| Pronouns |
| Pronouns
are words that take the place of nouns. They are useful because they simplify
language by reducing repetition. |
| 1.
Demonstrative Pronouns: |
Demonstrative
Pronouns |
| singular |
plural |
éste
ésta |
éstos
éstas |
ése
ésa |
ésos
ésas |
aquél
aquélla |
aquéllos
aquéllas |
|
| Demonstrative
pronouns single out people, animals or things. Demonstrative pronouns usually
have a written accent mark on the vowel of the stressed syllable to distinuish
them from demonstrative adjectives. However, when context is unambiguous,
the accents can be omitted.
--Perdón,
señora, ¿qué libro quería?
--Me
gustaría comprar ése.
No
me gusta esta camisa. Voy a probarme aquella. |
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| 2.
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns: |
Direct
Object
Pronouns |
| me |
nos |
| te |
os |
lo
la |
los
las |
|
| Direct
Object pronouns replace nouns in the direct Object position (in relation
to the verb). They are most commonly used when answering a question or
expanding on a previous statement. For example:
--¿Vendiste
las
tarjetas?
--Sí,
las
vendí.
Direct
object pronouns are placed directly in front of conjugated verbs, but may
also be attached to the end of infinitives, affirmative commands and present
participles.
--
Abra la maleta, por favor.
--No
quiero abrirla, señor. --¡Abrala ya! |
|
|
Indirect
Object
Pronouns |
| me |
nos |
| te |
os |
| le |
se |
les |
se |
|
| Indirect
Object pronouns replace nouns in the indirect object position (in relation
to the verb). Like direct object pronouns, they are placed directly in
front of conjugated verbs, but may also be attached to the end of infinitives,
affirmative commands and present participles. For example:
--¿Le
vendiste el carro a Miguel?
--Sí,
le
vendí el carro. |
|
|
| When
Indirect and Direct object pronouns are used together in a sentence, the
Indirect object pronoun precedes the other. If they are both in the 3rd.
person, the Indirect le or les becomes se.
--¿Le
diste las flores a Rosaura?
--Sí,
selas
di.
--¿Te
traigo el café?
--Sí,
tráemelo, por favor. |
|
| 3.
Possessive Pronouns: |
Pssessive
Pronouns
(and
adjectives) |
mío,
míos
mía,
mías |
nuestro,
nuestros
nuestra,
nuestras |
tuyo,
tuyos
tuya,
tuyas |
vuestro,
vuestros
vuestra,
vuestras |
suyo(s)
suya(s) |
de
él
de
ella
de
Ud. |
suyo(s)
suya(s) |
de
ellos
de
ellas
de
Uds. |
|
| Possessive
pronouns replace nouns that represent things possessed. They agree in gender
and number not with the possessor but with what is possessed. For example:
--Este
bolígrafo es de Miguel.
--¿Estás
seguro de que es suyo y no mío?
¿Esto
es tuyo? |
|
|
|
| 4.
Prepositional Pronouns: |
Prepositional
Pronouns |
| mí |
nosotros
nosotras |
| ti |
vosotros
vosotras |
él
ella
usted |
ellos
ellas
ustedes |
|
| Prepositional
pronouns always follow prepositions. For example:
Juan
Carlos confía en mí.
A
ti
te gusta el trinar de los ruiseñores por la mañana.
In
addition, mí and ti have independent compound forms
with the preposition con: conmigo and contigo.
--¡Es
imposible hablar contigo!
--¿Conmigo?
¡No lo creo! |
|
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| 5.
Reflexive and Reciprocal Pronouns: |
Reflexive
Pronouns |
| me |
nos |
| te |
os |
| se |
se |
|
| Reflexive
pronouns make the verb reflexive. The action of the verb is reflected back
upon the subject rather than to an object. In English we use -self
or -selves to convey the same meaning. For example:
--¿te
cepillas los dientes todos los días?
--Sí,
me
los cepillo todos los días. |
|
|
Reciprocal
Pronouns |
| nos |
| os |
| se |
|
| Reciprocal
pronouns have the same forms as the plural reflexive pronouns and convey
the meaning of each other. For example:
--¿Con
qué frecuencia se hablan tú y María?
--Nos
hablamos a menudo. |
|
|
|
| 5.
Subject Pronouns: |
Subject
Pronouns |
| yo |
nosotros
nosotras |
| tú |
vosotros
vosotras |
él
ella
usted |
ellos
ellas
ustedes |
|
| Subject
pronouns replace nouns in the subject position. Although Ud. and
Uds.
are in reality formal second person, they are grouped with él and
ella, etc. (3rd. person) because they share the same form. Some examples:
--¿Herlinda
sabe mucho de remedios caseros?
--Sí,
ella
es experta en eso.
Manuela
y Gregorio arguyen sobre la teoría de la creación.
Ellos
tienen posturas diferentes. |
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