[MUSIC PLAYING] So far you've learned nouns which are essentially people, places, things and ideas, and the adjectives that describe those nouns. So now we're going to talk about pronouns.
A pronoun takes the place of a noun. It replaces it. Pronouns eliminate redundancy. For example, Mary is my friend, Mary is nice, Mary is tall, does not sound very natural. Instead, we'd say Mary is my friend. She is nice and tall. So she is the pronoun that replaces Mary, and it makes it sound more fluid and less redundant.
So in Spanish, [SPEAKING SPANISH] where [SPANISH] replaces Maria, since [SPANISH] means she. You'll only need to learn a few pronouns in order to use Spanish on the job, because you will either be talking about yourself in the first person, I. Or you'll be talking to a patient as in you, or about a patient, if someone else from the family comes to pick up the prescription.
In Spanish, I is [SPANISH]. Regardless of whether you're a guy or a girl, when talking about yourself you say, [SPANISH] for I. You is [SPEAKING SPANISH] Use that one when speaking directly to someone.
And by the way, some of you may have taken Spanish before and recall the form [SPANISH]. [SPANISH] is a casual pronoun. So it's only used when speaking with close friends or children. In this case, you're going to speak to your patients formally. So you would use the [SPANISH] form.
He is [SPANISH]. Notice it has an accent mark on it. Without the accent, what does it mean? [SPANISH], that's right. And then she, is [SPANISH], not pronounced [SPANISH] but [SPANISH]. [SPANISH] is considered first-person. So when speaking from your own point of view, as an I, you would use [SPANISH].
[SPEAKING SPANISH] and [SPANISH] are all third-person. [SPANISH] is technically second-person, but it takes the same form of the verb as the third-person pronouns, so it's kind of, sort of considered third-person. So [SPEAKING SPANISH] and [SPANISH] will all use the same form of the verb.
One more note about pronouns is that in Spanish they are optional, which is very strange to English speakers. You should definitely use them if your subject is unclear. However, once you've established the subject, you can omit them.
So in English, we have to use them. He speaks French, he is from France, he is tall. We cannot say he speaks French, is from France, is tall. But in Spanish, you can say [SPEAKING SPANISH] We only used the word [SPANISH] once.
Here's another example. [SPEAKING SPANISH] Both mean, I speak Spanish, even though the word I only appears in the first sentence. So you have to know which pronoun you're talking about in order to pick the right form of the verb, which you'll see you in the next lesson. But once you've established your subject you can leave off the pronouns.
Just to be clear, you do need to learn them. I know I said they're optional. They're only optional after this subject has been stated and specified. Even if you're not stating your pronoun, you still need to know which pronoun you're using. Because without the pronouns you do not know which form of the verb you will need to choose. And that's very important for the next lesson.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Pronouns, such as "he" and "she," take the place of nouns. They eliminate redundancy.
EXAMPLE
"Mary is my friend. Mary is nice. Mary is tall" sounds longwinded. Instead, we would say, "Mary is my friend. She is nice and tall." In Spanish: "María es mi amiga. Ella es simpática y alta."You will only need to learn certain pronouns in order to speak Spanish for your profession. They are all singular.
English | Spanish | Pronunciation |
---|---|---|
I | yo | yo |
you | usted | oo-staid |
he | él | ale |
she | ella | ay-yah |
Yo is first person. When speaking of yourself, you use first person. When speaking about others, you use third person. Therefore, usted, ella, and él are all third person.
One more note about pronouns in Spanish is that you do not always have to use them. You should use them if your subject is unclear; however, once the subject is clear, you may omit the pronoun. This is very different from English.
EXAMPLE
In English, you must say, "He speaks French. He is from France. He is tall." You cannot leave off the subject pronouns. In Spanish, you can say, "Él habla francés. Es de Francia. Es alto." We only used the word "él" once, but we still made three complete sentences. Likewise, "Yo hablo español" and "Hablo español" both mean "I speak Spanish," even though the word "I" only appears in the first sentence.Still, pronouns are very important in Spanish. Without them, we would not know how to choose the correct form of the verb to create agreement.
If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact PharmacySpanishSupport@capella.edu for assistance.
If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.
Source: This content has been adapted from "Pharmacy Spanish" by Stephanie Langston.