yo soy - need some help

[fletcher]

hey guys well i have been listening to my audio cd and i have come across a couple words that im not sure are right i have used online translators but they dont match up. the words im talking about are

yo soy does this mean i am ?

when i translated it said lo estoy means i am.

im only after learning simple spanish at the moment so want simple words but when i hear two sayings and im not sure which is right im dont know which to remember.

gracias.

[sosia]

yo soy Roberto: I am Roberto
yo soy carnicero: I'm a butcher
yo soy colombiano: I'm from Colombia.

Saludos

[fletcher]

great gracias so, yo soy can mean i am, and i'm

thankyou very much.

sorry i got another question and didnt want to start a new post for that, so I on its own is yo?

[María José]

Correct!

[fletcher]

great thanks its just when i use a translator to check words out they dont always match up, typed I in and it said it was just I. thanks again sorry to be a pain.

[Rusty]

Machine translations are usually quite poor.
Try the translator here in our forums instead of the one you're using, though, because it'll do a better job. There is a translator link just under the page heading, to the right of the page.


As you learned above, yo means I. This is called a subject pronoun. More exactly, it's the first person subject pronoun. The first person subject pronoun is always I in English, and yo in Spanish.

The first person subject pronoun may be omitted in Spanish, because the conjugated verb fully conveys the person. Other subject pronouns may also be omitted, for the same reason. Only the third person subject pronouns need to accompany the conjugated verb (at least once), because the conjugated verb is the same for each of these persons.

Have a look at the table below. It may clarify that last paragraph.
The table shows the conjugation of four different verbs in the present indicative tense. I included the verb ser (to be) because you were questioning that verb in particular. The verb ser is classified as an irregular verb (its conjugation doesn't follow the establish rules). The other three verbs adhere to the rules for their type. All verbs are classified by the last two letters in their infinitive (-ar, -er, and -ir).

The person is indicated for each set of verbs. As you can see, most of the subject pronouns are embedded in parentheses. Only the ambiguous third person conjugation must be accompanied by its subject pronoun (until it's understood to which person you're referring).

	Infinitive	Conjugation	English Equivalent
First Person Singular
	hablar	(yo) hablo	I speak
	comer	(yo) como	I eat
	vivir	(yo) vivo	I live
	ser	(yo) soy	I am
Second Person Singular
	hablar	(tú) hablas	you speak
	comer	(tú) comes	you eat
	vivir	(tú) vives	you live
	ser	(tú) eres	you are
Third Person Singular
	hablar	él habla	he/it speaks
		ella habla	she/it speaks
		usted habla	you (formal) speak
	comer	él come	he/it eats
		ella come	she/it eats
		usted come	you (formal) eat
	vivir	él vive	he/it lives
		ella vive	she/it lives
		usted vive	you (formal) live
	ser	él es	he/it is
		ella es	she/it is
		usted es	you (formal) are
First Person Plural
	hablar	(nosotros) hablamos	we speak
	comer	(nosotros) comemos	we eat
	vivir	(nosotros) vivimos	we live
	ser	(nosotros) somos	we are
Second Person Plural
	hablar	(vosotros) habláis	you speak
	comer	(vosotros) coméis	you eat
	vivir	(vosotros) vivís	you live
	ser	(vosotros) sois	you are
Third Person Plural
	hablar	ellos hablan	they (masculine, or mixed gender) speak
		ellas hablan	they (all feminine) speak
		ustedes hablan	you (formal) speak
	comer	ellos comen	they (masculine, or mixed gender) eat
		ellas comen	they (all feminine) eat
		ustedes comen	you (formal) eat
	vivir	ellos viven	they (masculine, or mixed gender) live
		ellas viven	they (all feminine) live
		ustedes viven	you (formal) live
	ser	ellos son	they (masculine, or mixed gender) are
		ellas son	they (all feminine) are
		ustedes son	you (formal) are

[María José]

Wow! You shamed me into silence once again, Rusty. Very stylish explanation. ( a lot better than my lazy one-word answer).

[Rusty]

Thanks, María José, but you know it wasn't my intention to upstage. I wanted to give Ross a little to chew on; something to whet his appetite.

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by fletcher

great gracias so, yo soy can mean i am, and i'm

thankyou very much.

sorry i got another question and didnt want to start a new post for that, so I on its own is yo?

No es posible añadir a lo que dijo Rusty, expecto quizás que debes buscar las diferencias entre ser y estar
It´s hard to add anything to Rusty´s great explanation, but I will add that you should look into the differences between "ser" and "estar" which can be confusing because they both mean "to be"

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by fletcher

hey guys well i have been listening to my audio cd and i have come across a couple words that im not sure are right i have used online translators but they dont match up. the words im talking about are

yo soy does this mean i am ?

when i translated it said lo estoy means i am.

im only after learning simple spanish at the moment so want simple words but when i hear two sayings and im not sure which is right im dont know which to remember.

gracias.

I'll give you some examples, that I believe my partners have gave you time before.

I'm Jorge
Soy Jorge
I'm here.
Estoy aqui.
I'm making my food for this afternoon.
Estoy haciendo mi cominda para esta tarde.

I hope that those examples can be useful for you.