Dropping the pronoun
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
español.
I speak Spanish.
The rule
Spanish often leaves out the word for “I”, “you” or “she”. The verb ending already points to the person, so the sentence is complete without it. Speakers put the pronoun back for contrast or emphasis. A sentence with no subject word is ordinary Spanish.
When the ending tells you who
A Spanish sentence can make the person clear without a separate word for “I”, “you” or “she”. Sometimes the verb ending tells you enough; sometimes the conversation supplies the rest.
Suppose you are telling Ana where you live. You can say “Yo vivo en Madrid”, “I live in Madrid”, or simply “Vivo en Madrid”. Both are complete Spanish sentences.
The ending of “vivo” already points to the speaker. Keeping “yo” is a choice: it can help identify or emphasise the person. We will look at when that extra word adds something useful.
The ending does some of the work
“Yo” means “I”, “tú” means “you”, and “ella” means “she”. Words like these are called subject pronouns: they tell us who the sentence is about.
English normally needs one in “I live here”. Spanish can leave it out when the person is clear. “Yo vivo en Madrid” and “Vivo en Madrid” are both grammatical.
Here is a reminder of the endings: “hablo” means “I speak”, “hablas” means “you speak”, “habla” means “he speaks”, “she speaks” or formal “you speak”. “Hablamos” means “we speak”; “hablan” means “they speak” or “you all speak”.
Notice that not every ending identifies just one person. The conversation also helps us work out who is meant.
Keep it when it helps
Ana asks which languages you speak. “Hablo español” is enough to answer “I speak Spanish”. Saying “Yo hablo español” is also possible; how often people include “yo” varies by speaker and region.
Now you compare yourself with Ana: “Yo hablo español; ella habla inglés”. “I speak Spanish; she speaks English.” Keeping “yo” and “ella” makes the contrast easy to follow.
You can also keep a pronoun to make the person clear. “Vive en Madrid” could mean “he lives in Madrid” or “she lives in Madrid”. “Ella vive en Madrid” tells us that you mean her. If you were already talking about Ana, the shorter version could be enough.
Change the person, keep the idea
“Hablamos español” means “We speak Spanish”. “Nosotros hablamos español” says the same thing with “we” expressed separately.
“Ellos comen en casa” means “They eat at home”. If everyone knows who “they” are, “Comen en casa” works too.
You are choosing how much to say explicitly. Including a pronoun is not automatically wrong, and leaving it out is not always clearer.
What to take into practice
Use the verb ending and the conversation together. Leave the pronoun out when it adds nothing you need; keep it when you want to identify or contrast people.
The practice uses “hablar”, “comer” and “vivir” again. “Inglés” means “English”. Where both a short answer and an answer with a pronoun fit, both are accepted. The explanation will show what the pronoun contributes.