Demonstrative Pronouns — Idiomatic Uses

Demonstrative Pronouns — Idiomatic Uses

a) In contrasted expressions, éste means the latter and aquél the former.

Pedro y Ana han partido, ésta con tres maletas y aquél con un baúl.
Peter and Anna have left, the former with a trunk and the latter with three suitcases.

Conozco a Elena y a Felipe; éste es diligente, aquélla es perezosa.
I know Helen and Philip; the former is lazy, the latter is industrious.

Note: In Spanish, contrary to English usage, the latter (éste) comes before the former (aquél).

b) When ésta refers to ciudad, it means this city (the one in which the speaker is); when ésa refers to ciudad, it means that city (the one in which the person addressed is).

Hay más fábricas en ésta que en ésa.
There are more factories in this city than in that one (in which you live).

Demonstrative Pronouns — Uses

Demonstrative Pronouns — Uses

a) The neuter demonstrative pronouns esto, eso, and aquello are used to indicate some general idea or something not mentioned by name. They cannot represent nouns since there are no neuter nouns in Spanish. (Note that they carry no accent).

Eso es importante.
That's important.

¿Qué es esto?
What's this?

¿Qué es eso? Es una bandera.
What is that? It is a flag.

No haré esto.
I shall not do this.

Aquello fue horrible.
That was horrible.

b) As in English, the demonstrative pronouns in Spanish function very often as adjectives. (Note, however, that when used as adjectives they carry no accent.) As adjectives, they naturally agree in gender and number with the nouns which they modify.

Este reloj es de oro.
This watch is made of gold.

No puedo abrir esta ventana.
I can't open this window.

Nunca leo aquel periódico.
I never read that newspaper.

Estos libros son muy viejos.
These books are very old.

Vamos a poner esas dos mesas juntas.
Let's put those two tables together.

Aquellos cuadros fueron pintados por Velázquez.
Those pictures were painted by Velazquez.

c) As in the case of the demonstrative adjectives, éste (this, this one) refers to a person or object near the speaker; ése (that, that one) refers to a person or object near the person addressed ; and aquél (that, that one) refers to a person or object distant from the person addressed.

Leo esos papeles y éste.
I am reading those papers and this one.

Esta moneda vale más que ésa.
This coin is worth more than that one.

Me gustan estas casas y aquéllas.
I like these houses and those (in the distance).

d) The demonstrative adjectives, as well as the demonstrative pronouns, generally correspond in meaning with the adverbs aquí, ahí, and alli.

este libro (aquí)
this book (here)

esa pluma (ahí)
that pen (there)

aquella casa (allí)
that house (over there)

Demonstrative Pronouns — Agreement

Demonstrative Pronouns — Agreement

In Spanish, the demonstrative pronoun agrees in gender and in number with the noun it replaces. The written accent mark on the demonstrative pronouns distinguishes them from the adjectives. However, the neuter forms esto, eso, aquello do not have an accent. Although this rule is now much more relaxed.

El libro verde es mío, pero ése es de María.
The green book is mine but that one is Maria's.

Hay dos cartas. Ésta es para usted; aquélla es para Juan.
There are two letters. This one is for you; that one is for John.

Las ventanas del otro cuarto son más grandes que éstas.
The windows of the other room are larger than these.

Demonstrative Pronouns — Defined

Demonstrative Pronouns — Defined

Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point out definite persons, places, or things. There are only two demonstrative pronouns: this with its plural these, and that with its plural those.

This is my hat. (A definite hat is pointed out.)

That is your book. (A definite book is pointed out.)

These are the theater tickets. (Definite tickets are pointed out.)

Those are John's shoes. (Definite shoes are pointed out.)

Table of Demonstrative Pronouns

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
this these	éste éstos	ésta éstas	esto
that those	ése ésos	ésa ésas	eso
that (over there) those (over there)	aquél aquéllos	aquélla aquéllas	aquello

Interrogative Pronouns — Uses

Interrogative Pronouns — Uses

A. ¿Qué? is an invariable interrogative pronoun or adjective, referring only to things.

¿Qué van a darme?
What are they going to give me?

¿Qué corbata se ha puesto?
What (Which) necktie has he put on?

Note: With the verb ser, ¿qué? can be used only in a question that asks for a definition, or in a question containing a neuter pronoun such as esto, eso or aquello.

¿Qué es la biología?
What is biology?

¿Qué es esto?
What is this?

B. ¿Quién?, ¿Quiénes?, meaning who? or whom?, refers only to persons and may be used as the subject of a verb, object of a verb, or object of a preposition.

¿Quién ha llegado?
Who has arrived?

¿A quién han elegido?
Whom have they elected?

¿Para quién trabaja él?
For whom is he working?

Note:

(1) As the direct object of a verb, ¿quién?, ¿quiénes? must be preceded by the preposition a.

¿A quién conoce Ud. aquí?
Whom do you know here?

(2) ¿De quién? is the Spanish equivalent of the interrogative whose?

¿De quién es esta manta?
Whose blanket is this?

C. ¿Cuál?, ¿Cuáles?, meaning which?, which one(s)?, what?, refers to persons or things, and denotes choice or selection.

¿Cuál de los niños es su hermano?
Which of the children is his brother?

No sé cuál es.
I don't know which (one) it is.

Note:

(1) In interrogative sentences which ask for a mere point of information, rather than for a definition, and which have a form of ser as the verb, ¿cuál?, ¿cuáles? must be used instead of ¿qué? to translate the English what?

¿Cuál es tu nombre?
What is your name?

¿Cuál es la capital de Chile?
What is the capital of Chile?

¿Cuáles son los verbos para hoy?
What are the verbs for today?

(2) As an interrogative adjective, ¿cuál?, ¿cuáles? is generally replaced by ¿qué?

Rare:

¿Cuál sombrero ha escogido?
Which hat has he selected?

Common:

¿Qué sombrero ha escogido?
Which hat has he selected?

Interrogative Pronouns — Defined

Interrogative Pronouns — Defined

The interrogative pronouns are used in asking either direct or indirect questions. In either case, the Spanish interrogative pronouns are distinguished from relative pronouns by a written accent.

¿Quién tiene mi libro?
Who has my book?

¿Con quiénes vive Ud.?
With whom do you live?

Table of Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns
¿Qué?	What? (Which?)
¿Cuál?, ¿Cuáles?	Which? (What?)
¿Quién?, ¿Quiénes?	Who?
¿A quién? ¿A quiénes?	(To) Whom?
¿De quién? ¿De quiénes?	Whose?

Relative Pronouns — Uses

Relative Pronouns — Uses

a) The relative pronoun may be omitted in English, but it must be expressed in Spanish.

La casa que compramos es bonita.
The house (that) we bought is pretty.

b) Que is the most important relative pronoun (who; whom; that; which), since it may refer to either persons or things, and may be used as either subject or object. The following sentences illustrate its uses:

Note: Que never changes form.

No encuentro el diccionario que compré ayer.
I can't find the dictionary (that) I bought yesterday.

Es el hombre que trabaja conmigo.
He is the man who works with me.

Vi al médico que usted me recomendó.
I saw the doctor whom you recommended to me.

Este es el libro que necesito.
This is the book (that) I need.

El hombre que hizo eso ya no vive aquí.
The man who did that no longer lives here.

Aquí tiene usted un abrigo que no cuesta mucho.
Here is a coat that does not cost much.

Es el mismo mesero que tuvimos ayer.
He's the same waiter (that) we had yesterday.

Note: Notice that in the following examples que is being used as a conjunction and not a relative pronoun. In English we frequently omit the word that when it is a conjunction. (I think that he will come, or I think he will come.) In Spanish the conjunction que must be expressed.

Creo que vendrá.
I think (that) he will come.

¿Sabe Ud. que no están casados?
Do you know (that) they are not married?

c) Quien, quienes always agrees in number with its antecedent. It refers only to persons and is used at times to indicate the antecedent more clearly than que, especially after a preposition.

Hablé con las muchachas, quienes estaban muy contentas.
I spoke with the girls, who were very happy.

Es el hombre a quien vimos en el restaurante.
He is the man whom we saw in the restaurant.

d) Quien, quienes may be used as a subject to mean he who, the one who, those who, etc. El que (la que, los que, las que) may be used in the same way.

Quien (El que) mucho habla, mucho erra.
He who speaks a great deal, makes many mistakes.

Quienes (Los que) lo hicieron, serán castigados.
Those who did it will be punished.

e) Quien, quienes is the translation for who in a non-restrictive clause (a clause added to a sentence whose meaning is already complete).

Jugué a las damas con Pablo, quien quería divertirse.
I played checkers with Paul, who wished to be amused.

f) Que, on the other hand, must be used to introduce a restrictive clause (a clause which is necessary to complete the logical meaning of a sentence).

Le presenté al abogado que había defendido a mi hermano.
I introduced him to the lawyer who had defended my brother.

g) El cual (la cual, los cuales, las cuales) is used only to avoid ambiguity, particularly in cases where there is more than one possible antecedent. It then replaces que or quien. Since el cual (la cual, etc.) agrees in gender and number with the antecedent, it indicates this antecedent more clearly than would que or quien. El cual (la cual, etc.) is also used frequently after the preposition por and the compound prepositions después de, además de, etc., in order to avoid confusion with comparable conjunctions formed with que.

Vi la película en el Teatro Nacional, la cual me gustó mucho.
I saw the movie at the National Theatre, which I liked very much.
(Thus, la cual here clearly refers to la película rather than to el teatro.)

Aquí están los paquetes por los cuales han venido.
Here are the packages for which they have come.

h) Lo que is used to translate the relative what (that which).

Sé lo que quieren.
I know what (that which) they want.

Le dimos lo que pidió.
We gave him what (that which) he asked for.

In an indirect question qué may replace lo que.

No sabemos qué (lo que) hizo.
We don't know what he did.

i) Cuyo (cuya, cuyos, cuyas) (whose) is used only to express possession. It always agrees in gender and number with the noun which follows it and which it modifies.

El es el muchacho cuyo padre yo conozco.
He is the boy whose father I know.

Es el profesor cuyas hijas estudian en Francia.
He is the professor whose daughters study in France.

Note: Cuyo is never an interrogative, and can never take the place of ¿de quién?

Compare:

¿De quién es esta casa?
Whose house is this?

El hombre cuya casa vimos.
The man whose house we saw.

Relative Pronouns — Defined

Relative Pronouns — Defined

A relative pronoun is a word used to connect a dependent clause with an independent clause by referring directly to a person or a thing mentioned in the first clause. The word to which the pronoun refers is called the antecedent.

He is the man who called.

Is this the book that you need?

In Spanish the most common relative pronoun is que, which may refer to persons or things and may be used as the subject or object of a verb.

Table of Relative Pronouns

Relative Pronouns
que	who; whom; that; which
el que, la que los que, las que	the one who/whom; the one which those who/whom; those which
lo que	what; whatever; that which
el cual, la cual los cuales, las cuales	the one who; the one which those who; those which
cuyo, cuya cuyos, cuyas	whose; of which

Possessive Pronouns — Additional Notes

Possessive Pronouns — Additional Notes

The possessive pronoun drops the definite article after the verb ser when no distinction in ownership is emphasized. However, for emphasis or contrast, the definite article must be used.

Este libro es suyo.
This book is yours.

Esta pluma es suya.
This pen is his.

But:

Ése es el mío.
That one is mine (specifically the one that belongs to me).

Esta pluma es la suya.
This pen is his. (emphasis)

The possessive pronoun is sometimes used after a noun and is usually translated "of mine," "of his," etc., or "my" if used in an exclamation.

Un amigo mío vive aquí.
A friend of mine lives here.

¡Hijo mío! ¡Qué alto es Ud.!
My son! How tall you are!

Possessive Pronouns — Neuter Form

Possessive Pronouns — Neuter Form

The possessive pronoun has also a neuter form: lo mío, lo tuyo, lo suyo, lo nuestro, lo vuestro, lo suyo. The neuter pronoun does not refer to any particular noun but rather to a group of things, e.g. lo mío may mean the following: what is mine, my possessions, my people, etc.

Yo sé defender lo mío.
I know how to defend what is mine.

Possessive Pronouns — Ambiguity and Repetition

Possessive Pronouns — Ambiguity and Repetition

Preventing Ambiguity

The expression el suyo (as well as la suya, los suyos, and las suyas) may mean his, hers, yours, its, or theirs. Such ambiguity can be avoided by substituting the appropriate form of the definite article, followed by an explanatory prepositional form (de él, de ella, de Ud., de ellos, etc.).

Instead of "el suyo" use "el de él," "el de ella," "el de Ud.," etc.

Instead of "la suya" use "la de él," "la de ella," "la de Ud.," etc.

Instead of "los suyos" use "los de él," "los de ella," "los de Ud.," etc.

Instead of "las suyas" use "las de él," "las de ella," "las de Ud.," etc.

Tengo el suyo. =

Tengo el de él. - I have his. Tengo el de ella. - I have hers. Tengo el de Ud. - I have yours. Tengo el de ellos. - I have theirs. Tengo el de ellas. - I have theirs. Tengo el de Uds. - I have yours.

Preventing Repetition

In order to prevent the repetition of the noun, the following construction may be used:

Mi pluma y la pluma de Juan.
My pen and Juan's pen.

Mi pluma y la de Juan.
My pen and Juan's.

Su lápiz y el lápiz de María.
Your pencil and Maria's pencil.

Su lápiz y el de María.
Your pencil and Maria's.

Possessive Pronouns — Agreement

Possessive Pronouns — Agreement

Unlike English, in Spanish the possessive pronouns, since they function more or less like adjectives, must agree with the noun for which they stand in gender and number.

In the following sentences the word libro (book) has been replaced by the possessive pronoun. "Libro" is masculine singular; therefore, the masculine singular possessive pronoun has replaced it.

¿Dónde está su libro?
Where is your book?

El mío está aquí.
Mine is here.

El suyo (El de él) es verde.
His is green.

El nuestro es grande.
Ours is large.

In the following sentences the word pluma is feminine singular and is replaced by the feminine singular possessive pronoun.

Esta pluma es verde.
This pen is green.

La mía no es blanca.
Mine is not white.

La suya (la de él) es negra.
His is black.

La nuestra es grande.
Ours is large.

In the following sentences the word libros is masculine plural and is replaced by the masculine plural possessive pronoun.

¿Dónde están sus libros?
Where are your books?

Los míos están aquí.
Mine are here.

Los suyos (Los de él) son rojos.
His are red.

Los nuestros son azules.
Ours are blue.

In the following sentences the word plumas is feminine plural and is replaced by the feminine plural possessive pronoun.

Estas plumas son verdes.
These pens are green.

Las mías son blancas.
Mine are white.

Las suyas (Las de él) son negras.
His are black.

Las nuestras son grandes.
Ours are large.

Possessive Pronouns — Defined

Possessive Pronouns — Defined

When a word not only expresses possession but takes the place of a noun, it is a possessive pronoun.

Table of Possessive Pronouns

	singular	plural
mine	mío, -a	míos, -as
yours (familiar)	tuyo, -a	tuyo, -as
his, her, its, yours (formal)	suyo, -a	suyos, -as
our	nuestro, -a	nuestros, -as
yours (familiar)	vuestro, -a	vuestros, -as
theirs, yours (formal)	suyo, -a	suyos, -as

Personal Pronouns — Position of Object Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Position of Object Pronouns

When a verb has two pronoun objects, the indirect object precedes the direct object.

Juan me lo dio.
John gave it to me.

Ella nos lo mandó.
She sent it to us.

a) Note, however, that if the two pronouns are in the third person, se is used instead of the indirect object pronouns le and les in order to avoid repetition of the l sound.

Juan se lo dio.
John gave it to her
(or to him, to you, to them).

Ella se la mandó.
She sent it to him
(or to her, to you, to them).

Since, as may be seen from the above sentences, se may mean a usted, a él, a ella, etc., the so-called redundant construction (See above: Indirect Object Pronouns) is again used here when it is necessary to clarify the person referred to.

Juan se lo dio a ella.
John gave it to her.

Juan se lo dio a ellos.
John gave it to them.

Ella se la mandó a él.
She sent it to him.

Ella se la mandó a Ud.
She sent it to you.

b) When personal pronouns are used as direct objects of an infinitive, they generally follow the infinitive and are joined to it to form a single word.

Él no quiere mandar el paquete.

Él no quiere mandarlo.
He doesn't want to send it.

Voy a traer la composición mañana.

Voy a traerla mañana.
I am going to bring it tomorrow.

c) Similarly, when personal pronouns are used as objects of a present participle, they generally follow the present participle, being joined to it to form a single word.

Él está estudiándolo ahora.
He is studying it now.

Estaban mirándonos con mucho interés.
They were watching us with much interest.

Note, however, that while the object pronoun may be attached to either an infinitive or present participle to form a single word, it may also be placed in a conventional position before the verb. Both forms are used.

Él no quiere mandarlo.
He doesn't want to send it.

or

El no lo quiere mandar.
He doesn't want to send it.

Estaban mirándonos con mucho interés.
They were watching us with much interest.

or

Nos estaban mirando con mucho interés.
They were watching us with much interest.

d) Further, in the case of both infinitives and present participles, if two pronoun objects are involved, the indirect object precedes the direct object. (See section a above.)

Él no quiere mandármelo.
He doesn't want to send it to me.

Están enviándonoslo por correo.
They are sending it to us by mail.

e) Again, with both infinitives and present participles, if both pronoun objects are in the third person, se is used instead of le or les to avoid repetition of the l sound. (See section a above.)

Él no quiere mandárselo.

or

Él no me lo quiere mandar
He doesn't want to send it to her.

Estamos mandándoselo por correo.

or

Nos lo están enviado por correo.
We are sending it to him by mail.

f) Both single and double object pronouns are attached to an affirmative command but precede a negative command.

Mándelo por correo.
Send it by mail.

No lo mande por correo.
Don't send it by mail.

Tráigamelo.
Bring it to me.

No me lo traiga.
Don't bring it to me.

Dígaselo.
Tell her about it.

No se lo diga.
Don't tell her about it.

Personal Pronouns — Prepositional Prononus

Personal Pronouns — Prepositional Pronouns

Table of Prepositional Pronouns

singular	plural
mí - me	nosotros - us (mas. and fem.) nosotras - us (fem. only)
ti - you (familiar)	vosotros - you (familiar - mas. and fem.) vosotras - you (familiar - fem. only)
él - him ella - her usted - you (formal) ello - it (neuter)	ellos - them ellas - them ustedes - you (formal)

Uses of Prepositional Pronouns

With the exception of mí (in place of yo) and ti (in place of tú), the pronouns used as objects of prepositions have the same forms as the subject pronouns. However, the meanings are different. Direct and indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, etc.) are used only in connection with a verb, never after prepositions.

Este abrigo es para él.
This coat is for him.

Este libro es para mí, no para ti.
This book is for me, not for you.

Hoy voy con él; mañana iré con ella.
Today I am going with him; tomorrow I'll go with her.

Compré esta revista para usted.
I bought this magazine for you.

Viven cerca de nosotros.
They live near us.

Estudiamos con ellos.
We study with them.

Entramos en él.
We enter it (masculine).

NOTE: When mí and ti are used as objects of the preposition con (with), they are joined together with con to form a single word that ends in -go.

Él quiere ir conmigo al baile.
He wants to go with me to the dance.

Prefiero ir contigo.
I prefer to go with you.

Ella va conmigo.
She is going with me.

The prepositional forms are often used with the preposition a in addition to the direct and indirect object pronouns for emphasis and, in the third person, also for clearness. In the case of usted(es), it is more polite to use the prepositional form in addition to the object pronoun (last example).

Me enseña a mí el cuadro.
He shows me the picture.

Le doy a él el dinero.
I give him the money.

Le doy a ella el dinero.
I give her the money.

Le doy a Ud. el dinero.
I give you the money.

Les dice a ellos (ellas) la verdad.
He tells them the truth.

Les dice a Uds. la verdad.
He tells you the truth.

Personal Pronouns — Reflexive Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Reflexive Pronouns

singular	plural
me myself	nos ourselves
te yourself	os yourselves
se himself; herself; yourself	se themselves; yourselves

The reflexive forms of the personal pronouns are those which are used together with so-called reflexive verbs. They are me (myself), te (yourself — fam. form), nos (ourselves), and se (yourself, himself, herself, yourselves, themselves). When conjugated, these reflexive pronouns are placed directly before the verb. The conjugation of a typical reflexive verb lavarse (to wash oneself) follows:

	LAVARSE	(to wash oneself)
me	lavo	(I wash myself)
te	lavas	(you wash yourself)
se	lava	(he / she / you wash(es) himself / herself / yourself)
nos	lavamos	(we wash ourselves)
os	laváis	(you wash yourselves)
se	lavan	(they / you wash themselves / yourselves)

Many verbs that are used reflexively in Spanish are not so used in English, consequently these do not "make sense" if an attempt is made to parallel them to the English usage. The only manner of approaching them is to commit them to memory. Following is a list of some of the most common verbs which are reflexive in Spanish but not in English:

acordarse de — to remember	hacerse — to become (plus noun)
acostarse — to go to bed	lavarse — to wash (oneself)
bajarse — to get out (of car, etc.)	levantarse — to get up
bañarse — to take a bath	llamarse — to be called
caerse — to fall	pararse — to stop, to stand up
callarse — to be quiet	ponerse — to put on (clothing)
cansarse — to get tired	quedarse — to stay, to remain
casarse (con) — to marry	quitarse — to take off (clothing)
dormirse — to fall asleep	sentarse — to sit down
escaparse — to escape	subirse — to climb, to get in (car)
esconderse — to hide	vestirse — to get dressed

Yo me levanto.

I get up.

Yo me quedo.

I remain.

a) One should also note that in Spanish, when we refer to some action associated with parts of the body or articles of clothing, we use the definite article after all reflexive pronouns rather than the possessive forms of the personal pronoun.

Yo me cepillo los (not mis) dientes tres veces al día.

I brush my teeth three times a day.

Elena se quitó los (not sus) guantes.

Helen took off her gloves.

b) The student should further note that reflexive pronouns, when attached to the infinitive of reflexive verbs, are not constant but change form in accordance with the person or persons to which they refer.

¿Vas a ducharte?

Are you going to take a shower?

Enrique no quiere quitarse el saco.

Henry doesn't want to take off his coat.

No puedo secarme las manos con esta toalla.

I can't dry my hands with this towel.

Quiero irme a casa.

I want to go home.

Personal Pronouns — Indirect Object Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect object nouns or pronouns name the person or persons

to or for whom the subject gives or does something. It receives

the action of the verb indirectly. It may be a prepositional phrase

in English, but in Spanish it is always considered the indirect

object. The indirect object answers "to whom?" or "for whom?"

Martha gives John a camera.

or

Martha gives a camera to John.

To whom does Martha give a camera?

Answer: to John; therefore, John is the indirect object.

She makes Jane a dress.

or

She makes a dress for Jane.

For whom does she make a dress?

Answer: for Jane; therefore, Jane is the indirect object.

If a pronoun is substituted for each of the indirect object nouns above, the sentences will read:

Martha gives him a camera.

or

Martha gives a camera to him.

She makes her a dress.

or

She makes a dress for her.

The English indirect object pronouns and their Spanish equivalents

are:

singular	plural
me to me	nos to us
te to you - (informal)	os to you - (informal)
le to him; her; it; you - (formal)	les to them - to you - (formal)

Since le may mean you, him, or her, the speaker may want to explain further by adding a Ud.,a él, or a ella respectively. Les may be clarified by "a Uds., a ellos, or a ellas.

Martha le da una cámara (a él.)

Martha gives him a camera.

Ella le hace un vestido (a ella).

She makes her a dress.

The rules for the position of indirect object pronouns in the Spanish sentence are the same as for direct object pronouns. If used together the indirect object pronoun always precedes the direct object pronoun.

An indirect object noun is often anticipated by the use of the indirect object pronoun. Although the indirect object pronoun is not always required, it is better Spanish to use it. The indirect object noun in Spanish is always introduced by the personal a if is is a person. (e.g. Donó un millón de dólares a la universidad. Here the a is required but is is not personal.)

Él le paga a José muy poco.

He pays Jose very little.

Luis le ha dado a María su anillo.

Luis has given Maria his ring.

Yo le he escrito a mi esposa hoy.

I have written to my wife today.

The following verbs very often take indirect objects:

ayudar - to help	mandar - to send
comprar - to buy	ofrecer - to offer
dar - to give	pagar - to pay
deber - to owe	pedir - to ask for
decir - to say, to tell	pedir prestado - to borrow
escribir - to write	regalar - to give a present
enviar - to send	robar - to steal

Comprar, pedir prestado*, and robar require an object pronoun and a personal a before their objects. The preposition from is not translated into Spanish.

* Prestado agrees with the thing borrowed in gender and number.

¿Cúanto le debo?

How much does he owe you?

Yo le compro el diario a Pepe.

I buy the newspaper from Pepe.

Él le pide prestado el carro a Mike.

He borrows the car from Mike.

Él le roba dinero a su padre.

He steals money from his father.

When a sentence contains a direct and indirect object pronoun, they may not be split in the Spanish sentence and the indirect always precedes the direct.

John ya me lo ha pagado.

John has already paid it to me.

Mary nos lo ha vendido.

Mary has sold it to us.

For the sake of sound, when both object pronouns begin with the letter "l," the indirect object pronoun, whether singular or plural, becomes "se" in the Spanish sentence.

Juan le lo da. = Juan se lo da.

Juan gives it to him.

Mary les los vende. = Mary se los vende.

Mary sells them to them.

Personal Pronouns — Direct Object Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Direct Object Pronouns

The direct object (noun or pronoun) of a sentence is the complement or "completer" of a verb of action. It receives the action of the verb directly; that is, the direct object is acted upon by the subject. It answers "what?" when it is referring to things.

For example:

John throws the ball.

What does John throw?

Answer: the ball; therefore, ball is the direct object noun.

Mary loses the pencils.

What does Mary lose?

Answer: the pencils; therefore, pencils is the direct object noun.

Pablo reads the lesson.

What does Pablo read?

Answer: the lesson; therefore, lesson is the direct object noun.

All the direct objects underlined have been nouns. When a pronoun is substituted for each noun, the sentences read:

John throws it.

Mary loses them.

Pablo reads it.

The above underlined words are direct object pronouns. In a normal conversation one does not repeat the noun after it has already been established; in other words, one does not say: John throws the ball. John throws the ball fast. John throws the ball to first base. Instead, one says: John throws the ball. He throws it fast. He throws it to first base. Because of this normal trend in conversation, object pronouns are very important both in English and in Spanish. Since hardly anything is neuter in Spanish, we have to substitute object pronouns that agree both in number and gender with the noun they are replacing. Spanish direct object pronouns for things are:

singular	plural
lo - it (masculine) la - it (feminine)	los - them (masculine) las - them (feminine)

In English, when converting the noun into a pronoun the position of the direct object is not affected.

John throws it.
subject / verb / direct object pronoun

John throws the ball.
subject / verb / direct object noun

In Spanish, a direct object noun has the same position as in English.

John tira la pelota.
subject / verb / direct object noun

This is not so when a direct object pronoun is used in the Spanish sentence. The rules for the position of object pronouns in the Spanish sentence are:

a) Immediately before a conjugated verb.

John la tira.
John throws it.

b) Immediately before a governing verb or attached to the infinitive that accompanies the governing verb. (Will be discussed later.)

c) Immediately before the conjugated form of the verb when dealing with the perfect tenses.

John la ha tirado.
John has thrown it.

d) Immediately before the conjugated form of the verb estar or attached to the present participle when dealing
with the progressive tenses.

John la está tirando.
John is throwing it.

or

John está tirándola.
John is throwing it.

e) Attached to positive commands, but before negative commands.

(Will be discussed later.)

The direct object can also refer to a person or persons. It still receives the action of the verb, but in this case the direct object answers "whom?".

Jane sees John.

Whom does Jane see?

Answer: John; therefore, John is
the direct object noun.

Mary sees the men.

Whom does Mary see? Answer: the men; therefore,
men is the direct object
noun.

In Spanish, whenever the direct object is a definite person noun, it is introduced by the personal "a":

Jane ve a John.
Jane sees John.

Mary ve a los hombres.
Mary sees the men.

John ve a la mujer.
John sees the woman.

If pronouns are substituted for the direct object nouns, the sentences will read:

Jane sees him.

Mary sees them.

John sees her.

The English direct object pronouns for people and their Spanish equivalents are:

singular	plural
me - me	nos - us
te - you (informal)	os - you (informal)
lo - him, you, it (mas.) la - her, you, it (fem.)	los - them, you (mas.) las - them, you (fem.)

The position of object pronouns for persons is the same as that for things. If ambiguity exists when direct object pronouns in the third person are used, they may be explained further by the use of the prepositional pronoun.

Jane lo ve (a él).
Jane sees him.

Mary los ve (a ellos).
Mary sees them.

John la ve (a ella).
John sees her.

Personal Pronouns — Subject Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Subject Pronouns

Table of Subject Pronouns

The personal pronouns in Spanish, when used as the subject of the verb, are as follows:

	singular	plural
1st person	yo - I	nosotros - we (mas.1 and fem.2) nosotras - we (fem. only)
2nd person	tú/vos * - you (familiar)	vosotros * - you (familiar mas. fem. - only in Spain) vosotras * -you (familiar fem. only - only in Spain)
3rd person	él - he ella - she usted 3 - you (formal)	ellos (they - mas. and fem.) ellas (they - fem. only) ustedes 3 - you (formal - - only in Latin America)

¹masculine
²feminine
³ In the subject pronoun chart, usted and ustedes are tricky. Even though they both mean you (singular and plural); and you is a second-person pronoun in English, but these two “respectful” pronouns are treated as third-person pronouns in Spanish for conjugation (and, thus, are listed with the third-person pronouns).

In English, you can refer to one person or to more than one person. But Latin Americans generally use ustedes for the plural of tú, vos and usted. In Spain, use vosotros for the plural of both tú and usted (vos is not used in Spain).

However, some people don't bother to learn the vosotros pronoun because ustedes can be used as the plural form of you for any situation.

NOTE #1:

a) Since the ending of the verb in Spanish generally indicates the number and person of the subject, subject pronouns are used less often in Spanish than in English.

Hablamos siempre en inglés.
We always speak in English.

Vinieron juntos a la fiesta.
They came together to the party.

b) On the other hand, the subject pronouns are naturally used whenever it is necessary to indicate the subject clearly or to give emphasis to the subject.

Usted habla español bien.
You speak Spanish well.

Él es rico pero ella es pobre.
He is rich but she is poor.

* NOTE #2: tú, vos, usted, vosotros and ustedes

First, tú, vos, usted, vosotros and ustedes all mean you . The confusion lies in when to use them.

[tú] The pronoun tú is used only in familiar conversation, with close friends or with members of one's family.
[vos] The pronoun vos is used in some regions of Latin America in the same way that tú is used.
[usted] The pronoun usted is the formal version and is used to show respect, usually when talking to someone who’s older or whom you don’t know very well. 
[vosotros] Outside of Spain, the plural vosotros has very limited use in present day Spanish, and means all you.
[ustedes] The pronoun ustedes is now generally used in vosotros place outside of Spain, and means all you.

The following is going to help you understand vos that some regions of the Spanish-speaking world have a third category. Generally speaking vos indicates an even closer relationship than tú:

Second-person singular, informal: vos
Second-person singular, semi-formal: tú
Second-person singular, formal: usted

NOTE #3. VOSEO:

Voseo is the use of the pronoun vos and vosotros:

Vos in place of tú in combination with a verb conjugated in the second-person singular.
Vosotros in place of ustedes in combination with a verb conjugated in the second-person plural.

This means:
Vos is the second-person singular pronoun as tú and usted.
Vosotros is the second-person plural pronoun as ustedes.

These are two different kinds of voseo –one in Spain and one in Latin America-.
Vos is used in some regions of Latin American only (Spain doesn’t use vos).
Vosotros is used in Spain only (Latin America doesn’t use vosotros).

The conjugation of vos and tú are different as well as the conjugation of vosotros and ustedes even though they are second-person pronouns.

Examples of second-person singular pronouns conjugated:

Javier:
[vos] Mirá Marta, este es mi padre.
[tú] Mira Marta, este es mi padre.
[usted] Mire Marta, este es mi padre.
Look Marta, this is my father.

Marta:
[vos] Vos sos idéntico. Vos tenés su misma cara.
[tú] Tú eres idéntico. Tú tienes su misma cara.
[usted] Usted es idéntico. Usted tiene su misma cara.
You are identical. You have his same face.

It’s important to mention that two types of voseo are distinguished:

1. The reverential voseo (archaic and disused): consisting of the use of the pronoun vos to address reverentially to the second grammatical person —both singular and plural— implying the verbal conjugation of second-person plural.

In other words, you won't need it and so don't have to worry about it unless you plan on talking to the King in person or read a very old book.

2. The American dialect voseo: consisting of the use of the pronoun vos but it is not reverential, but rather denotes familiarity with the interlocutor in the regions in which it is practiced.

Vos is conjugated differently. It works like vosotros but removes the last i, unless it's a third-conjugation verb (ended in -ir in infinitive). Review the chart below.

Examples of the pronoun vos conjugated as reverential voseo¹and as American dialect voseo ²:

¹ Lo que vos digáis.
² Lo que vos digas .
Whatever you say.

¹ Vos sois de allá.
² Vos sos de allá.
You are from there.

¹ Vos os quedáis con vuestra familia
² Vos te quedas con tu familia.
You stay with your family.

In the last two sentences os and te are Reflexive Pronouns of the subject pronoun vos; vuestra and tu are Possessive Adjectives of the subject pronoun vos.

There is a grammatical difference between reverential voseo and American dialect voseo, where reverential forms also extend agreement to Reflexive and Possessive pronouns, compared to what happens in all variants of American dialect voseo where the Reflexive and Possessive pronouns use agreement with the pronoun tú.

Examples:

¹Me habían informado de muchas cosas sobre vos y de vuestro comportamiento.
²Me habían informado de muchas cosas sobre vos y de tu comportamiento.

Personal Pronouns — Defined

Personal Pronouns — Defined

A PRONOUN is a word used in place of a noun.

In English there are various types of pronouns, the most common of which are PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

FIRST PERSON: I, me, we, us

Every Monday I buy bread and milk.

SECOND PERSON: you

Did you go to work on Tuesday?

THIRD PERSON: he, him, she, her, it, they, them

On Wednesday he went to the opera.

Personal pronouns are often broken down into two additional classes, possessive pronouns and reflexive pronouns.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS show ownership or possession: — mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Do you need a pen? Here, use mine.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS are used:

a) reflexively to refer back to the subject

After Sue dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror.

b) emphatically to give emphasis to some person or thing:— myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

He did it himself.