Subjects and verbs in sentences

Objetivos
• Subjects and verbs in
sentences
• Subject pronouns
Subjects and verbs in sentences
1 In English, sentences have a subject and a verb. The subject is the
person or thing that is being described or is doing something. The verb
is the action word like run or sing, or a word like am, is, or are that
links the subject to a description.
subject
Mrs. Pérez is my teacher.
She is from Madrid.
verb
2 In Spanish, sentences also have a subject and a verb.
Students in Spanish-speaking
countries address teachers
in several ways. Women
may be called by their title
and first name (Señorita
Rosa) or by title and last
name (Señora García). If
the teacher is older, she
may be addressed as doña
with her first name, such as
doña Josefina. Similarly,
men may be addressed as
don Pablo (title and first
name) or Señor Gómez
(title and last name).
Compare this to the way
you address your teachers.
subject
La señora Pérez es mi profesora. verb
Ella es de Madrid.
3 Both English and Spanish use nouns as subjects. Nouns can be replaced
with pronouns. Some examples of Spanish pronouns you have seen
are él, ella, tú and usted.
él stands for Juan
Juan es un compañero de clase.
Juan is a classmate.
Él es mi mejor amigo.
He is my best friend.
4 English sentences always have a subject or a subject pronoun. But in
Spanish the subject or the subject pronoun can be left out if everyone
knows who you’re talking about.
María is my friend.
She is from Spain.
María es mi amiga.
Es de España. Ella can be left out.
Vocabulario y gramática, pp. 4–6
Actividades, pp. 1–3
Mis amigos de Madrid
1.
2.
3.
La Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid
12
doce
4.
Leamos Identify the subjects and verbs in the following sentences.
Susana is my friend.
5. Susana es mi amiga.
She is from Spain.
6. Es de España.
Mrs. García is my teacher.
7. La señora García es mi
profesora.
She is from Madrid.
8. Es de Madrid.
Capítulo 1 •
¡Empecemos!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
¿Quién es quién?
KEYWORD: EXP1 CH 1
Leamos Identify the subjects and the verbs in the following
sentences. Then say whether you would use él or ella in place
of each subject.
Laura es de Toledo. Es una compañera de clase.
Juan es mi mejor amigo. Es estudiante.
La señora Ayala es mi profesora de ciencias. Es de Perú.
El señor Garza es mi profesor de español. Es de España.
El muchacho es un compañero de clase. Es de Estados Unidos.
La señorita Jiménez es de la República Dominicana. Es mi
profesora de matemáticas.
Ramiro es un compañero de clase. Es de Cuba.
Don Pablo es profesor. Es de México.
Doña Lourdes es de Panamá. Es profesora.
Gramática 1 practice
¿De quién hablas?
Leamos/Hablemos Use at least three phrases from the word box to
write a description of one of the people pictured below. Read your
description aloud to your partner. He or she will guess which person
you have just described. Then switch roles.
Éste es el señor Madero.
Él es mi mejor amigo.
Es de España.
Ésta es Rosaura.
Éste es Mario.
Él es mi profesor de ciencias.
A
España
Ella es mi profesora de español.
Es de Estados Unidos.
Ella es mi mejor amiga.
Él es un compañero de clase.
Ella es una compañera de clase.
Ésta es la señora Matute.
B
C
D
trece
13
Subject pronouns
1 These are the subject pronouns in Spanish.
En inglés
yo I
nosotras we (all female)
In English, the subject
pronoun you is used with
anyone, no matter their
age or relationship to you.
tú you
vosotros you
vosotras you (all female)
usted you
In Spanish, the pronoun
you use (tú or usted) is
based on your relationship
to the person.
In English, is you used to talk
to one person, more than one
person, or both? How does
this compare with Spanish
usage of usted and ustedes?
nosotros we
él he
ella she
ustedes you
ellos they
ellas they (all female)
2 The subject pronouns tú and usted both mean you when you’re talking
to one person. However, they are used in different situations.
friend
relative
someone your age
Familiar
tú
Formal
usted
teacher
adult you’ve just met
someone you show respect to
Although subject pronouns are often left out, the pronoun usted is
commonly stated when addressing someone to show respect.
¿Cómo está usted?
How are you?
3 The subject pronouns ustedes and vosotros mean you when talking to
more than one person. They are also used in different situations.
friends
relatives
people your age
Familiar (in Spain)
vosotros
Formal and Familiar
ustedes
any group
4 The pronouns nosotros, vosotros, and ellos have feminine forms.
group of all males
group of males
and females
Masculine
nosotros
Feminine
nosotras
vosotros (Spain)
vosotras (Spain)
ellos
ellas
group of
all females
Vocabulario y gramática, pp. 4–6
Actividades, pp. 1–3
¿Cómo le(s) dices?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
14
catorce
Hablemos What pronouns would you use to speak to these
people?
two or more teachers
a group of female students (in Spain)
your best friend
a school principal
two or more males
a group of male and female students (in Spain)
Capítulo 1 •
¡Empecemos!
¿Con quién habla Javier?
Escuchemos Listen as Javier, a teenager from Spain, talks to his
friends and teachers. Match each statement with the correct
picture. Remember that Javier uses vosotros and vosotras.
A
B
C
D
E
F
Nuevos amigos
Leamos/Escribamos Complete this conversation using the
correct subject pronouns.
1
2
—Hola.
(I) soy Rosalinda Chávez. Y
(he) es
3
mi amigo Juan. ¿Cómo te llamas
(you)?
5
— 4
(I) me llamo Antonia. Y
(she) es mi amiga
6
Talía.
(We–Talía and I) somos de Estados Unidos.
7
Juan y tú, ¿de dónde son
(you, plural)?
Eres reportero(a)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hablemos Imagine that you are a reporter interviewing new students
and teachers for the school paper. With a partner, role-play one interview with a student and one with a teacher. Use the cues below.
Greet the person you are interviewing.
Ask what his or her name is.
Ask where he or she is from.
Say goodbye.
España
quince
15