In Spanish, as in many languages, there are two ways of addressing people, one of them familiar and the other formal. In English this is achieved by the use of first names or last names.

Tú is used for people with whom you're familiar. For example, friends and acquaintances would be referred to as tú. So would children and pets.

Usted, which is more formal, is used for people older than you, authority figures, strangers, and people you are meeting for the first time. In parts of Colombia usted is widely used, even among friends.

• Plural
  • In most of Spain the plural of tú is vosotros and the plural of usted is ustedes.
  • In Andalusia and all of Spanish America, the plural of tú is ustedes, i.e., plural second person doesn't differentiate between familiar and formal form of address.

Spanish has six different type of pronouns, the 1./2./3. person singular and the 1./2./3. person plural:

• It is normal in Spanish to omit the personal pronoun (i.e. you seldom say yo estoy bien but estoy bien, and you ask ¿Cómo se llama? instead of ¿Cómo se llama usted?) because the specific conjugation of a verb usually indicates which person is the subject. However, usted, él and ella all use the same verb form so if you choose to drop the pronoun in this case it must be clear in the situational context which pronoun is being referenced.
• As indicated above, in most of Spain the vosotros form can be used to address a group of familiar people (e.g. friends), and ustedes is used with more formality (e.g. recent acquaintances). In all Latin American countries and parts of Spain ustedes is used also for a familiar group of people; in these countries the "vosotros" form is almost never used.

Pronombres personales. (Personal pronouns.)

Ejercicio 1. Rellena los espacios en blanco con los pronombres personales correctos en español.

Exercise 1. Fill the blank spaces with the correct Spanish personal pronouns.

Ejercicio 2. Rellena los espacios en blanco con los pronombres personales correctos en español.

Exercise 2. Fill the blank spaces with the correct Spanish personal pronouns.

Soluciones a los ejercicios. Solutions to the exercises

Pronombres personales. (Personal pronouns.)

Ejercicio 1. Rellena los espacios en blanco con los pronombres personales correctos en español.

Exercise 1. Fill the blank spaces with the correct Spanish personal pronous.

Ejercicio 2. Rellena los espacios en blanco con los pronombres personales correctos en español.

Exercise 2. Fill the blank spaces with the correct Spanish personal pronouns.