Have you ever taken a moment to think that every time you talk to another person, whether on the phone, on the computer or even in person, both are talking about someone or something? You sure didn't think about it!
All good! The important thing in this fact is to realize that there are always three people participating in this conversation: I YOU HE SHE or SOME thing.
The first is who is speaking at that moment, the second is who listens and the third is who (person or thing) or what (the subject) is being talked about. Of course, these people can be men or women, for that we use the masculine and the feminine, they can also be alone or be more than one person, in this case the singular or plural (WE, YOU, THEM/THEM) is used, basic rules in the language Portuguese.
And so, we have the personal pronouns, in Spanish they are called “Personal Pronouns”. See your correspondent in Portuguese in the box:
| ESPAOL | PORTUGUESE |
| 1st - YO | ME |
| 2nd - TÚ | YOU |
| 3rd - EL/ELLA | HE/HER |
| 1st - NOSOTROS | WE |
| 2nd - VOSOTROS | YOU |
| 3rd - ELLOS/ELLAS | THEY |
The first three people are in the "singular" and the other three are in the "plural". Attention! Notice the difference in accent, in Spanish, of the 2nd person “YOU” and the 3rd person “EL”, which in Portuguese is not accented. As, "VOSOTROS" and "YOU” also has differences. See some sentences to illustrate:
The) You y yo we're big friends.
You and I are great friends. (although correct, the pronoun tu is not usual in Portuguese) / You and I are great friends.
B) hel call yourself José and she Edward.
He his name is Joseph and Is it over there Edward.
ç) nosotros we want to travel around america del sur, but hellos want to meet Europe.
We we want to travel around South America, but they they want to see Europe.
In Spanish we have the use of the treatment pronouns “USTED” and “USTEDES” used in more “formal” relationships, such as in professionals where there is a certain hierarchy, also with unknown or older people, in order to show respect. These forms can be understood, in Portuguese, as “Senhor e Senhora” or “Senhores e Senhoras”. They refer to the 3rd person both singular and plural and are conjugated with 3rd person verbs, as you can see in the examples below:
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Oh please! ¿Usted can you decide where there is a bakery around here?
Please! The Lord Could you tell me where there is a bakery near here?
B) Ustedes in the comieron nada en el almuerzo. I am going to take them to a very good restaurant.
the gentlemen they ate nothing for lunch. I'm taking you to a really nice restaurant.
| ESPAOL |
| 3rd person singular |
| EL/ELLA/USTED |
| 3rd person plural |
| ELLOS/ELLAS/USTEDES |
IMPORTANT NOTES
• “VOSOTROS” is more used in Spain to refer to several people, while the term “USTEDES”, in some countries, it is used informally. In other words, to refer to “YOU”, but this only happens with the 3rd person plural.
• There is another pronoun widely used in several countries in Latin America and replaces the 2nd person singular “YOU”, its use requires modifications in the conjugation of verbs, in accentuation, and its use is for informal contexts, that is, in relationships of trust or with family members. We are talking about the “YOU”. See in the examples its use and which would be the forms used in Portuguese.
a) How are you? callsyou?
Like you flames?/How you called?
B)You SOS a great friend!
You you are a great friend!
You é a great friend!
Now you are ready to visit several Spanish speaking countries and you will not be surprised by the way to address the people you are sure to meet. Bon Voyage!
Rosana Beatriz Garrasini Sellanes
Brazil School Collaborator
Degree in Letters – Portuguese and Spanish by the Catholic University of Goiás – PUC/GO
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SELLANES, Rosana Beatriz Garrasini. "Los Pronombres Personales Y de Tratamiento"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/espanhol/pronombres-personales-pronombres-de-tratamento.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
