SER and SUBJECT PRONOUNS Do you know whats

SER and SUBJECT PRONOUNS

Do you know what’s meant by 1 st person, 2 nd person, 3 rd person? 1 st person is the person who is speaking – I 2 nd is the person to whom one is speaking – you 3 rd is the person about whom one is speaking -- he, she, it I, you, he, she, it are all singular pronouns. Each refers to one person. But we also have plural pronouns: 1 st person plural = I + another person = we 2 nd person plural = you + another person = y’all 3 rd person plural = he/she/it + another person = they

These pronouns are called SUBJECT PRONOUNS: I you he, she, it we y’all they What that means is that these pronouns are used as the SUBJECT of the sentence: I read a book. (Not *Me read a book. ) You read a book. (Not *Your read a book. ) He reads a book. (Not *Him reads a book. )

1 st person 2 nd person 3 rd person singular I you he, she, it plural we y’all they Pronouns are ALWAYS in this order. When you learn pronouns in any language, this is the order in which you’ll find them. When you learn the verbs that go with the pronouns, the verbs will always be in this order, too.

Following are the Spanish subject pronouns: yo nosotros(as*) tú vosotros(as*) él, ella, Usted (Ud. ) ellos, ellas, ustedes (Uds. ) *-as ending is used when the entire group is female / a masculine group OR a mixed group uses the –os ending They correspond to the following subject pronouns: I you (friendly) he, she, it, you (formal) we (masc/fem forms) y’all (only used in Spain) they, you all (formal, Spain but used exclusively in other Hispanic nations)

So what’s the difference between all those “you’s? ? ? ” Ud. – use this with people you should show respect to, people who are older than you, or to someone in a position of authority. If you call the person Mr. /Mrs. /Miss/Dr. /Prof. + last name, you should use “Ud. ” instead of “tú. ” tú – use this If you call the person by his first name, such as with friends, family members, or young children even if you don’t know them that well vosotros – use this plural, friendly form with friends, but only in Spain (and you’ll see it in classical literature, the Bible, etc, too) Uds. – use this in Latin America, no matter who you’re talking to. You can translate it as “you-guys” / “you all” / or “y’all. ”

One special thing to note about Ud. and Uds: Ud. and Uds. always act like 3 rd person pronouns, for every part of speech that we learn - verbs, etc - even though they mean “you. ” They do NOT use the 2 nd person forms. They will always use the same forms as those used by “él” and “ella” / “ellos” and “ellas” You will understand this better as we try some examples…

SER “Ser” means “to be. ” It’s the most irregular verb there is in both English and Spanish. am are are is are Here are the Spanish words for the above: soy somos eres sois es son

Remember that you don’t usually have to use the pronouns. Look at the Spanish forms of “ser”: soy eres es somos sois son All of them are different. So “soy” all by itself means “I am. ” “Soy” can never mean anything but “I am. ” When you look at the verb, you know what the subject has to be. Sometimes you may choose to use the pronoun “yo” to give emphasis to the pronoun. You will also need to use the pronouns for third person “es” IF it is not clear who you’re referring to, but you can otherwise leave it out. You have four choices for 3 rd person – he, she, it, or you – so you may need to clarify the meaning with a pronoun.

Now you try! son Ellos _______ es Juan _______ (Note: “Juan” is the same as “él. ”) somos Elena y yo ______ (Note: “Elena y yo” is the same as “nosotros. ”) es Ud. ______ eres Tú ______ Yo ____soy____

Here are some examples of sentences using the verb SER: Yo soy americano. Tú eres muy simpatico. Él es un muchacho mexicano. Ella no es pelirroja. Usted es bastante alto. Nosotros* somos perezosos. Vosotros* sois alumnos. Ellos son cubanos. Ellas no son rubias. Ustedes son guapos. I am American. You are very nice. He is a Mexican boy. She is not a redhead. You are pretty tall. We are lazy. Y’all are students. They (males or mixed group) are Cubans. They (females) are not blonde. You all are handsome. *(nosotras / vosotras would use the same verb forms as nosotros / vosostros)