In English, a distinction is made between when the pronoun acts as the subject (subject pronouns) of the sentence, as opposed to instances when it is used in the function of an object (object pronouns).
Personal Pronouns
(Subject Pronouns) | Example |
|---|
| I | I am ill. |
| you | You are tall. |
| he | He is handsome. |
| she | She is pretty. |
| it | It is cold today. |
| we | We are tired. |
| you | You are hungry. |
| they | They are at the cinema. |
Dentro de los pronombres personales, la lengua inglesa distingue entre pronombres en función de sujeto (subject pronouns) y pronombres en función de objeto (object pronouns).
Pronombres (en
función de sujeto) | Ejemplo |
|---|
I
yo | I am ill.
Yo estoy enfermo. |
you
tú, usted | You are tall.
Tú eres alto. / Usted es alto. |
he
él | He is handsome.
Él es guapo. |
she
ella | She is pretty.
Ella es guapa. |
it
ello (neutro) | It is cold today.
Hoy hace frío. |
we
nosotros | We are tired.
Nosotros estamos cansados. |
you
vosotros, ustedes | You are angry.
Vosotros estáis enfadados. / Ustedes están enfadados. |
they
ellos, ellas | They are at the cinema.
Ellos están en el cine. |
Pronombres (en
función de objeto) | Ejemplo |
|---|
me
mi | Can you help me?
¿Puedes ayudarme? |
you
a ti, a usted | I can help you.
Puedo ayudarte. / Puedo ayudarle. |
him
a él | Can you see him?
¿Le puedes ver? |
her
a ella | Give it to her.
Dáselo a ella. |
it
a ello | Give it a kick.
Dale una patada. |
us
a nosotros | Can you see us?
¿Nos puedes ver? |
you
a vosotros, a ustedes | I see you.
Os veo. / Les veo. |
them
a ellos | He can help them.
Les puede ayudar. |
Nota: En inglés no existe la forma “usted” o “ustedes” formal. Por lo tanto los nativos de la lengua ni siquiera lo tienen conceptualizado como una forma aquí llamada “formal”. Se tiene que entender por tanto, que la forma masculina, femenina y neutra son lo mismo, lo único que las diferencia es el género.
Además, ten en cuenta que en inglés sólo existe una forma para “tú” y “vosotros”, “you”, excepto en la forma reflexiva que distingue entre el singular (yourself) y plural (yourselves).
Neuter Form (Forma neutra)
Los pronombres en inglés distinguen entre masculino (he), femenino (she) y neutro (it).
El pronombre personal “it” se utiliza cuando nos referimos a cosas, a animales que no sabemos su sexo o al tiempo (calendario y meteorológico). La forma plural de “it” es “they”.
Ejemplos:
| | Where is it [the book]?(¿Dónde está [el libro]?) |
| | What time is it?(¿Qué hora es?) |
| | It is raining.(Está lloviendo.) |
Nota: “It” es una partícula muy importante en inglés de la que los hablantes de lengua española se suelen olvidar.
Function (Función)
1. El pronombre en función de sujeto
El sujeto de una oración es la persona o cosa que realiza la acción del verbo. Se utilizan los pronombres en función de sujeto cuando el pronombre es el sujeto de la oración. Este pronombre en inglés, a diferencia del español, debe figurar siempre.
Ejemplos:
| | I am ill.(Yo estoy enfermo.)
Subject = I |
| | You are tall.(Tú eres alto.)
Subject = you |
| | He is handsome.(Él es guapo.)
Subject = he |
| | We are tired.(Nosotros estamos cansados.)
Subject = we |
2. El pronombre en función de objeto
Este pronombre se coloca a continuación del verbo al que complementa o a continuación de preposiciones como “for”, “to”, “with” y “at”.
Ejemplos:
| | I can help you.(Puedo ayudarte.)
Subject = I, Object = you |
| | Can you see him?(¿Puedes verle?)
Subject = you, Object = him |
| | He is going to the party with us.(Él va a la fiesta con nosotros.)
Subject = he, Object = us |
| | It [the letter] is for you.(Es [la carta] para ti.)
Subject = it, Object = you |
Personal Pronouns
(Object Pronouns) | Example |
|---|
| me | Can you help me? |
| you | I can help you. |
| him | Can you see him? |
| her | Give it to her. |
| it | Give it a kick. |
| us | Can you see us? |
| you | I see you. |
| them | He can help them. |
Note: The formal forms of "you*" that are a part of some other languages, do not exist in English*. As such, native English speakers have no concept of the “formal” in this sense.
Also, it is important to remember that there is no distinction between the singular or plural forms of "you*" in English*. It is only in the reflexive pronouns that we distinguish between these two forms: yourself (singular) and yourselves (plural).
Neuter Form
Pronouns in English distinguish gender and include the neuter form “it”, as demonstrated in the pronouns table above.
The neuter form is used to refer to things, animals for which we do not know the sex, as well as the time and the weather. The plural form of “it” is “they”.
Note: The neuter form “it” is a very important grammatical component of English and one that non-native speakers tend to forget.
Function
1. The pronoun as subject:
The subject of a sentence is the the person or thing that performs the action of the verb. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. In English, the subject pronoun is mandatory, as opposed to some other languages, where the subject is optional.
| | You are tall.
Subject = You |
| | He is handsome.
Subject = He |
| | We are tired.
Subject = We |
2. The pronoun as object :
Object pronouns function as the object of a verb and are located after the verb that they complement or after prepositions such as “for”, “to”, “with” and “at”.
| | I can help you.
Subject = I, Object = you |
| | Can you see him?
Subject = you, Object = him |
| | He is going to the party with us.
Subject = he, Object = us |
| | It [the letter] is for you.
Subject = it, Object = you |
