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Spanish subject pronouns: tú, usted, vosotros

Spanish has four ways to say you, and usually drops the pronoun altogether because the verb already says who is speaking. The trick is knowing which you to pick, and when a pronoun earns its place in the sentence.

手短な答え

The pronouns are yo, tú, él, ella, usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas, ustedes. Usted and ustedes take the third person verb: usted habla. Spain uses vosotros for informal plural, Latin America uses ustedes for both. Most of the time you leave the pronoun out: hablo, not yo hablo.

覚え方

Leave it out unless you are contrasting

Túone person, informal¿Tú qué quieres?
Ustedone person, formal, third person verb¿Usted qué quiere?
Vosotrosseveral, informal, Spain only¿Qué queréis?
Ustedesseveral, formal in Spain, all in Latin America¿Qué quieren?
Drop itthe verb ending already says whoVivo en Madrid

形

Every subject pronoun with hablar

代名詞動詞誰
yohabloI
túhablasyou, one, informal
él, ella, ustedhablahe, she, you formal
nosotros, nosotrashablamos私たち
vosotros, vosotrashabláisyou, several, informal, Spain
ellos, ellas, ustedeshablanthey, you several

16 sentences that show the difference

実際に口にするような日常のスペイン語です。それぞれの下のラベルは、規則のどの部分を示しているかを表しています。

英語の知識がじゃまをするところ

English needs a subject in every sentence, even an empty one: it is raining. Spanish does not, because hablo can only be I. Putting yo in front of every verb is not wrong, but it sounds insistent, as if you kept stressing I. English has one you, Spanish has four, split by number and by distance.

避けたい間違い

Usted tienes and yo soy, yo tengo, yo vivo. Usted always takes the third person, usted tiene. And repeating yo in every sentence is the clearest sign of an English speaker: let the verb do it.

規則から外れるケース

Usted habla

Usted comes from vuestra merced, your grace, so it takes the third person verb like él. Usted hablas mixes both systems and is one of the commonest beginner mistakes.

Vosotros

Only in Spain. In Latin America ustedes covers every plural you, friends included. You will understand both, but pick one system and stay consistent.

Es importante

Spanish has no word for the English it as a subject. Ello exists but is rare and formal. Weather, time and impersonal statements simply have no subject.

Yo también

After also and too it is the subject form: yo también, tú tampoco. A mí también is the answer to gustar sentences: me gusta, a mí también.

Nosotras

Nosotras, vosotras and ellas are only for groups of women. One man in the group and it is nosotros, vosotros, ellos.

Vos

In Argentina, Uruguay and much of Central America, vos replaces tú with its own verb forms: vos tenés. It is standard there, but you do not need it to be understood.

Spanish subject pronouns exercises

空所を埋める8つの文です。答えを入力して確かめるか、答えを表示したまま通して読んでください。ここではアクセント記号も、言葉の中と同じように大切です。

  1. ¿Usted ___ hijos? (tener)

    Do you have children?

    tiene · Usted takes the third person verb, like él.

  2. ¿Vosotros ___ español? (hablar)

    スペイン語を話しますか？

    habláis · Vosotros, with its own ending -áis, only used in Spain.

  3. ¿Ustedes ___ de México? (ser)

    Are you from Mexico?

    son · Ustedes takes the third person plural.

  4. Yo trabajo y ___ estudias.

    I work and you study.

    tú · A contrast between two people, so the pronoun is needed. Estudias says it is tú.

  5. Me encanta el cine. A mí ___.

    I love cinema. So do I.

    también · After a gustar sentence, a mí también.

  6. ¿Quién tiene las llaves? ___.

    Who has the keys? Me.

    Yo · The one word answer uses the subject form, yo.

  7. Ana y yo ___ juntas. (vivir)

    Ana and I live together.

    vivimos · Ana y yo is nosotras, so the first person plural.

  8. ___ mucho hoy. (llover)

    It is raining a lot today.

    Llueve · No pronoun for it. The verb stands alone.

ドン・キホーテから、さらに練習問題

さらに8問。こちらは講座からそのまま取ったもので、宿屋、風車、ロシナンテ、そして道が出てきます。規則は同じで、スペイン語が少し古いだけです。

  1. ¿Usted ___ don Quijote? (ser)

    Are you Don Quixote?

    es · Usted with the third person, es.

  2. Sancho, ¿tú ___ hambre? (tener)

    Sancho, are you hungry?

    tienes · Tú, the second person, -es.

  3. Sancho tiene miedo, pero don Quijote no. ___ es muy valiente.

    Sancho is scared, but Don Quixote is not. He is very brave.

    Él · Él marks the contrast between the two men. Without it, es could be either.

  4. Señores, ¿___ son caballeros?

    Gentlemen, are you knights?

    ustedes · Several people addressed formally, ustedes.

  5. Sancho y yo ___ a la venta. (ir)

    Sancho and I are going to the inn.

    vamos · Sancho y yo is nosotros.

  6. Amigos, ¿qué ___ aquí? (hacer)

    Friends, what are you doing here?

    hacéis · Informal plural in Spain, so vosotros.

  7. Señor ventero, usted ___ muy amable. (ser)

    Mr Innkeeper, you are very kind.

    es · Formal you, third person verb.

  8. ¿Quién es el caballero? ___ soy.

    Who is the knight? I am.

    Yo · A stressed answer, so the pronoun appears.

よくある質問

When should I use tú or usted?

Tú with friends, family, children and people your age in casual settings. Usted with older strangers, officials, and in formal business. In Spain tú is used much more than in most of Latin America. When in doubt, start with usted and let the other person offer tú.

Why do Spanish speakers drop the subject pronoun?

Because the verb ending already says who: hablo can only be I, hablamos only we. The pronoun comes back for contrast or emphasis: yo pago, I am paying, not you.

Do they use vosotros in Latin America?

No. Latin America uses ustedes for every plural you, formal or not. Vosotros is only Spain. Both are understood everywhere.

Why does usted use the third person?

Because it began as vuestra merced, your grace, a noun. You were talking to someone's grace, in the third person, and the verb stayed that way when the phrase shrank to usted.

How do you say it in Spanish?

As a subject, you usually do not say it at all: es verdad, it is true, llueve, it is raining. As an object it is lo or la: lo tengo, I have it.

What is the difference between nosotros and nosotras?

Nosotras is a group made only of women. Any mixed group is nosotros. The same goes for vosotros and vosotras, ellos and ellas.

What does tutear mean?

To speak to someone using tú. ¿Nos tuteamos? is the polite way to suggest switching from usted to tú. Its opposite is tratar de usted.

What is vos?

The informal you of Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Central America, with its own forms: vos sos, vos tenés. It replaces tú there. A learner can stick to tú and be understood anywhere.

覚えておくこと

例文の出典の本

『やさしいスペイン語で読むドン・キホーテ』の表紙。

やさしいスペイン語で読むドン・キホーテ:小説全体を、本当に読めるスペイン語で語り直し、58の短いエピソードに分けて、難しい単語には余白に注をつけました。このページのドン・キホーテの文はすべてこの本から取っています。

EPUB と PDF でオーディオブックつき、さらに同じスペイン語で書いたもう1冊の小説もあります。本を見る。

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