd person you

3rd person he, she, it they, y’all*

Pronouns are always, always, ALWAYS in this order. When you learn pronouns in any language, this is the order in which you’ll find them. When you learn the verbs that go with the pronouns, the verbs will always, always, ALWAYS be in this order.

singular plural1st person _____ ______2nd person _____ ______3rd person _____ ______

Question: How often are pronouns found in this order?

Answer: Always, always, ALWAYS.

Click here to go to a brief practice exercise.

Following are the Spanish subject pronouns:

yo nosotros

tú

él, ella ellos

They correspond to the English subject pronouns:

I we

you

he, she they, y’all*

Spanish has two additional pronouns: usted (Ud.) and ustedes (Uds.).

“Ud.” means “you.” “Uds.” means “y’all.”

“Ud.” is used with people to whom you should show respect, people who are older than you are or in a position of authority. It’s pretty safe to say that if you call the person Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss/Dr./Prof. + last name rather than by his first name, you should use “Ud.” rather than “tú.” If you call the person by his first name, you should probably use “tú” with him.

“Uds.” is used in Spain to show respect just like Ud. is. But everywhere else, it just means “y’all”

However, IN SPAIN “vosotros,” the familiar form you use with friends (people you address by their first name), doesn’t exist in Latin America, and they use “Uds.” no matter who they’re talking to.

In spite of the fact that “Ud.” means the same thing “tú” does (“you”), it’s treated like a third person pronoun:

yo nosotros

túél, ella, Ud. ellos

What that means is that anything that applies to the third person (like verb endings and OBJECT pronouns) also applies to “Ud.”

The same is true of “Uds.” Even though it means the same thing as “vosotros” (“y’all”), it goes with the 3rd person plural:

yo nosotros

tú

él, ella, Ud. ellos, Uds.

One more note about subject pronouns: the

-os in two of them can change to –as if

every member of the group is female:

yo nosotros, nosotras

tú

él, ella, Ud. ellos, ellas, Uds.

SER“Ser” means “to be.” It’s the most irregular

verb there is in both English and Spanish.

am are

are

is are

soy somos

eres

es son

I we am are

you are are

he, she they, y’all is are

yo nosotros soy somos

tú eres

él, ella ellos es son

Just as “I” takes the verb that’s in its position (“am”), “yo” takes the verb that’s in its position (“soy”). In other words, “yo soy” is “I am,” “tú eres” is “you are,” etc.

However, you don’t have to use the pronouns. Look at the Spanish forms of “ser”:

soy somoseres soises son

All of them are different. So “soy” all by itself means “I am.” “Soy alto” means “I am tall.” “Eres” all by itself means “you are.” “Soy” can never mean anything but “I am,” and “eres” can never mean anything but “you are.” You never have to use a subject pronoun in Spanish, because when you look at the verb, you know what the subject has to be.

If you say “yo soy,” it doesn’t mean “I am”; it means “I am.” In other words, it emphasizes the pronoun. However, you can say “él es” or “ella es” or “Ud. es” or “ellos son” or “Uds. son” to clarify the subject. That is, “soy” can mean only “I am,” so the only time you use “yo” is if you want to emphasize it, but “es” can mean “he is,” “she is,” or “you are,” so you can use the pronoun to show whether you mean “he,” “she,” or “you.”

In your homework, I’ll give you a subject and a blank. You’ll put in the correct form of “ser”:

Ellos _______

Juan _______ (Note: “Juan” is the same as “él.”)

Elena y yo ______ (Note: “Elena y yo” is the same as “nosotros.”)

Ud. ___________

Tú ___________

Maria y Elena _son__ (Note: “Maria y Elena” is the same as ellas)

son

es

somos

es

eres