Personal pronouns are words used instead of nouns to represent people or things:

Spanish personal pronouns are similar to those in English, but note that there is no equivalent for the English it form – in Spanish all things are either masculine or feminine.

The feminine forms of plural personas are used when referring to a group of exclusively female persons. If the group is multi-gendered or the genders are not known or relevant, the masculine pronoun is used.

In Spanish, pronouns are not usually used to refer to things, but the pronoun is most often omitted and the sentence begins directly with the verb, because the verb form shows the subject of the sentence.

Tú eres muy alto. – _ Eres muy alto.

You are very tall.

La ciudad es bonita. _ Es bonita.

The city is beautiful. It is beautiful.

The English singular “you” exists in two forms in Spanish: tú (informal) and usted (formal). Similarly, there are two plural forms, vosotros (informal) and ustedes (formal). Note that these two formal forms – usted, ustedes (and their abbreviated forms, Ud/Vd and Uds/Vds) – are followed by the verb conjugated in the 3rd person, not the 2nd:

Tú escribes muy bien en inglés.

You write very well in English.

Usted escribe muy bien en inglés.

You write very well in English.

The vosotros form is used primarily in Spain. Throughout Latin America, the ustedes form is used to say “you” in both formal and informal contexts, and the verb conjugates as explained above.

¡Vosotros dos siempre llegáis tarde al colegio! (in Spain, talking to children)

¡Ustedes dos siempre llegan tarde al colegio! (in Latin America, talking to children)

You two are always late for school!

Con la tarjeta de fidelidad, ustedes pueden entrar a la zona VIP. (both in Spain and Latin America, talking to clients)

With your membership card, you can access the VIP area.