When to use él and ella in conjugations.

Question

I'm not exactly sure when to use él and ella in conjugations.

For example, "She drinks milk", is given in the flashcard set as "bebe leche", however I would have thought it should be "ella bebe leche" to indicate who the verb is referring to. Is this redundant or straight out incorrect?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Either way is correct. It just depends on the circumstances of how or when it is being said. If you were having a conversation and it was already established who "she" is, then there is no need to say ella in the statement since it is implied with the conjugation of beber. For example: "María bebe agua." "No, bebe leche." (Maria drinks or is drinking water. No, she drinks or is drinking milk)

If it was a question of who drinks or is drinking milk, then you would clarify by saying "ella bebe leche"

Darn, I duplicated your answer so I gave you my vote. - 0074b507, Dec 11, 2009

Answer 2

The subject pronoun is included whenever ambiguity arises if it is omitted. If "she" wasn't known from context than it would not be incorrect to include the pronoun.

It can also be used for emphasis.

Even if it is redundant it is not technically incorrect. Spanish uses redundancy with object pronouns, negative words, etc.

The reason that the subject pronoun isn't included unless necessary for clarification or emphatic is similar to English. A paragraph that keeps repeating the same words over and over does not sound well.

Ah, points for great minds thinking alike. - aloshek, Dec 11, 2009

Answer 3

HI other, welcome to the forum

However, keep in mind that we do not use the subject pronoun in Spanish as a general rule, have a look at this thread

Answer 4

We say the same sort of thing in English once it is clear who you are talking about. For example, If someone were to say "where's your husband" you might reply "he's in the garage". You wouldn't reply "my husband is in the garage". So you can see the question defined who was being referred to. Without the question, "he's in the garage" could mean any male. The same applies to "bebe leche". If you are not sure who is being referred to then you use the personal pronoun, "ella".

Answer 5

Thanks guys - that clarifies it a lot for me. Very similar to using 'she' or 'he' in English. Thanks for the quick responses!