Pronouns Flashcards
Basic Spanish
Demonstrative Pronouns
This; that; these; those; none and neither are demonstrative pronouns that substitute nouns when the nouns they replace can be understood from the context.
Direct Object Pronouns
The person who is directly affected by the action. E.g., I’m reading YOU the book. TE leyo el libro.
me (me)
te (you-familiar)
lo, la (him, her, it, you-formal)
nos (us)
los, las (them, you-all-formal)
he, she
él (m), ella (f)
him, her
lo (m), la (f) - Direct Object Pronoun
le - Indirect Object Pronoun
his, hers
(Possessive Pronoun)
suyo, suya ; suyos, suyas
I
yo
I prefer this to that (over there)
prefiero esto a aquello
Indirect Object Pronouns
The IO tells us where the DO is going or answers the question “To whom?” or “For whom?” the action of the verb is performed. When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:
- me (me)
- te (you-familiar)
- le (him, her, it, you-formal)
- nos (us)
- les (them, you-all-formal)
In an affirmative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.
it
él - Subject Pronoun
lo (m), la (f) - Direct Object Pronoun
le - Indirect Object Pronoun
me
me
When used with or following a preposition - mí.
When used w/ con - conmigo
mine
(Possessive Pronoun)
mio(s) ; mia(s)
our(s)
nuestro/a ; nuestros/as
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns
Direct object pronouns and the indirect object pronouns side by side:
DO Pronouns - *IO Pronouns* - English Equivalent
- *me** - me - me
- *te** - te - you (familiar)
- *lo, la** - le - him, her, it, you (formal)
- *nos** - nos - us
- *los, las** - les - them, you-all (formal)
Clarifying Direct Object Pronouns
With the phrase ‘Las buscaré.’ (I will look for you all/them) you might not know who the speaker is referring to. To clarify, the speaker may add: ‘a ellas’, or ‘a ustedes’.
- Las buscaré a ellos. (I will look for them)
- Las buscaré a ustedes. (>I’ll look for you all).
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns, such as Who, Whose, Whom, That, Which can be used to introduce clauses (the part of a sentence that usually contains a Subject and a Verb) in sentences.
Subject Pronouns
Used as a substitute for nouns. They would replace ‘that man’ with ‘he’. The subject pronouns are: I, we, you, he, she, it and they.
that one (there)
that one (over there)
those (there)
ése (m) / ésa (f) / eso (n)
aquél (m) / aquélla (f) / aquello (n)
ésos (m) / ésas (f)
this one (here)
those (over there)
these (here)
éste (m) / ésta (f) / esto (n)
aquéllos (m) / aquéllas (f)
éstos (m) / éstas (f)
that
The man that came in.
The book that I read.
All that I have.
(relative pronoun)
que
the man that came in:
el hombre que entró
the book that I read:
el libro que leí
all that I have:
todo lo que tengo
them (direct object)
- I hate them.
- I can forgive their son but not them.
los/las (direct object)
- I hate them. - Los odio.
- I can forgive their son but not them. - Puedo perdonar a su hijo, pero no a ellos*.
*In comparisons, them = ellos o ellas
Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter “l” …
Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter “l” …change the first pronoun to “se.”
le lo = se lo
le la = se la
le los = se los
le las = se las
les lo = se lo
les la = se la
les los = se los
les las = se las
them (indirect object)
- I gave them the book.
- I gave it to them.
les (indirect object)
- I gave them the book - les di el libro
- I gave it to them* - se* lo di
Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter “l” change the first pronoun to “se”.
them (after prepositions, in comparisons, with the verb “to be”)
I’m thinking of them.
ellos/ellas (after prepositions, in comparisons, with the verb “to be”)
I’m thinking of them. - Estoy pensando en ellos.
them (as complement of verb to be)
It’s them!
ellos/ellas (as complement of verb to be)
It’s them! - ¡son ellos!
