Learn how to recognize an implied subject in Spanish
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
Intro |
|---|
| Michael: Is it common to omit the subject in Spanish sentences? |
| Cesar: And why? |
| Michael: At SpanishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ana Perez Barcenas is in a bookstore with her friend, Sasha Lee. She points out a book and says, |
| "Have [you] read this book?" |
| Ana Pérez Bárcenas: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| Dialogue |
| Ana Pérez Bárcenas: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| Sasha Lee: Ya lo leí. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ana Pérez Bárcenas: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| Michael: "Have [you] read this book?" |
| Sasha Lee: Ya lo leí. |
| Michael: "[I] have already read it." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: As you may have noticed, the subject pronoun in Spanish sentences is often omitted. This is because the conjugation of Spanish verbs is enough to show the person (first person, second person, or third person) and number (singular or plural) of the subject. |
| Let's explore this further with the dialogue. |
| In the dialogue, Ana Perez Barcenas says, |
| Cesar: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| Michael: "Have [you] read this book?" |
| In this sentence, the subject pronoun "you," or |
| Cesar: tú |
| Michael: was omitted, as the verb conjugation clearly shows that the subject pronoun would be the second-person singular. |
| In this specific case, the verb is in a past compound tense: the present perfect tense, which is formed with the present tense of the verb "to have" or |
| Cesar: haber. |
| Michael: Here, "to have" functions as an auxiliary verb and is conjugated in the singular second-person: |
| Cesar: has. |
| Michael: This is followed by the past participle of the main verb "to read," |
| Cesar: leído, |
| Michael: so, altogether, we have |
| Cesar: has leido, |
| Michael: "have read," in a form clearly conjugated for the singular second-person "you"—thereby easily allowing the omission of the subject pronoun. |
| Michael: The same thing happens in the second sentence of the dialogue: |
| Cesar: Ya lo leí. |
| Michael: "[I] have already read it." |
| In the Spanish sentence, the verb "to read," |
| Cesar: leer, |
| Michael: is conjugated in the indicative preterit tense for the first-person singular: |
| Cesar: leí. |
| Michael: Therefore, the subject pronoun "I," |
| Cesar: yo, |
| Michael: is clearly understood from the verb and can be omitted from the Spanish sentence. |
| As the verb conjugation is particularly useful in these cases, we recommend you learn more in our special audio lesson series [Verb Conjugation], which is listed in the Lesson Notes PDF for this lesson. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we've seen that due to Spanish verb conjugation being specific and indicating the person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural) of the subject of sentences, the subject pronoun is often omitted in Spanish. |
| Let's now look at some more examples. |
| Cesar: Voy a la escuela. |
| Michael: "[I] am going to school." |
| Here, the verb "to go," |
| Cesar: ir, |
| Michael: is conjugated in the present tense for the first-person singular: |
| Cesar: voy. |
| Michael: Therefore, it is clear that the subject would be "I," or |
| Cesar: yo. |
| Michael: In this way, the verb allows for the omission of the subject pronoun "I" as there is no doubt as to who is performing the action of the verb. |
| Here's another example: |
| Cesar: Eres muy amable. |
| Michael: "[You] are very kind." |
| In this sentence, the verb "to be," |
| Cesar: ser, |
| Michael: is conjugated in the present tense for the second-person singular: |
| Cesar eres. |
| Michael: This conjugated verb immediately indicates the informal "you," |
| Cesar: tú. |
| Michael: Therefore, the pronoun's omission from the sentence is very natural and common. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: In spite of the prior discussion, there are cases in Spanish in which the personal pronoun is necessary. Let's briefly discuss some of these scenarios. |
| Michael: We use the personal pronouns to avoid ambiguity when using certain verb forms. |
| As an example, consider the sentence |
| Cesar: Yo tenía un bellísimo coche amarillo. |
| Michael: "I had a very beautiful yellow car." |
| In this case, the verb "to have," |
| Cesar: tener, |
| Michael: is conjugated in a past tense form known as the imperfect tense: |
| Cesar: tenía. |
| Michael: Unfortunately, the grammatical person when using this verb form is ambiguous, as it could mean, "I had," |
| Cesar: yo tenía, |
| Michael: in the formal form, "you had," |
| Cesar: usted tenía, |
| Michael: "he had," |
| Cesar: él tenía, |
| Michael: or, "she had," |
| Cesar: ella tenía. |
| Michael: Thus, without the subject pronoun, it is impossible to know who had the beautiful yellow car in the Spanish sentence. |
| In situations like this, in order to avoid ambiguity, the subject pronoun is always used in Spanish. |
| Michael: Another common situation in which the subject pronoun is kept is to add emphasis. |
| Take the sentence |
| Cesar: Yo estoy bien, no te preocupes. |
| Michael: "I am fine, don't worry." |
| Although the conjugated verb |
| Cesar: estoy, |
| Michael: meaning "am," clearly indicates the first-person singular "I," |
| Cesar: yo, |
| Michael: the subject pronoun is nevertheless kept to emphasize that the subject is okay—and that there is really nothing to worry about. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sample conversation: Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud, and then listen carefully as Cesar models the correct answer. Repeat after him, with the focus on your pronunciation. Are you ready? |
| How do you say, "Have [you] read this book?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Cesar: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat. Remember to focus on your pronunciation. |
| Cesar: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Cesar: ¿Has leído este libro? |
| Michael: Let's move on to the second sentence. How do you say, "[I] have already read it." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Cesar: Ya lo leí. |
| Michael: Did you get it right this time? Listen again and repeat. |
| Cesar: Ya lo leí. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Cesar: Ya lo leí. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: If there is one personal pronoun in Spanish that needs special attention when being learned, it's "you." This is because there are four possible ways of saying "you" in Spanish. But don't worry; once you learn the rules, you will no longer have any problems knowing which form to use in any situation. |
| Let's learn them now! |
| When you're in an informal situation, talking to a single person, say, a close friend, a member of your family, or to a child, you can use the familiar form |
| Cesar: tú. |
| Michael: This is equivalent to the singular "you" in English. In a more formal situation, however, such as when speaking with someone who is clearly older than you, or a figure of authority, you can use the formal version of the singular "you," |
| Cesar: usted. |
| Michael: On the other hand, when speaking to more than one person, you should instead use the plural form of "you," |
| Cesar: ustedes. |
| Michael: In Spain, however, when talking to more than one person in an informal situation, people would use one final plural form of "you," |
| Cesar: vosotros. |
| Michael: You should note, though, that this form is not used in Latin America. |
| If this feels like too much, don't stress out; just remember that practice makes perfect! Don't be afraid to make mistakes and you will soon master all four forms of "you"! |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Cesar: ¡Hasta la próxima! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
Comments
Hide