Subject Pronoun
You ask about the subject with who? Or what? In Spanish, subject pronouns usually only replace persons. A special feature of Spanish is that there are masculine (nosotros, vosotros, ellos) and feminine (nosotras, vosotras, ellas) pronouns in the plural:
Yo soy alemana. ¿y vostras? – Yo soy colombiana y ella es mexicana.
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1. Person | Yo (I) | Nosotros/-as (We) |
| 2. Person | Tú (You) | Vosotros/-as (You) |
| 3. Person | Él (He)
Ella (She) Usted (You) |
Ellos (They)
Ellas (They) Ustedes (They) |
The subject pronoun is used much less frequently in Spanish than in English. This is because all information about the person and the numerus are already contained in the verb in one sentence. Usually the ending of the verb contains this information:
¿Qué haces? Voy al supermercado
¿Dónde está Laura? Está en la escuela.
The subject pronouns are only used if it is not clear what it is about or who is addressed in a conversation:
¿Quién quiere flan y quién quiere helado? – Ella quiere helado y yo, flan.
If you confirm your identity on a question, the pronoun stands after the verb:
¿Quién es Claudia? – Soy yo
The pronouns usted and ustedes are polite pronouns and are used relatively frequently. They are used whenever you want to express courtesy.
¿Es usted el señor Pérez? – Si, soy yo
If a personal pronoun is used in question sentences, it can appear after the verb to stress the person:
¿Tú que vas a hacer mañana?
but
Mañana voy a la piscina. ¿Y qué vas a hacer tú?