Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject pronouns (pronombres de sujeto) name who does the action. Spanish has a full set, but most of the time you leave them out.

Singular	Meaning	Plural	Meaning
yo	I	nosotros / nosotras	we
tú	you (informal)	vosotros / vosotras	you all (informal, Spain)
él	he	ellos	they (masc.)
ella	she	ellas	they (fem.)
usted	you (formal)	ustedes	you all (formal / all Latin America)

Because every verb ending already shows the person, the pronoun is usually omitted: hablo already means "I speak", so yo hablo is only needed for emphasis.

Keep the pronoun when you want to:

• Emphasise or contrast: Yo trabajo y tú descansas. (I work and you rest.)
• Avoid confusion in the third person, where él, ella and usted share the same verb form: Ella es española.

Spanish has four ways to say "you", chosen by formality and number — and also by region.

Form	Who	Verb person
tú	one person, informal (friend, family)	2nd singular
usted	one person, formal (stranger, elder)	3rd singular
vosotros/-as	more than one, informal — Spain only	2nd plural
ustedes	more than one, formal in Spain; all plural "you" in Latin America	3rd plural

The surprise for learners: usted and ustedes take third-person verb forms, even though they mean "you".

• ¿Cómo está usted? — How are you? (formal — note está, not estás)
• ¿De dónde son ustedes? — Where are you all from?

For the exam, using tú with friends and usted with adults you don't know shows the examiner you can judge register.

A direct object is the person or thing that directly receives the action. Direct object pronouns (complemento directo) replace it so you don't repeat the noun.

Person	Pronoun	Meaning
1st sing.	me	me
2nd sing.	te	you
3rd sing.	lo / la	him, her, it, you (formal)
1st pl.	nos	us
2nd pl.	os	you all (Spain)
3rd pl.	los / las	them, you all (formal)

The third-person forms agree with the gender and number of the noun they replace:

• ¿Ves la película? Sí, la veo. — Do you see the film? Yes, I see it. (la = la película)
• Compro los billetes → Los compro. — I buy the tickets → I buy them.
• Te quiero. — I love you.

An indirect object answers to whom or for whom the action is done. The indirect pronouns (complemento indirecto) match the direct ones except in the third person.

Person	Direct	Indirect
1st sing.	me	me
2nd sing.	te	te
3rd sing.	lo / la	le
1st pl.	nos	nos
2nd pl.	os	os
3rd pl.	los / las	les

Only the third person differs: direct lo/la/los/las vs indirect le/les.

(Higher tier — the object pronouns nos and os are Higher-only; Foundation students need me/te/lo/la/le and their plurals los/las/les.)

• Le doy el libro (a mi amigo). — I give the book to my friend.
• Les escribo un mensaje. — I write them a message.

Spanish often includes both the pronoun and the full phrase for clarity: Le compro un regalo a mi madre — the le and a mi madre both point to the same person. This doubling is normal and correct.

Object pronoun position follows one clear rule with three attachment cases.

Before a conjugated verb, the pronoun stands as a separate word:

• Lo veo. — I see it. · No la conozco. — I don't know her.

Attached to the end of the verb in three situations:

Verb form	Example	Also allowed
infinitive	Voy a verlo. (I'm going to see it)	Lo voy a ver.
gerund (-ando/-iendo)	Estoy viéndolo. (I'm watching it)	Lo estoy viendo.
positive command	¡Cómelo! (Eat it!)	—

With a negative command, the pronoun goes back in front: No lo comas (Don't eat it), never "no cómelo".

Attaching a pronoun often forces a written accent to keep the stress: viendo → viéndolo, come → cómelo.

When an indirect and a direct pronoun appear together, the indirect comes first, then the direct: me lo, te la, nos los.

• ¿El libro? Me lo da. — The book? He gives it to me.
• Te lo explico. — I'll explain it to you.

There is one special change. When le or les (indirect) would sit directly before lo, la, los, las (direct), the indirect pronoun becomes se:

Wrong	Correct	Meaning
le lo doy	se lo doy	I give it to him/her
les la mando	se la mando	I send it to them

• ¿El regalo para Ana? Se lo doy mañana. — The gift for Ana? I'll give it to her tomorrow.

Spanish avoids two l-words in a row, so le lo is never possible — it must become se lo.

1. Adding the subject pronoun everywhere

The verb ending already shows the subject, so hablo means "I speak". Write Estudio español, not "Yo estudio español" unless you need emphasis or contrast.

2. Using tú forms with usted

Usted takes third-person verbs: ¿Cómo está usted?, not "¿Cómo estás usted?". This is a frequent register error.

3. Mixing up direct and indirect in the third person

Use lo/la/los/las for the direct object (the thing) and le/les for the indirect (the person receiving it): Lo veo (I see it) vs Le hablo (I speak to him).

4. Putting the pronoun before a positive command

Pronouns attach to the end of a positive command: Dímelo, Cómelo. In front only for negative commands: No me lo digas.

5. Writing le lo instead of se lo

Before lo/la/los/las, the indirect le/les becomes se: Se lo doy, never "le lo doy".