When do we use the "subject pronoun" in Spanish: yo, tú, él, ella....?
A good example is yo estaba corriendo = I was running as estaba can also be used for he/she was running or when using 3rd person singular él quiere ir a Madrid = He wants to go to Madrid - FELIZ77
After seeing this post by Feliz, I have decided to post this question to try and make things clearer.
This thread certainly made my day
Why use "yo" when the statement already includes the yo form? For instance, why say "Yo estudio chino", when "Estudio chino" already means "I study Chinese"? Why say "I" twice?
Indeed: why?
As a general rule: Do not use subject pronouns!
Even though you think it might be necessary, look at Feliz's confusion above, don't use them, just in case
Are subject pronouns optional or should we not use them? We already had this discussion here, and the opinion of the Spanish native Lazarus was this:
You shouldn't use subject pronouns, because it is not English, and those pronouns are kept on hold for a very good reason. If you use them, you not only sound horrible most of the time, but you deprive Spanish from expressing distinctions and nuances that are normally expressed with those pronouns.
So what distinctions is he talking about? Please don't miss the thread I have mentioned, he gives some examples too, but I would like to point this out to you:
Look at these examples.
It is nor necessary to include the pronoun in sentence in Spanish, with the exception of the following examples:
I. To emphasize the subject
Mi vecino sacó la basura, pero yo me olvidé de hacerlo.
My neighbour took out the garbage but I forgot to do it!
Yo soy Pepa, ella es María.
I am Pepa, this is María.
¿Sabes quién ha llamado? Yo no lo sé, a lo mejor lo sabe él!
Do you know who rang? I don't know, maybe he knows!
II. In sentences like:
Soy yo, abre la puerta.
It's me, open the door.
As you can see the pronoun is not used to distinguish between different subjects in the third person like Feliz suggests at the beginning of the thread.
Exercises
http://gramaticacognitivaele.es/material didactico/pronombres/P 13-B/P 13-B.swf
For swf (Small Web Format) files you need a player. You must copy the URL manually into your browser's navigation bar. (This video is interactive, it does not play automatically like our lesson videos).
Please don't miss them!!
It took me some time to find them, but this is a real treat! You will find the examples so clear and much fun to do
26 Answers
that is one of the times you use them, to make it clear - nizhoni1
If the person and I are both talking about our schooling to a 3rd person, then that 3rd person can't tell who's studied Spanish without pronouns.
No, nizhoni, this is not correct! You would NOT use the subject pronoun as the context would make it clear.
Please look at my post above.
"Estudiaba español", meaning I studied Spanish or he studied Spanish. Or she, usted...too.
If the person and I are both talking about our schooling to a 3rd person, then that 3rd person can't tell who's studied Spanish without pronouns.
the third party will conclude that it was the speaker himself who was studying something.
If you wanted to distinguish between you and the other guy, it follows the rule of actually using the pronoun :
I. To emphasize the subject
Yo estudiaba español cuando era niño mientras él estudiaba francés.
Te juro, fue la culpa del traductor. 
De vez en cuando corto y pego y olvido a quitar las cosas malditas. ¿Tienes la menor idea por qué ellos aparecen en las traducciones tanto?
Sin embargo me has enseñado. Mira, no he dicho....yo no he dicho. 
Matt said:
Si lo hubiera sabido, yo nunca hablaría con él otra vez.
If I had known I would never talk to him again. o
Si lo hubiera sabido, nunca hablaría con él otra vez.
Use Yo because of the ambiguity or the imperfect tense?
HI matt, I have seen several posts of yours in my threads where I specifically remind everybody NOT to use subject pronouns.
Please read this thread carefully and ask anything you wish. also do the link, the exercises are very clear.
No, you would not use the pronoun. why? It is clear who is talking, that is you, given the context. If it were another person, which is possible (he or she, according to the verb), it would also be unnecessary as the context would mark the difference.
Si había sabido, yo nunca hablaría con él otra vez.
If I had known I would never talk to him again. o
Si había sabido, nunca hablaría con él otra vez.
Use Yo because of the ambiguity or the imperfect tense?
'Yo soy Pepa, ella es María.
I am Pepa, this is María.'
Why we have to use 'Yo' ? why can't we use just 'Soy Pepa'?
HI, if I am alone:
Soy Pepa y tú? Soy Pedro.
However, if we are two women and you are not sure who is who...I will say:
Yo soy Pepa, (even pointing at myself) y ella es María! (pointing too)
Warning! Lots of subject pronouns ahead, read at your own risk!
I learn Spanish by myself, and in one of my workbooks I have to translate sentences such as:
Do you (ud,) see the bus? - ¿Ve usted el autobús?
You (ud.) are lying - Usted miente
Are you (ud.) cold? - ¿Tiene usted frío?
I always get these wrong because I don't usted. But if these shouldn't use usted then I can see why people are slipping up. These are sentences where I wouldn't be able to guess who the sentence is talking about: he, she and you are all possible subjects, so these sentences need él, ella, usted to know who the subject is. Yet these sentences are not typical because there is no context to get this information from as we would in normal reading or speech, but this is how we're learning the language and how the subject pronouns should be used.
"Estudiaba español", meaning I studied Spanish or he studied Spanish.
If the person and I are both talking about our schooling to a 3rd person, then that 3rd person can't tell who's studied Spanish without pronouns.
So what about the imperfect tense or conditional, where the 1st and 3rd person endings are the same?
How are you supposed to distinguish? I think Feliz made a good point.
I have said this several times now:
Please post an example sentence with your question!
how do you distinguish between the diference between teh different third person when the context is not clear.
YOu can only distinguish by context.
If you wish, give an example.
If anybody has a sentence he is not sure about, please post it here.
I knew about using them for emphasis, but I have one questions how do you distinguish between the diference between teh different third person when the context is not clear.
Have you seen this yet?
