Tu, Te, Ti

[Luna87]

I've been trying to help my boyfriend learn Spanish and I've been trying to explain to him when to use tu, te and ti, but i think i'm just making it worse Spanish is my native language, but since i was raised in the US since I was 1 my grammar isn't up to par. So if you guys could help me i would appreciate it!!!

[Tomisimo]

Welcome Luna,

That's a good question, and I'll try to explain it as best I can. Hopefully someone else will give it a shot too.

Tu

Tu is the subject pronoun - the person doing the main action in the sentence.
Tu is optional in Spanish (unlike English), you don't have to use it.

You're driving too fast.
Tu estás manejando muy rápido.
(omitted) Estás manejando muy rápido.

Te

Te is the direct object pronoun - the person or thing directly affected by the action (receiving the action) in the sentence.
Te goes before the main verb in the sentence, as opposed to English where it usually goes after the main verb.

I love you.
Yo te quiero.
Te quiero

(in red) - the subject pronoun from above, just like "tu" (you), except this time it's "yo" (I).
You receives or is directly affected by the action of the sentence.

I'm going to hit you.
(Yo) te voy a pegar.

Te is also the indirect object pronoun - the person or thing indirectly affected or benefited by the action of the sentence.

(Yo) te doy el libro.
I give you the book.
(Yo) te lo voy a dar.
I'll give it to you.
I'll give you it.

Ti

Ti is a prepositional pronoun, meaning that it goes with a preposition such as para or a.

Esto es para tí.
This is for you.
Te voy a pegar a tí. (added "a tí" to the above example, clarifying who I want to hit.)
I'm going to hit YOU.

I hope this explanation helps

[bleitzow]

Like Luna, I too am having a very difficult time with this stuff. I have already inquired about using "le", "lo", etc. Here are a couple of sentences I came across yesterday:

Le estoy escribiendo un mensaje electrónico a mi madre.
Él le da flores a su mujer.

What is the purpose of "le"? Why can't you just say:

Estoy escribiendo un mensaje electrónico a mi madre.
Él da flores a su mujer.

HELP! Remember, I don't understand the "subjunctive" stuff. You need to keep it simple for stupid.

Thanks!

[Tomisimo]

Great question!

Le estoy escribiendo un mensaje electrónico a mi madre.
Él le da flores a su mujer.

I'm writing her an email - Le estoy escribiendo un correo
He's giving her flowers - Le da flores.

In the above examples, le serves as the indirect object pronoun, showing who you're giving flowers to and who you're writing to, just like her in the English version.

When you want to give more specific info about the person receiving the flowers or email, in English you remove the her and replace it with the prepositional phrase "to my mother".

I'm writing her an email to my mom.
He's giving her flowers to his wife.

In Spanish, when you add the prepositional phrase, you don't remove the indirect object pronoun. They are both needed.

Le estoy escribiendo un correo a mi madre.
Le está dando flores a su esposa.

It would be something like this literally translated to English:

* I'm writing her an email to my mother.
* He's giving her flowers to his wife.

Both the her and to my mother are needed in Spanish; In English you must use one or the other.

[Luna87]

GRACIAS! You guys have made my translating life easier
I've also been poking around in the other forums trying to improve my spanish. Creo que hasta ahora he estado haciendo un buen trabajo, pero me estoy dando cuenta que todavia me falta un resto Yo me enseñe a escribir y leer español sola, leyendo articulos y libros, pero nunca aprendi toda la grammatica que tiene que ver con el español. Entonces cuando mi novio decidio aprender se me vino el mundo encima Asi que les agradezco el esfuerzo que hicieron para ayudarme

[Elaina]

Hola Luna.....

Dices que te enseñaste el Español sola, con solo leer articulos y libros, pues eres una excelente maestra y alumna!

¡Felicidades! Lo haces muy bien y creo que la gramatica, aunque un poco confusa, la vas a entender muy pronto.

Elaina