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Personal pronouns and verb conjugation

The foundation of everything in Spanish: who is speaking (yo, tú, nosotros...) and how the verb changes to match each one. This lesson is here so you can finally understand the "why" behind the conjugations you see in the Vocabulary.

In this lesson:

Personal pronouns — who is who
How conjugation works (-AR, -ER, -IR verbs)
The 6 tenses you already see in the Vocabulary
Bonus tense 1: Imperative (giving orders and making requests)
Bonus tense 2: Pretérito perfecto compuesto ("I have spoken")
4 irregular verbs you use all the time
Practice exercises

1. Personal pronouns

In Portuguese, "você" works for everything — formal and informal. Not in Spanish: there is one pronoun for informal address and another for formal, plus regional variation. Here are the eight pronouns:

I (eu)

Always the same, no variation.

tú

you (informal) — "você"

The most common way to say "you" in everyday informal speech — used in most of Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and much of Latin America.

vos

you (informal, regional) — "você"

Replaces "tú" in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and parts of Central America. It changes the present-tense conjugation (e.g., "vos hablás", not "vos hablas").

usted

you (formal, sir/ma'am) — "o senhor/a senhora"

Used with strangers, older people, clients, bosses. Even though it means "you", it conjugates the SAME as "él/ella" — not like "tú".

él / ella

he / she

Conjugates the same as "usted".

nosotros / nosotras

we (nós)

"Nosotras" when the group is all women.

vosotros / vosotras

you all (informal) — "vocês"

Only used in Spain. In Latin America, "ustedes" covers both informal and formal in the plural.

ellos / ellas / ustedes

they / you all — "eles / elas / vocês"

In Latin America, "ustedes" is the only plural of "you" — there is no formal/informal distinction in the plural outside Spain.

Why does the Vocabulary only show 4 forms? To keep the screen from getting overloaded, the Vocabulary's conjugation tool shows only yo, tú, vos and ellos — because "usted" conjugates the same as "él/ella", and "nosotros/vosotros" come up less in everyday spoken practice. In this lesson you get the full conjugation, with every person.

Common mistake for Brazilians: using "tú" with the "usted" conjugation (or vice versa) — for example, saying "tú tiene" instead of "tú tienes", or "usted tienes" instead of "usted tiene". Remember: "usted" always conjugates like "él/ella", never like "tú".

2. How conjugation works

Every Spanish verb ends in -AR, -ER, or -IR in the infinitive (the "dictionary form": hablar, comer, vivir). To conjugate a regular verb, you drop that ending and add the right ending for each person and tense. Here is the present tense of the three model verbs:

Present — regular verbs (models)
Pronoun	hablar (to speak)	comer (to eat)	vivir (to live)
yo	hablo	como	vivo
tú	hablas	comes	vives
vos	hablás	comés	vivís
él / ella / usted	habla	come	vive
nosotros	hablamos	comemos	vivimos
vosotros	habláis	coméis	vivís
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hablan	comen	viven

Notice that "vos" has its own form (with an accent on the last syllable) — it is different from both "tú" and "vosotros". Many people mix up the three, but they are separate things: "vos" (Argentina/Uruguay), "tú" (most countries), and "vosotros" (Spain only, plural).

3. The 6 tenses you already see in the Vocabulary

Each verb in the Vocabulary shows its conjugation in 6 tenses. Here is the full table (all persons) for each one, using "hablar", "comer", and "vivir" as examples:

Pretérito indefinido — a completed action in the past

Equivalent to the Portuguese pretérito perfeito simples: "eu falei" (I spoke).

Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	hablé	comí	viví
tú	hablaste	comiste	viviste
él/ella/usted	habló	comió	vivió
nosotros	hablamos	comimos	vivimos
vosotros	hablasteis	comisteis	vivisteis
ellos/ustedes	hablaron	comieron	vivieron

Imperfecto — an action that used to repeat or "was happening" in the past

Equivalent to the Portuguese pretérito imperfeito: "eu falava" (I used to speak / I was speaking).

Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	hablaba	comía	vivía
tú	hablabas	comías	vivías
él/ella/usted	hablaba	comía	vivía
nosotros	hablábamos	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros	hablabais	comíais	vivíais
ellos/ustedes	hablaban	comían	vivían

Futuro — what is going to happen

Equivalent to the Portuguese futuro do presente: "eu vou falar" / "eu falarei" (I will speak).

Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	hablaré	comeré	viviré
tú	hablarás	comerás	vivirás
él/ella/usted	hablará	comerá	vivirá
nosotros	hablaremos	comeremos	viviremos
vosotros	hablaréis	comeréis	viviréis
ellos/ustedes	hablarán	comerán	vivirán

Condicional — what would happen

Equivalent to the Portuguese futuro do pretérito: "eu falaria" (I would speak).

Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	hablaría	comería	viviría
tú	hablarías	comerías	vivirías
él/ella/usted	hablaría	comería	viviría
nosotros	hablaríamos	comeríamos	viviríamos
vosotros	hablaríais	comeríais	viviríais
ellos/ustedes	hablarían	comerían	vivirían

Subjuntivo — doubt, desire, emotion, requests

Used after expressions like "espero que", "quiero que", "es importante que". It has no direct literal translation — it is more of a "mood" than a "tense".

Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	hable	coma	viva
tú	hables	comas	vivas
él/ella/usted	hable	coma	viva
nosotros	hablemos	comamos	vivamos
vosotros	habléis	comáis	viváis
ellos/ustedes	hablen	coman	vivan

4. Bonus tense 1: Imperative

The imperative is used to give orders, make requests, and give instructions — very common at work ("Envíe el documento", "Llene el formulario") and in recipes, manuals, and notices. Note that there is no "yo" form in the affirmative imperative (you don't give orders to yourself).

Affirmative imperative
Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
tú	habla	come	vive
usted	hable	coma	viva
nosotros	hablemos	comamos	vivamos
vosotros	hablad	comed	vivid
ustedes	hablen	coman	vivan

Notice: the "usted" form in the imperative is identical to the "usted" form in the subjunctive (hable, coma, viva) — if you already know the subjunctive, the formal imperative comes for free.

5. Bonus tense 2: Pretérito perfecto compuesto

Equivalent to the English present perfect, "I have spoken" (in Portuguese, "eu tenho falado" / "eu já falei (recentemente)"). It is formed with the verb haber (the auxiliary, never "tener") conjugated + the participle of the main verb.

Haber (auxiliary) — present
Pronoun	haber
yo	he
tú	has
él/ella/usted	ha
nosotros	hemos
vosotros	habéis
ellos/ustedes	han

The participle of regular verbs: -AR → -ado (hablado), -ER/-IR → -ido (comido, vivido). Then just combine it with "haber":

Pretérito perfecto compuesto
Pronoun	hablar	comer	vivir
yo	he hablado	he comido	he vivido
tú	has hablado	has comido	has vivido
él/ella/usted	ha hablado	ha comido	ha vivido
nosotros	hemos hablado	hemos comido	hemos vivido
vosotros	habéis hablado	habéis comido	habéis vivido
ellos/ustedes	han hablado	han comido	han vivido

Common mistake for Brazilians: using "tener" instead of "haber" as the auxiliary (influenced by Portuguese "tenho falado", which uses "ter"). In Spanish, the auxiliary for compound tenses is always "haber" — never "tener". "Tengo hablado" is wrong; the correct form is "he hablado".

6. Four irregular verbs you use all the time

These four verbs don't follow the regular pattern and show up all the time — it's worth memorizing their present-tense forms by heart:

Present — essential irregular verbs
Pronoun	ser	estar	tener	ir
yo	soy	estoy	tengo	voy
tú	eres	estás	tienes	vas
él/ella/usted	es	está	tiene	va
nosotros	somos	estamos	tenemos	vamos
vosotros	sois	estáis	tenéis	vais
ellos/ustedes	son	están	tienen	van

Ser vs. estar: both translate as "to be", but "ser" is for permanent characteristics (soy brasileña) and "estar" for temporary states or location (estoy cansado, estoy en casa). This is one of the most confusing points for Portuguese speakers, because Portuguese also has "ser" and "estar" but they don't map exactly onto the Spanish uses.

7. Practice exercises

Pick one answer for each question — you get feedback right away.