Forms of Address
Spanish Grammar 1
Chapter 9 · Subject Pronouns and Forms of Address
🙋 Subject Pronouns and Forms of Address — Pronombres y tratamiento
Spanish has more ways to say "you" than English does, and the choice tells the listener how you see them: friend or stranger, equal or older, one person or many, in Spain or in Latin America. This chapter lists the subject pronouns, shows why Spanish usually leaves them out, and then explains the choices that matter in real life: tú against usted, vosotros against ustedes, and the vos you will hear in parts of Latin America. It ends with the "it" that Spanish never says (Llueve, Es tarde).
The subject pronouns
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (I, we) | yo | nosotros (masc. or mixed) · nosotras (all female) |
| 2nd informal (you) | tú (vos in some regions) | vosotros / vosotras (Spain only) |
| 2nd formal (you) | usted (Ud., Vd.) | ustedes (Uds., Vds.): formal in Spain, every "you" plural in Latin America |
| 3rd (he, she, they) | él · ella | ellos (masc. or mixed) · ellas (all female) |
yo is written with a small letter (unlike English "I"), and usted / ustedes take the third-person verb, as if you were talking about the person politely. You will study the verb endings in Spanish Grammar 2; here is the verb ser (to be) as a preview, so you can see the pattern.
| Pronoun | ser | Pronoun | ser |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | nosotros / nosotras | somos |
| tú | eres | vosotros / vosotras | sois |
| él / ella / usted | es | ellos / ellas / ustedes | son |
Dropping the subject
Because soy, eres, es already tell you who is speaking, Spanish usually omits the pronoun: Soy escocés. (not Yo soy escocés every time). Keep the pronoun in four cases:
| Reason | Example |
|---|---|
| emphasis | ¡Yo lo hago! (I'll do it!) |
| contrast | Yo soy escocés y tú eres inglés. · Ella trabaja, él no. |
| clarity, when the verb could mean several people (third person, and usted) | Él es alto, pero ella no. (Es alto alone could be "he is", "it is" or "you are") |
| one-word answers and "too / neither" | ¿Quién? — Yo. · Yo también. · Ni yo. · ¿Y tú? |
Tú or usted?
| tú | usted | |
|---|---|---|
| who | friends, family, children, classmates, colleagues of your age, young people | strangers, older people, customers, officials, people you want to respect |
| verb | 2nd person (eres, tienes) | 3rd person singular (es, tiene) |
| greeting | ¿Cómo estás? | ¿Cómo está? |
| to call attention | Perdona. · Oye. · Mira. | Perdone. · Oiga. · Mire. |
| possessive | tu casa | su casa |
To switch from usted to tú, Spanish has the verb tutear ("to use tú"): ¿Nos tuteamos? (Shall we use tú with each other?) or Puedes tutearme. (You can use tú with me.) The older person or the one in the position of authority normally offers.
Vosotros or ustedes?
| Region | informal plural (friends) | formal plural (strangers) |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | vosotros / vosotras (sois, vuestro) | ustedes (son, su) |
| Latin America and the Canary Islands | ustedes for every "you" plural (son, su) | |
So ¿Vosotros sois españoles? is the natural question to friends in Madrid, while ¿Ustedes son mexicanos? is correct in Mexico City and polite anywhere.
Vos: what you will hear in parts of Latin America
In Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, most of Central America and parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Chile, the everyday word for informal "you" is vos, not tú. The verb has its own forms, and the pronoun that follows (te, tu) is the same as for tú. You do not need to produce it, but you should recognise it.
| Meaning | tú | vos |
|---|---|---|
| you are | tú eres | vos sos |
| you have | tú tienes | vos tenés |
| you want | tú quieres | vos querés |
| you speak | tú hablas | vos hablás |
Gender in the plural
| Group | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| all women | nosotras, vosotras, ellas | Nosotras somos españolas. · Ellas son altas. |
| men, or a mixed group, or when the sex is not stated | nosotros, vosotros, ellos | Ellos son españoles. (a man and a woman, or men) |
| one man among ten women | ellos | The masculine plural wins, even for one man. |
| usted / ustedes | no gender: they match the people addressed in the adjective only | Usted está cansada (to a woman) · Ustedes están cansados (to a mixed group) |
ello and impersonal "it"
English needs a subject in every sentence, so it says "it is late" and "it rains". Spanish has no subject word for this "it": the verb stands alone.
| Kind | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| weather | Llueve. · Nieva. · Hace frío. · Hace calor. | It rains. It snows. It's cold. It's hot. |
| time | Es tarde. · Son las tres. | It's late. It's three o'clock. |
| judgement | Es importante. · Es verdad. | It is important. It's true. |
| existence | Hay un problema. | There is a problem. |
| "they say" (no one in particular) | Dicen que va a llover. · Se dice que es difícil. | They say it's going to rain. It is said that it's difficult. |
| "one" (people in general) | Uno nunca sabe. · Aquí se vive bien. | You never know. One lives well here. |
The neuter pronoun ello ("it") exists too, but only in formal or written Spanish, to refer back to a whole idea: No quiero hablar de ello. (I don't want to talk about it.) · Por ello, no vino. (For that reason, he did not come.) In everyday speech people say de eso and por eso (Spanish Grammar 1 7).
🗣️ In Use — En situación
Read the exchanges aloud and notice who says tú and who says usted.
① Meeting a stranger (usted)
② Changing to tú
③ In Buenos Aires (vos)
📋 Quick Reference — Resumen
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| pronouns | yo, tú, él / ella / usted, nosotros/-as, vosotros/-as, ellos / ellas / ustedes |
| dropping | usually omitted; keep for emphasis, contrast, clarity, one-word answers |
| tú / usted | tú friends and family, usted strangers and formal; usted + 3rd person; tutear |
| vosotros / ustedes | vosotros (Spain, informal) · ustedes (formal in Spain, all "you" plural in Latin America) |
| vos | Argentina, Uruguay, Central America: vos sos, vos tenés |
| plural gender | feminine only for an all-female group; masculine for mixed groups |
| "it" | no subject word: Llueve, Es tarde, Es verdad, Hay; ello only in formal writing |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Say in Spanish: "I", "you" (informal), "you" (formal), "we" (all women), "they" (a man and a woman).
Show answer
yo · tú · usted · nosotras · ellos.
2. tú or usted? You are speaking to: a classmate · your friend's grandmother, whom you have just met · a waiter in a smart restaurant · a child.
Show answer
tú · usted · usted · tú.
3. vosotros or ustedes? You are talking to a group of friends in Madrid · in Mexico City · to strangers in Madrid.
Show answer
vosotros · ustedes · ustedes.
4. Say in Spanish: "I am Scottish." and "I am Scottish and you are English." Which one needs the pronouns?
Show answer
Soy escocés. · Yo soy escocés y tú eres inglés. (The second sentence contrasts two people, so the pronouns stay.)
5. Es alto could mean three things. Which? How do you make it clear?
Show answer
"He is tall", "it is tall" and "you (usted) are tall". Add the pronoun: Él es alto / Usted es alto.
6. A woman talks about herself and two other women, and another woman talks about herself, two women and one man. Which pronoun does each use?
Show answer
nosotras (all female) · nosotros (the one man makes the group masculine).
7. Say "you are" for tú and for vos. Where do you hear vos?
Show answer
tú eres · vos sos. Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, much of Central America and parts of other countries.
8. Say in Spanish: "It's late.", "It's raining.", "It's important."
Show answer
Es tarde. · Llueve. · Es importante. (Spanish has no word for "it" here.)
9. What does ¿Nos tuteamos? mean? How would you attract the attention of a stranger politely, and of a friend?
Show answer
"Shall we use tú with each other?" Stranger: Perdone / Oiga. Friend: Perdona / Oye.
10. What do por ello and No quiero hablar de ello mean? What would you say in everyday speech?
Show answer
"For that reason" and "I don't want to talk about it". In everyday speech: por eso and No quiero hablar de eso.