To describe yourself, your family and your daily routine you need pronouns — the little words that stand in for people and things. This lesson builds them cleanly: subject pronouns, direct and indirect object pronouns, reflexive verbs, plus how to make sentences negative and how to ask questions.
Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go — some ask you to recognise the right form, some ask you to produce it by typing. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.
These name who does the action. You'll rarely write them — the verb ending already shows the person — but you must know them:
| yo | I |
| tú | you (one friend) |
| él / ella / usted | he / she / you (polite) |
| nosotros / nosotras | we |
| vosotros / vosotras | you all (Spain, informal) |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | they / you all (polite) |
Key: Spanish normally drops the pronoun — just hablo, not yo hablo — because the ending shows the person. Use one only for emphasis, contrast or clarity (Yo estudio, tú no). usted / ustedes = the polite "you" and take the él / ellos endings.
A direct object pronoun replaces the thing or person the action is done to, so you don't repeat it:
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| me (me) | nos (us) Higher |
| te (you) | os (you all) Higher |
| lo / la (it, him / it, her) | los / las (them) Higher |
Placement — three cases:
Meaning: lo = it / him, la = it / her. They must match the gender of the noun they replace: la película → la veo.
An indirect object pronoun shows to or for whom something happens:
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
| me (to/for me) | nos (to/for us) Higher |
| te (to/for you) | os (to/for you all) Higher |
| le (to/for him/her) | les (to/for them) Higher |
Le doy el libro — I give the book to him / her. The placement rules are exactly the same as for DOPs: before a conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive, gerund or command.
Higher only: when a sentence has two pronouns together, le / les changes to se before lo / la / los / las — Se lo doy (I give it to him). Higher At Foundation, use just one pronoun at a time.
Reflexive verbs describe an action done to oneself — the pronoun "bounces back" to the subject. They power your daily routine: levantarse (to get up), ducharse (to shower), lavarse (to wash), llamarse (to be called), acostarse (to go to bed).
| person | form |
|---|---|
| yo | me levanto |
| tú | te levantas |
| él / ella / usted | se levanta |
| nosotros Higher | nos levantamos |
| vosotros Higher | os levantáis |
| ellos / ustedes Higher | se levantan |
Core pronouns: me, te, se (Foundation) · nos, os, se Higher. Me llamo… = "I'm called…". Watch acostarse — it's also a boot verb: me acuesto (o→ue).
Choose the correct pronoun or question word for each gap.
Reflexive verbs end in -se in the infinitive. Sort each one.
To make any sentence negative, drop no straight before the verb: No hablo francés (I don't speak French).
Spanish uses double negatives — and they are correct. Keep no before the verb and add the negative word after:
Shortcut: nunca and nadie can go before the verb on their own — then you drop no: Nunca como carne, Nadie viene.
Higher extras: ya no (no longer), tampoco (neither / not either), ni… ni… (neither… nor). Higher
Wrap every question in ¿ … ? — note the upside-down opener. You can ask by intonation alone (¿Hablas español?) or use a question word. Every question word carries a written accent:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| qué | what |
| quién(es) | who |
| cuándo | when |
| dónde | where |
| cómo | how |
| cuánto / a / os / as | how much / many |
| por qué | why |
| cuál(es) | which |
Word order: question word + verb + subject — ¿Dónde vive tu hermano? (Where does your brother live?).
qué vs cuál: use qué for "what" (a definition) and cuál for "which one" (a choice): ¿Qué es esto? vs ¿Cuál prefieres?
Tap a Spanish word on the left, then tap its English meaning on the right.
Subject pronouns: yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos/ustedes — usually dropped; use for emphasis.
DOPs (what/whom): me, te, lo, la (+ nos, os, los, las Higher) — before the verb or attached to infinitive/gerund/command.
IOPs (to/for whom): me, te, le (+ nos, os, les Higher). Le doy…
Reflexive: me, te, se — daily routine (me levanto, me ducho, me llamo).
Negation: no before the verb; double negatives (no… nada / nunca / nadie).
Questions: ¿ … ? with accented question words: qué, quién, cuándo, dónde, cómo, cuánto, por qué, cuál.
These pronouns and structures let you describe people, routines and relationships. Press Finish to see your score.
You've built talking about people for AQA GCSE Spanish. 🎉
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Next in the spine: Plans & opinions — the near future, opinions and gustar. Then lock this in with the Evaluate confidence quiz.