Personal Pronouns

01

Omitting Subject Pronouns

In most situations, subject pronouns are omitted. The ending of the verb already indicates who is performing the action, so including the pronoun is unnecessary. This is the most natural and common way to speak and write.

• Parlo català.

  I speak Catalan.

• Vius a Barcelona?

  Do you live in Barcelona?

• Anem a la platja.

  We are going to the beach.

02

When to Use Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are included in two main situations: for emphasis or for clarity.

1. For Emphasis: Use the pronoun to stress or contrast who is performing the action.

• Ell és de Girona, però jo soc de Barcelona.

  He is from Girona, but I am from Barcelona.

• Nosaltres volem anar al cinema, no sé què volen fer ells.

  We want to go to the cinema, I don't know what they want to do.

2. For Clarity: Some verb tenses have identical forms for different subjects (e.g., the first-person 'I' and third-person 'he/she' in the imperfect tense). In these cases, the pronoun is used to avoid ambiguity.

• Quan jo tenia deu anys, vivia a Tarragona.

  When I was ten, I lived in Tarragona. (Clarifies it's not 'he/she')

• Ella no ho entenia.

  She didn't understand it. (Clarifies it's not 'I')

03

Formal "You": Vostè and Vostès

For formal situations, or when addressing someone you don't know, older people, or figures of authority, different pronouns are used.

• vostè - you (singular, formal)
• vostès - you (plural, formal)

Crucially, these pronouns use the third-person verb forms (the same as for ell/ella and ells/elles). Unlike the informal pronouns, vostè and vostès are often stated in the sentence for politeness.

• Com està vostè?

  How are you? (formal, to one person)

• Vostès desitgen alguna cosa més?

  Do you desire anything else? (formal, to more than one person)

• Vostè parla molt bé.

  You speak very well. (formal, to one person)

04

Colloquial Forms

In everyday speech in Barcelona and many other areas, it is very common to hear shortened versions of nosaltres and vosaltres.

• nosaltres → nosatres
• vosaltres → vosatres

These forms are perfectly normal in spoken language, but the standard written forms are nosaltres and vosaltres.

• Nosatres ja hem acabat.

  We have already finished.

• On aneu vosatres?

  Where are you (all) going?

05

The Neuter Pronoun 'Ho'

The pronoun ho means "it" or "that". It is a neuter pronoun, used to refer to an idea, a concept, a whole clause, or something of unknown or irrelevant gender. It functions only as a direct object pronoun and is placed before the conjugated verb.

• No ho entenc.

  I don't understand it.

• Ho has vist?

  Have you seen it/that?

• Em va dir que vindria, però no m'ho crec.

  He told me he would come, but I don't believe it.