SUBJECT PRONOUNS - 4 WAYS TO SAY "YOU" - ABOUT PEOPLE - REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Oct 13, 2026

A structured lesson on Spanish pronouns that breaks subject pronouns into singular and plural roles, explains when to use tú/usted versus vosotros/üstedes, and clarifies meaning through practical example sentences. It then distinguishes person categories (1st, 2nd, 3rd) by chart position and usage. The lesson continues with reflexive pronouns, showing how actions return to the subject, using Spanish examples with me, te, and nos. Finally, it introduces stressed and indirect object pronouns as a combined system for emphasis and clarity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Subject pronouns

4 ways to say “you”

About people

Reflexive pronouns

Subjects, reflexives, then verbs

SOPS & iDOPS

Stressed and indirect object pronouns

SUBJECT PRONOUNS We will now break the pronoun chart down into smaller charts, yet retain the structure of the larger chart in order to help us understand the pronouns. Subject pronouns, both singular and plural, act like stunt doubles. They do not look exactly like the original subject, but they are allowed to step in and do the action, or live life in the place of the subject. Yo vivo en un apartamento. Nosotros vivimos cerca. I live in an apartment. We live near (each other) . Tú You (my friend) vives en una casa. Vosotros vivís live in a house. You (my friends) live lejos. far. Él He vive con su mamá. Ellos lives with his mom. They viven live sencillamente. simply. 4 WAYS TO SAY “YOU”There are 2 ways to talk TO people, but 4 ways to say “you.” Q: How many people are you talking to? •If only 1, you must stay on the left side, the singular side, and choose between tú and usted. •If 2 or more, go to the right side, the plural side, and choose between vosotros and ustedes. On the singular side: Tú eres mi mejor amigo. You are my best friend. Usted You es are policía, ya police ofﬁcer, and yo I no quiero ningún denuncio, gracias. no want not one ticket, thanks. On the plural side, the most commonly used form when outside of Spain is ustedes. Ustedes You son are los mejores doctores. the best doctors. Ustedes You pueden can ayudar. help. Lots of people ignore vosotros and just use ustedes. If, however, we delete vosotros from the chart we are foolish. The chart is incomplete without vosotros. We must remember that vosotros is the double (or more) of tú. You are allowed to have more than 1 friend. Just remember: (For Vosotros the U was group hugged and turned into a V because you're all friends) . Besides, the place you most want to visit is Spain. And in Spain vosotros is more common than ustedes. Vosotros You tenéis have las entradas para la corrida, ¿no? the tickets for the bullﬁght, right? ABOUT PEOPLE Whenever you talk, you are talking to someone. The question right now is not to whom, but about whom? Within the chart you have three ways to talk: 1) about yourself, 2) about the person listening to you, 3) about other people. When you talk about yourself, you say either “I” or “we.” This is called 1st person. “We eat cookies with milk.” When you talk to someone else about what he or she does, you say “you.”This is called 2nd person. “Do you eat cookies?” When you talk about other people and what they do, you say “he” or “she.”This is called 3rd person. “He does not eat cookies and she does not drink milk.” “They are strange.” “They”(ellos, ellas) is the way you talk ABOUT more than one person at a time. Ellos tienen hambre, pero no tienen galletas. They have hunger, but (they) no have cookies. So, if the subject pronoun is on the 1st line on the pronoun chart, it’s 1st person. If it’s on the 2nd line on the pronoun chart, 2nd person. Lines 3 & 4, the él, ellos and ella, ellas lines on the chart, are 3rd person. Usted & ustedes are on the 5th line, but are really 2nd person. They are a polite way of saying “you.” If you take a 2 and ﬂip it, you can see a ﬁve 2 . Therefore, the 2 nd line and the 2th line are different in appearance, but both mean 2nd person (you) . Usted is just a bit more dressed up than tú . Tú is your buddy. You can borrow gym clothes from tú. Usted is the President. "Yes, sir, Mr. President." Remember: Subject pronouns do the action. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS R Now we will begin to look at purple pronouns, starting with reﬂexives. Remember, blue does the action to purple. Reﬂexive pronouns show that the action was done to one’s self. Bob is in a ﬁght. Bob falls down. He picks himself up, dusts himself off, and gets back in the ﬁght. Whom does he pick up? himself and dust off? himself Bob is doing the action to himself. Great! But it doesn’t always

FAQs

How do you decide between tú and usted or between vosotros and ustedes?

Choose tú or usted on the singular side (1 person) and vosotros or ustedes on the plural side (2 or more people). Outside Spain, ustedes is the most common plural form.

What do subject pronouns indicate about person (1st, 2nd, 3rd)?

1st person uses I/we, 2nd person uses you, and 3rd person uses he/she or ellos/ellas. The lesson links these to where the pronoun appears on the pronoun chart.

What are reflexive pronouns and where do they fit in a sentence?

Reflexive pronouns show the action is done to oneself. The lesson emphasizes the sequence: subjects come before reflexives, then verbs (most of the time).

Why study SOPs and iDOPs together?

They are often used together because the action is done to them. SOPs add clarity and emphasis, including how le can have different meanings depending on context.

Oct 13, 2026

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