Introduction to Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. It is commonly used to avoid repeating a previously mentioned noun known as the antecedent. In the following example, the pronoun ella  is used to replace the underlined antecedent una hermana.

Tengo una hermana que vive en la Florida en Jensen Beach. Ella está allá, es mayor que yo dos años.
I have a sister who lives in Florida in Jensen Beach. She is there, she is two years older than I am.

Types of Pronouns

The different kinds of pronouns are named according to their grammatical function.

Subject Pronouns

yo I	nosotros/nosotras we
tú you
él/ella/usted he/she/formal you	ellos/ellas/ustedes they/you plural

Direct Object Pronouns

me me	nos us
te you
lo/la him/her/it/formal you	los/las them/you plural

Reflexive Pronouns

me myself	nos ourselves
te yourself
se himself/herself/itself	se them/plural you

Demonstrative Pronouns

Singular		Plural			Translation
Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
este	esta	estos	estas	esto	this, these
ese	esa	esos	esas	eso	that, those
aquel	aquella	aquellos	aquellas	aquello	that, those (far in distance or time)

Relative Pronouns

• quien, quienes  who/whom
• que, el/la/los/las que, el/la/los/las cual that
• cuyo/cuya/cuyos/cuyas whose

Indefinite Pronouns

• alguien someone
• algo something
• nadie no one
• nada nothing
• muchos many
• pocos few

Interrogative Pronouns*

• qué what
• quién/quiénes who
• dónde where
• cómo how
• cuándo when
• cuál which

*These pronouns have an accent mark when they are used in a question or indirect question but otherwise don’t have an accent mark. Compare the two examples below.

¿Cuándo y dónde naciste?
When and where were you born? El área de donde yo vengo es un área muy árida.
The area where I come from is very arid.