Los pronombres personales — Subject pronouns
👤 Los pronombres personales — Subject pronouns
| Pronombre | English | Persona |
|---|---|---|
| yo | I | 1ª sing. |
| tú | you (informal) | 2ª sing. |
| él / ella / usted | he / she / you (formal) | 3ª sing. |
| nosotros / nosotras | we | 1ª pl. |
| vosotros / vosotras | you all (informal — Spain) | 2ª pl. |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | they (m./f.) / you all (formal) | 3ª pl. |
⭐ Pronoun dropping — the default rule
Normal (pronoun dropped): Hablo inglés. — I speak English. (The -o ending already shows first person singular.)
Emphasis / contrast (pronoun kept): YO hablo inglés, pero ÉL no habla. — I speak English, but he doesn't.
Dropping the subject pronoun is the default in Spanish — it is not rude, it is standard. Only include it when you want to stress who the subject is or draw a contrast with another person.
Dropping the subject pronoun is the default in Spanish — it's not rude, it's standard.
A direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb directly. Instead of repeating the noun (el libro, la película), you replace it with the matching pronoun. The key is matching gender and number to the noun being replaced.
Earn the mark scheme marks
⚠️ Errores de posición — Position and attachment errors
❌ Error 1: ¿Quiero ver lo.
✅ Correcto: Quiero verlo. (or Lo quiero ver.)
Por qué: When the DOP attaches to an infinitive, it joins as one word with no space: verlo, comprarlo, hacerlo. Writing two separate words (ver lo) is incorrect. Alternatively, the DOP can precede the entire verbal phrase (Lo quiero ver) — both positions are equally correct at GCSE.
❌ Error 2: Estoy comiéndo lo.
✅ Correcto: Estoy comiéndolo. (or Lo estoy comiendo.)
Por qué: When attached to a gerundio (the -ando/-iendo form), the DOP joins as one word and a written accent is added to maintain the original stress: comiendo + lo = comiéndolo. The alternative (Lo estoy comiendo) places the DOP before the conjugated verb estoy and avoids the accent issue entirely — both are correct, and the two-word alternative is safer for GCSE writing.
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