Spanish pronouns

Pronouns (los pronombres) are words that are used instead of a noun or a noun phrase.

They are often used to refer to a noun that has already been mentioned.

Examples: 

• Él es mi marido. (He is my husband.)
• Éste es mi coche. (This is my car.)
• Se lo voy a decir ahora mismo. (I will say it to him right now.)

Spanish pronoun types

There are six different types of Spanish pronouns: 

1. personal pronouns
2. reflexive pronouns
3. possessive pronouns
4. demonstrative pronouns
5. interrogative pronouns
6. relative pronouns

Have a question?

Take online language lessons with a professional teacher

1. Native & verified teachers
2. Free trial lesson
3. Learning materials included

Gustavo G.

Albertine blanche N.

Marie K.

Luciano R.

Alessia T.

FRANCESCA M.

Maria Elena C.

Valentina C.

Octavio C.

Anna F.

Sign up for free

1. Personal pronouns 

Personal pronouns refer to a noun previously mentioned and remind your listener who is doing what, how, to whom, etc. 

The Spanish personal pronouns are also divided into five other categories: 

1. subject pronouns 
2. direct object pronouns
3. indirect object pronouns
4. double object pronouns
5. prepositional pronouns

1.1 Subject pronouns

Subject pronouns identify who or what is performing the action indicated by the verb. 

Example: 

Ella es mi abuela. (She is my grandmother.)

1.2 Direct object pronouns 

Direct object pronouns replace a direct object, which is a noun that receives the action of a verb. 

They generally precede verbs (both simple and compound ones).

Example:

• Has visto mis gafas? Las has visto? (Have you seen my glasses? Have you seen them?)
• No, no las he visto. (No, I haven't seen them.)

1.3 Indirect object pronouns

Indirect object pronouns tells you to whom or for whom the action is done.

They are generally placed before verbs and they are used with a specific group of verbs (e.g decir algo a alguien, pedir algo a alguien, etc.).

Example: 

Me dijo que no quería verme. (She told me that she did not want to see me.)

1.4 Double object pronouns 

A direct object pronoun plus an indirect object pronoun turns into a double object pronoun. 

Double object pronouns are generally placed before the conjugated form of the verb. 

Example: 

Me lo regaló mi amiga. (My friend gave it to me.) 

When the indirect object pronouns le and les are followed by the direct object pronouns lo/la/los/las, they turn into SE. 

  Example:

Mira este vestido. Se lo compré. (Look at this dress. I bought it for her.)

1.5 Spanish prepositional pronouns 

Prepositional pronouns always follow prepositions, such as a (to) de (of), para (to, for) or con (with). 

Prepositional pronouns replace the noun that comes immediately after a preposition. 

Examples: 

• Esta carta es para ti. (This letter is for you.)
• Vente conmigo. (Come with me.)

2. Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns indicate that someone or something is performing an action on or for itself.

Reflexive pronouns are part of reflexive verbs and they are generally placed before them. 

Example: 

Cada mañana me ducho. (Every morning I shower myself.)

3. Possessive pronouns 

Spanish possessive pronouns indicate possession and replace a noun preceded by a possessive adjective.

Each possessive pronoun has four forms that must agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Example: 

Su coche es más rápido que el mío. (His car is faster than mine.)

4. Demonstrative pronouns

Spanish demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate a specific object (noun).

Each demonstrative pronoun has four forms that must agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Examples:

• ÉSTE: El gorro rojo te sienta mejor que éste. (The red hat looks better than this one on you.)
• ÉSE: Toma este caramelo y deja ése a este niño. (Take this candy and leave that one to this child.)
• AQUÉL: Aquél es el primo de Rafael. (That one over there is Rafael's cousin.)

To distinguish them from the demonstrative adjectives, the pronouns may have the accent mark. 

  Example: 

• DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE: Toma este caramelo. (Take this candy.)
• DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN: Toma éste. (Take this one.)

5. Interrogative pronouns 

Interrogative pronouns are exclusively used in questions and always carry the accent mark.

They are placed at the very beginning or very near the beginning of a sentence. 

Examples: 

• ¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?)
• ¿Cuándo te mudas a Madrid? (When are you moving to Madrid?)

6. Relative pronouns 

A relative pronoun always refers to a noun or a pronoun previously mentioned in the sentence.