When to use tú in a sentence
"Tú eres de Mexico. Eres casado"
This translates exactly to "you are from Mexico. Are married" but I know it MEANS "you are from Mexico. You are married"
Why don't we say tu eres casado? Like in English you would say "You are married" is it just because its obvious as we have already said Tu at the beginning?
1 Answer
English is a language that requires a subject- so if it is obvious we replace it with a pronoun. We can occasionally drop it from a clause if it is present earlier in the sentence. He went to the store and went to the park as well. We don’t need to say he went there only because there is already a subject in the sentence. But in almost all cases we need it. And we stick “it” through our sentences whenever we feel the need for a subject pronoun and don’t have one. It is raining. What is raining? He went to the store and then it happened. What happened? Well we don’t know, I haven’t told you yet.
In Spanish, like many languages (to my understanding the majority in the world), a subject pronoun can be left implicit, and is essentially never used when we would use that generic it. Lluvia- it rains.
Normally the only time you use a subject pronoun in Spanish is when it may not be clear who the verb is referring to, or when you are noting a contrast. Sometimes just for sound- like Soy yo.
Vivo en los Estados Unidos.
Tú vives en Inglaterra, pero yo vivo en los Estados Unidos.
One of the most important lessons to learn is not to use a subject pronoun if you don’t need it in Spanish- it is understandable to the listener, but (it) makes you sound foreign.
