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What are pronouns in Spanish grammar? Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun or refer to a noun.
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Here are how-to guides for every type of word you'll find when you learn Spanish pronouns. Check out the dedicated categories:
Demonstrative pronouns indicate how near or far one or more things are.
Indefinite pronouns refer to a general person, place, or thing rather than a specific one.
Personal pronouns replace nouns or noun phrases in subject or object position.
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The different types of Spanish pronouns are:
Spanish subject pronouns replace the subject of a sentence – the person, place, or thing that is either doing something or being something. All verbs need to be conjugated to match.
E.g. Yo (I), ella (she), or nosotros (we)
When Spanish pronouns yo (I) or tú (you) are used after a preposition in Spanish, they change.
The only exception to this change is when the preposition “con” (with) is used. In this instance, “yo” becomes “conmigo” and “tú” becomes “contigo”.
All the other Spanish pronouns remain the same.
Spanish direct object pronouns are used to replace a noun in a sentence so it’s not repeated more than once. Direct object pronouns replace the subject that’s receiving the action of the verb being used.
E.g. La (her), nos (us), las (them)
Spanish indirect object pronouns are used when describing to whom or for whom an action is done. They’re the receivers of the action of the verb.
E.g. me (to/for me), nos (to/for us), les (to/for them)
Reflexive pronouns in Spanish are used when an action is being done to oneself. Some Spanish verbs are naturally reflexive, others can be transformed into a reflexive verb simply by adding the ending -se.
E.g. te (yourself), nos (ourselves), se (themselves)
Spanish relative pronouns are used to relate Spanish nouns to one another in a sentence.
E.g. Que (that, which, who, or whom), quien (who or whom)
Spanish possessive pronouns answer the question, “Whose is it?”. They replace the noun of an item that’s owned by someone or something.
E.g. el tuyo (yours), el nuestro (ours), or los nuestros (ours)
Spanish indefinite pronouns are used to refer to a non-specific entity, like “someone” or “anyone.” They’re pronouns that apply to the unknown, non-specific, or irrelevant.
E.g. alguien (someone/somebody), nada (nothing), cualquiera (anyone/anybody)
Subject pronouns in Spanish refer to the subject of a sentence – the person, object or place being discussed or performing the action of the verb.
For example, in the sentence “She is eating a cake”, “She” is the subject, and “eating” is the verb.
Here are the Spanish subject pronouns:
Yo - I
Tú (informal) / Usted (Formal) - You
Él - He
Ella - She
Nosotros / Nosotras - We
Vosotros / Vosotras - You (Plural, Informal)
Ustedes - You (Plural, Formal)
Ellos / Ellas - They
Direct object pronouns in Spanish
In Spanish, direct object pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who or what is being talked about. This saves us from having to repeat the noun.
Spanish direct object pronouns can’t be used on their own (without a verb) or after a preposition such as “a” or “de”.
In Spanish, the direct object pronoun usually comes before the verb, except when giving instructions and orders.
¿Me oyes?
Can you hear me?
Acompáñanos.
Come with us.
Indirect object pronouns in Spanish
Indirect object pronouns stand for the noun that is the recipient of the verb's action.
You can usually test whether an object is a direct object or an indirect one by asking questions.
An indirect object answers the questions “who/what ... to?” or “who/what ... for?”, and a direct object answers the questions “what” or “who”.
Taking this sentence:
María ha comprado una casa para su madre.
Maria has bought a house for her mother.
We use the indirect object pronoun “le” to replace the noun “her mother”.
Maria has bought her a house.
María le ha comprado una casa.