The word she in spanish

1 (emphatic, to avoid ambiguity) ella

Note that subject pronouns are used less in Spanish than in English — mainly for emphasis, to avoid ambiguity and in comparisons.

we went to the cinema but she didn’t nosotros fuimos al cine pero ella no; it’s she who … es ella quien …; you’ve got more money than she has tienes más dinero que ella

Don’t translate the subject pronoun when not emphasizing or clarifying:

she’s very nice es muy maja; she’s a teacher es profesora

2

she who wishes to … quien desee …; la que desee …

When studying any new language, it’s important to understand the parts of grammar that you’ll be using.

Real quick—let’s talk about pronouns in English, before we get into Spanish pronouns!

Do you remember those from your school days? Try to identify the pronouns in the following sentences:

• He went to the store to get her some medicine.
• I need to do it by myself.
• What do you need? I need something for my classes, but I can’t remember what she told me it was called.
• Give that to me, please.

Could you find the pronouns? There are actually 16! Let’s explore:

What are Pronouns?

Pronouns are short and useful words that replace a noun. Thanks to pronouns, we don’t have to continue repeating whichever noun we’re saying. To clarify, consider the following examples:

• John is our boss. John is great to work with.

Now with a pronoun:

• John is our boss. He is great to work with.

As you can see, the sentences read smoother, and we don’t have to repeat ourselves. Spanish pronouns are equally as important. The most frequently used types of Spanish pronouns come in 3 categories. They will help you to better express yourself when speaking or writing.

1. Subject Pronouns in Spanish

	Singular		Plural
First	Yo	I	Nosotros/Nosotras	We
Second	Tú (informal)	You	Vosotros/Vosotras	You (all)
	Usted (formal)	You	Ustedes	You (all)
Third	Él	He	Ellos	They
	Ella	She	Ellas	They
	Él/ella	It

These pronouns replace the subject or the “naming part” of a sentence. They come in four categories:

1. Person
2. Number
3. Gender
4. Formality

Person refers to the identity of who is doing the action:

• first-person (I and we)
• second-person (you and you all)
• third-person (he, she, it, they).

Numbered Pronouns refer to singular (he) or plural (they) pronouns.

Gender is specific for Spanish since every noun is either feminine or masculine. Don’t forget that masculine pronouns replace masculine subject nouns (el sol becomes él) and feminine pronouns replace feminine subject nouns (la casa becomes ella).

It’s important to note that for groups of both men and women, we use the masculine plural form (ellos).

Lastly, Formality refers to the formal (usted) or informal (tú) pronouns used to address a person.

Vosotros Versus Ustedes

Both vosotros and ustedes mean “you” in the plural form, and they refer to more than one person. Vosotros is used in Spain, while ustedes is always used in Latin America.

Vosotros has two forms—the first is for a group of men or mixed group, and the other, vosotras, is for addressing a group of females.

The Omission of Subject Pronouns

It’s important to understand that subject pronouns are not always used in Spanish.

At first, it feels strange to remove the pronoun from your speech or writing, but it’s perfectly natural for Spanish speakers!

For example, the English sentence “She is a lawyer” can be stated in Spanish as:

1. Ella es abogada.
2. Es abogada.

Each sentence is perfectly understood, due to the feminine ending -a in abogada.

2. Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish

The direct object is a noun that directly receives the action of a verb. It answers the question “What?” or “Who?”

A direct object pronoun takes the place of the noun.

Let’s look at some examples:

• He brought it. — He brought what? “It” is the direct object.
• I know you! — I know who? “You” is the direct object.

Singular	Plural
me – me	nos – us
te – you	os – you (Spain)
lo – him, you, it (masculine)	los – them, you (masculine)
la – her, you, it (feminine)	las – them, you (feminine)

*Note that when you have a group of men and women, you use the masculine form of the plurals pronouns (nosotros, vosotros, ellos, los)

Spanish Direct Object Pronoun Placement

Now, if you look at the previous English examples, you’ll see that the direct object comes after the verb. In Spanish, however, the direct object pronouns come before the verb!

Tú me debes dinero.
You owe me money.

¡Te dije!
I told you!

Lo conozco.
I know him/you/it.

While using direct object pronouns lo, la, los, and las, the direct object can be clarified by adding a usted, a él, a ella, a ellos, or a ellas.

Lo conozco a él.
I know him.

La espero a usted.
I wait for you.

Let’s look at an example. Can you find the direct object pronoun?

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish + a quiz!

3. Indirect Object Pronouns in Spanish

Similarly, the indirect object always answers the question “to whom?” or “for whom?”

It is generally telling you where the direct object is headed.

Let’s see some examples:

• I toss the ball to Jack. — The direct object is the ball, but to whom is the ball being tossed? Jack is our indirect object.

Now, without using Jack’s name, we would say:

• I toss the ball to him. (or) I toss him the ball. — I toss the ball to whom? “Him” is our indirect object pronound.

Singular	Plural
me – me	nos –  us
te – you	os – you (Spain)
le – him, her, you, it	les – them, you all

*Note that for the indirect object pronouns, the gender does not matter. Le and Les can be used for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Just like with the direct objects, the indirect object pronouns in Spanish come before the verb, unlike in English where they come after.

¿Me hablas?
Are you talking to me?

Él nos enseña español.
He teaches us Spanish.

Le doy mi llave.
I give you my key. / I give him my key.

To clarify or to add emphasis to the indirect object, an additional phrase can be added:

¿Me hablas a mí?
Are you talking to me?

Él nos enseña español a nosotros.
He teaches us Spanish.

Le doy mi llave a usted.
I give you my key.

Le doy mi llave a él.
I give him my key.

Can you find the indirect object pronouns in this conversation? Hint: There are three!

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to Indirect Object Pronouns in Spanish + a quiz!

Using Both Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

If all of this has been a review for you, let’s look at something a bit more difficult!

You will find there to be times when you need to use both direct and indirect object pronouns. Luckily, this is not particularly difficult—however, it’s important to remember some essential rules.

In English, this looks like the following examples:

• She gives it to me.
• I tell it to you.
• Send me that.

If you remember, the direct and indirect pronouns both go before the verb in Spanish. Therefore, when both pronouns are being used, the indirect object pronoun goes before the direct object pronoun, as seen here:

Ella me lo da.
She gives it to me.

Te lo digo.
I tell it to you.

Me lo mandas.
You send me that.

Can you find examples of both direct and indirect object pronouns here?

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to Using Double Object Pronouns in Spanish

But, what if you want to say “I give it to her?”

“Le lo doy” —Try saying this out loud! Sounds funny, doesn’t it?

In Spanish, when certain pronouns are used together, the indirect pronoun changes to se to avoid silly sounds like “lelo.”

Check out this chart to help you:

The indirect pronoun	becomes…
Le lo	Se lo
Le la	Se la
Le los	Se los
Le las	Se las
Les lo	Se lo
Les la	Se la
Les los	Se los
Les las	Se las

Note that because se replaces both le and les, we can use the same forms to mean different things.

In other words, se lo can be a replacement for le lo or les lo, as you can see here:

Yo se lo doy.
I give it to you (formal).

Yo se lo doy.
I give it to you (plural).

Furthermore, le can refer to 4 different things, and les may refer to 2 different things.

When you use phrases with se, ensure your listener knows who and what exactly you’re referring to. Do this by adding an additional phrase at the end of the sentence using “a + subject pronoun” or “a + person.”

Yo se lo doy a usted.
I give it to you. (formal)

Yo se lo doy a ustedes.
I give it to you. (plural)

Se lo digo a Eduardo.
I‘m saying it to Eduardo.

Se las doy a mis amigas.
I give them to my girlfriends.

The Importance of Spanish Pronouns

As you may have noticed, many of the pronouns are similar or exactly the same. This requires a great deal of concentration when learning, studying, and using new pronouns. The good news is, the more you study and practice, the faster you will be able to understand the different pronouns when native Spanish speakers use them. After enough practice, the pronouns will become second nature. Above all else, you will be able to automatically choose the right pronoun for every grammatical occasion.

Do you want to practice these pronouns with a friendly, certified Spanish teacher?

Try out a free Spanish class today!

Want to learn more Spanish grammar? You’ll love these:

---

Interested in travelling to a Spanish-speaking country? Read the travel blog below:

Of course its my fault…   (Maracaibo, Venezuela)

Having become accomplished scuba divers in only a week — Jacques Cousteau look out, we (royal we this) felt it was time to got some extreme action. ‘Go to merida’ the guide books exclaimed; ‘the extreme sport capital of Venezuela’. Fair enough — so with no further ado off we went…

The bus journey into Venezuela was fairly uneventful, even dull, except for crossing the border leaving…

[ view entire travel blog ]

Results: 28,
Time: 0.0521

Ver También: shaven shaven-headed shaver Shavian shaving shaw shawl shawm shay shazam she she-bear she-devil she-wolf she’d she’ll she’s shea sheaf shear shear off Recent searches: View All

Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks. WordReference Collins WR Reverse (11) WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2023: Principal Translations Inglés Español she pron (female in question) —     ella pron Note: En español tiende a omitirse el pronombre.   She’s tall.   She’s 10 years old.   She is the one responsible.   I have nicer shoes than she does.   Es alta // Tiene 10 años. // Es la responsable.   Yo tengo zapatos más bonitos que ella. she n (female) (animales) hembra nf    (bebés) niña nf    (adultos) mujer nf   That dog is a she.   Ese perro es una hembra.   ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. ¿Es niño o niña? she pron figurative (ship, country: considered female) — pron Note: En inglés, los países, buques y autos se usan con pronombre femenino. En español, no.   «She’s a fine vessel,» the captain declared, as he surveyed his ship.   «Es un buen barco», dijo el capitán mientras lo examinaba. Additional Translations Inglés Español she pron (short for «he or she») —     él, ella pron Note: En español, se prefiere el sujeto tácito cuando se busca evitar dar el género, siempre que sea posible.   Sometimes when your baby cries, it is because she wants to be fed.   A veces si tu bebé llora, es porque necesita que le des de comer. WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2023: Compound Forms: she Inglés Español nanny goat, she-goat n (animal: female goat) cabra hembra nf + adj   My grandparents’ farm has a billy goat, a nanny goat, and several kids.   La granja de mis abuelos tiene una cabra macho, una cabra hembra, y muchos niños. she-bear n (animal: female bear) osa nf she-devil n figurative, pejorative (evil woman) diabla nf she-wolf n (female wolf) loba nf she-wolf n figurative (predatory woman) loba nf she’d contraction colloquial, abbreviation (she would) (condicional) —    (discurso indirecto) —    (acción repetida en el pasado) — Note: El español no tiene formas auxiliares para el condicional, el discurso indirecto o las acciones repetidas en el pasado. Estos se indican mediante la conjugación verbal.   Vicky is very blunt; if she didn’t like you, she’d say so, believe me!   Vicki es muy directa: si no le cayeras bien, te lo diría. ¡Créeme!   ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Hace un mes la jefa dijo que compraría computadoras nuevas para todos.   ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Cuando la abuela era joven, viajaba a la capital cada año. she’d contraction colloquial, abbreviation (she had) había [+ participio] expr     ella había [+ participio] expr   When I bumped into Lucie, she’d been on holiday and was very tanned.   Cuando me crucé con Lucie, había estado de vacaciones y estaba muy bronceada. she’ll contraction colloquial, abbreviation (she will) (futuro) —     ir a [+ infinitivo] loc verb    (presente con valor de futuro) — Note: En español el futuro se expresa mediante la conjugación del verbo o con la perífrasis «ir a [+ infinitivo]». Véase la entrada «will».   Don’t tell mom that I broke the vase; she’ll be so mad at me.   No le digas a mamá que rompí el jarrón: se pondrá furiosa.   No le digas a mamá que rompí el jarrón: se va a poner furiosa.   ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Susana dijo que viene esta noche porque tiene que hablar contigo. she’s contraction colloquial, abbreviation (she is) (ser: presente, 3ra sglr) (ella) es v cop    (estar: presente, 3ra sglr) (ella) está v cop Note: En español, tiende a omitirse el pronombre.   She’s tall.   I like Mrs. Stevens; she’s a good teacher.   Ella es alta. // Me gusta la señora Stevens, es una buena profesora. she’s contraction colloquial, abbreviation (she has) (haber: presente) (ella) ha v aux   Lauren’s not here; she’s gone to the shops.   Lauren no está aquí. Ella se ha ido de tiendas. ‘she‘ aparece también en las siguientes entradas: In the English description: Spanish:

Advertisements Advertisements Infórmanos de los anuncios inapropiados. Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.