Subjects perform the action of the verb, and can be people, things,
or pronouns like I, we, you …

In Spanish, subject pronouns (as subjects in general) are used
much less than in English, because the verb ending signals the subject.

Estudio.  = I study
–o ending signals I (and no other subject)

Trabajamos en Wesleyan.  = We work at Wesleyan.
-amos ending signals we (and no other subject)

The most frequently used subject pronouns are usted and ustedes,
because it is often necessary or more efficient to distinguish them
from other possible subjects, since the verbs have the same ending for él/ella,
and ellos/ellas (third persons).

-Bienvenida, encantada de conocerte. -Igualmente. ¿Cómo está usted?
-Muy bien, muy bien.
-Welcome, nice to meet you. -Same here. How are you?
-Very well, very well.

¿Cómo estás? = How are you (inform.)?

¿Cómo está usted? = How are you (form.)?

¿De dónde son ustedes? = Where are you (form.) from?

In Spanish, there is no subject pronoun equivalent to it.

-¿Dónde está el libro? -Está allí.
-Where’s the book? – It’s there.

Therefore, there is no equivalent to it in impersonal sentences.

Hace frío/sol.
It is cold/sunny.

Es interesante
It is interesting.  

Actions: Main characteristics

PRONOMBRES DE OBJETO DIRECTO

Direct objects are people or things that are directly affected by the action of the verb. Without them, some actions would not make complete sense.

-¿Qué miras?   -Miro un partido de fútbol .
–What are you watching? -I’m watching a soccer match. 

As in English, in Spanish direct object pronouns are used to avoid repetition.

(Yo) Vi a tus padres ayer. Los vi en la plaza. 
I saw your parents yesterday. I saw them in the plaza.  

Personal a: this preposition is used in front of direct objects that are human or treated like humans, such as a pet. 

One peculiarity of Spanish in contrast with English: If the sentence starts with the direct object (instead of the verb or the subject), which often happens as the structure of Spanish is more flexible, there must also be a direct object pronoun. That is, the direct object is repeated in two forms:

La paella la hizo mi madre.
The paella (it) my mother made. → The paella, my mother made it.  

Tu teléfono lo puse en la mesa.
Your phone (it) I put on the table. → Your phone, I put it on the table. 

• lo/la/los/las are marked for gender, and they are used for usted/ustedes as well as él/ella/ellos/ellas.
• English it and them referring to an object are translated as lo/la/los/las, as all things are feminine or masculine in Spanish.
  

-¿Quién es Andrea? -El asistente de italiano.  -No lo conozco.
–Who is Andrea? -The Italian assistant. –I don’t know him.

PRONOMBRES DE OBJETO INDIRECTO 

Indirect objects are people or things to or for whom an action is performed. 

Mi mamá nos hace paella los domingos.
My mom makes paella for us on Sundays.

Sus padres le regalaron un coche por su cumpleaños.
Her/His parents gave her/him a car for her/his birthday.   

Tu idea me parece muy interesante.  
Your idea seems very interesting to me.

One peculiarity of Spanish in contrast with English: the indirect object  is  often repeated in Spanish by using a pronoun as well as the phrase a + (pro)noun. This is especially common with le and les, since these pronouns can have different meanings.

Su madre le dio el celular a Luis.
His mother gave (him) the cell to Luis. 

La madre le dio el celular a él, no a ella /su hermana.
His mother gave the cell to him, not to her / his sister.

When the phrase a + pronoun is used with me, te, or nos, the speaker wants to be emphatic

A mí me dijo María una cosa diferente.
To me, María told me something different.

  Notice that only the indirect and direct object pronouns for you/it/them (lo/la/los/las vs le/les) differ. 

¿Qué puedo servirle a usted, señorita?
What can I serve you, miss?

PLACEMENT OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

DIRECT & INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS TOGETHER

Often pronouns coexist in a sentence, both in Spanish and English.

• The order in Spanish: Indirect object  followed by direct object.
                                                         1                                           2
  
• The rest of  the position rules apply (see above).

Busca el contacto en el celular y mandámelo, por favor.
Look for the contact in your cell and send it to me, please.

Nos lo recomendó Andrea.
Andrea recommended it to us.

Esa historia nos la contaba mi abuela.
That story my grandmother used to tell it to us.   

If the indirect object is  le or les, and it is followed by the direct objects lo/la/los/las, le/les changes to se.

-¿Quién nos hizo la cama? –Se la hice yo. [les (ustedes) la  –> se la]
-Who made our bed? -I made it for you.

Aquí tengo el contacto. Voy a mandárselo a María./ Se lo voy a mandar a María. [le (a ella) lo–> se lo] Here’s the contact. I’m going to send it to María.

Esas son las copas de las señoras. Dáselas, por favor. [les (a ellas) las–> se las] That’s the lady’s glass. Give it to her, please.  

-¿Le devolviste los libros a Miguel? –Se los devolví ayer.   [le los–> se los] The books? I returned them to him yesterday. 

LOS PRONOMBRES CON PREPOSICIONES
 PRONOUNS WITH PREPOSITIONS

Like in English, some pronouns change forms in Spanish when following a preposition  (a/para/por/de…) But in Spanish only  yo and tú have specific pronouns to be used with prepositions. The rest are the regular subject pronouns.

Exceptions:

• con form special one-word combinations: conmigo and contigo (consigo is much less frequently used).
• entre (between/among)/según (according): are followed by tú and yo.

Prepositions