This exercise asks us to locate the subjects and verbs in the sentences, and then decide what pronoun, *èl* or *ella*, could be used in place of the subject. The first sentence reads *Laura is from Toledo. She is a classmate.*

We’ve learned that the subject in simple sentences such as these is the specific noun (in this case Laura), a pronoun (*ella*, since we need the feminine form) or a generic noun (the girl). In the first sentence – Laura is from Toledo – Laura is the subject. In the second sentence we don’t see a pronoun, but learned on page 12 that if it has already been established who you are talking about, the pronoun can be omitted. We can infer the pronoun based on the context.

We’ve learned that the verb for “to be” is itself an action, as in “she’s being coy” or “She is Colombian”. In the first sentence, the word is (*es*) is the verb for this very reason. Don’t get confused on the second sentence. The same word is the verb, it just begins the sentence because we’ve dropped the pronoun.

Laura is the subject, *es* is the verb. You would use ella in place of the subject.

This sentence reads “Juan is my best friend. He is a student.”
To find the subject, we look for the proper noun, Juan. In the second sentence, we only find the verb (*es*) and the description (*estudiante*). Since we’ve already established who we’re talking about, the pronoun has been dropped from the second sentence.

The verb for “to be” is the action that our subjects are “doing” in these sentences. It might be best to be thought of pertaining to their identities, like “he IS a student” or “she IS from Cuba”. In Spanish, the singular third person form of this verb is *es*.

The subject is Juan, the verb is *es*. You would use *èl* in the place of the subject.

In this exercise, you’re asked for the subject and verb in the sentence “Mrs. Ayala is my science teacher. She is from Peru”. Then you are asked whether *èl* or *ella* should be used in place of the subject.

Our subject is the specific noun that the rest of the phrase is describing. In this case, that is Mrs. Ayala. The rest of the sentences are describing her occupation and where she is from, but she remains the subject of these descriptions the entire time.

The word *es* is the word that links the subject to the following description, something that is outlined on page 13. It is technically the verb of the sentences and links “Mrs. Ayala” with “my science teacher” and the dropped “she” with “from Peru”.

*La señora Ayala* is the subject, and *es* is the verb. You would use *ella* in place of the subject.

In this question we’re asked to identify the subjects and verbs in the following two sentences: “Mr. Garza is my Spanish teacher. He is from Spain.” Then, we’re asked which pronoun – *él* or *ella* – could be used in place of the subject.

These two sentences both refer to the same subject, although the first sentence uses the proper noun and the second uses the pronoun (since it has already been established who we are talking about). The subject of the first sentence is *el señor Garza*, as the second half of the sentence is a description of him. While “he” is technically the pronoun of the second sentence, in the Spanish translation the pronoun is dropped because the listener already knows that the subject is *el señor Garza*

The verbs in the sentence are the words that link the subjects to the descriptions. Words like “is, are, am” are these linking words. You’ll see that *es* appears in both sentences between the subject (although the subject is dropped from the second sentence) and the description (“my Spanish teacher” and “from Spain”).
From the English translation, we know that *él* is the proper pronoun to replace the subject with, since *el señor Garza* is masculine.

*el señor Garza* is the subject, *es* is the verb. You would use *él* in place of the subject.

This question is asking for the subjects and verbs of the following sentences: “The boy is a classmate. He is from the United States”. Then, you are asked what pronoun – *él* or *ella*- could be used in place of the subject.

This question is slightly different because where we would usually have a proper noun (Laura, el señor Garza, etc.) we have a more general noun (*muchacho*). We don’t know the boy’s name, but the sentences still function the same as they did in the previous 4 questions. In this case, *el muchacho* is the subject that is then being described as being a classmate, and from the United States.

Once again, the verbs in this sentence aren’t action words but rather short words that link the subject to the description. *Es* acts as the linking word between the subject (the boy) and the description (a classmate, or “from the United States).
Since the word is *el muchacho* and not *la muchacha* we know that the masculine *él* would be the appropriate pronoun to use.

The subject is *el muchacho* and the verb is *es*. The pronoun *él* should be used in place of the subject.

In this question you’re asked to find the subjects and verbs of the following sentences: “Ms. Jiménez is from the Dominican Republic. She is my math teacher”. Then, you are asked what pronoun- *él* or *ella*- should be used in place of the subject.

Like all these questions, the pronoun (in this case *ella*) is dropped from the second sentence since it’s already been established who we are talking about. The subject is who we are describing, in this case Ms. Jiménez. She is described as being from the Dominican Republic and being the speakers math teacher.

The verb, again, is not an action but rather a word linking the subject and the description. In this case, *es* links *la señorita Jiménez* and *de la República Dominicana. It would link the pronoun and the description of the following sentences, but as we discussed earlier, the pronoun has been dropped. So the sentence just beings with *Es*.
Because of the feminine title of the subject, as well as the fact that we’re using *profesora* instead of *profesor*, we know the subject’s pronoun is *ella* and not *él*.

The subject is *la señorita Jiménez* and the verb is *es*. The pronoun *ella* should be used in place of the subject.

In this question, you are asked to find the subjects and verbs in the following sentences: “Ramiro is a classmate. He is from Cuba”. Then, you are asked what pronoun- *él* or *ella*- should be used in place of the subject.

This question returns to using proper nouns (Ramiro) but the overall structure of the sentence remains unchanged. We have our subject followed by a linking verb and a description of the subject. Once again, the pronoun is dropped from the second sentence since the reader already knows that we’re talking about Ramiro.

By this point you should have no problem finding the verb in these sentences, as the verb remains the same and always acts as a linking word between the subject and the description, at least in these exercises. *Es* links Ramiro and *un compañero de clase*. It also links the dropped pronoun and *de Cuba*.

The subject is Ramiro, the verb is *es*. You should use *él* as the pronoun in place of the subject.

In this question you are asked to find the subject and verbs in the following sentences: “Don Pablo es profesor. Es de México.” Then, you are asked which pronoun – *él* or *ella*- should be used in place of the subject.

To find the subject, we need to ask who is being described by these sentences. That is, who is a teacher and who is from México. It’s clear that Don Pablo is the subject as he is the only person represented in the sentences and he is linked by *es* to the descriptions of him.

*Es* is once again the linking verb between the subject and the description of the subject. Since we dropped the pronoun at the beginning of the last sentence, it begins with *es* but the meaning is not changed, *es* is still acting as the linking verb between the subject (or in this case, the dropped subject pronoun) and the description.
Since Don is a masculine title, and *profesor* is the masculine form of teacher, we know that *él* could be used in place of the subject.

The subject is Don Pablo, the verb is *es*. The pronoun *él* should be used in place of the subject.

In this question you are asked to find the subjects and verbs in the following sentences: “Mrs. Lourdes is from Panama. She is a teacher”. Then, you are asked what pronoun – *él* or *ella* – could be used in place of the subject.

Who or what is being described in these sentences? This will tell us the subject. That is, who is from Panama and who is a teacher? Doña Lourdes is clearly the subject since she’s the one being described. The second sentences drops the subject and subject pronoun since we already know who is being talked about.

The verb is, once again, acting as a link between the subject and the description and NOT as an action word. *Es* is linking the Doña Lourdes to “from Panama” and linking the dropped pronoun to “a teacher”.
Since *Doña* is a feminine title and we are using *profesora* instead of *profesor*, we know that the proper pronoun to use is *ella*.

The subject is *Doña Lourdes* and the verb is *es*. You should use the pronoun *ella* in place of the subject.