Spanish plural form of English "them/they"

[vita32]

Is "ellos" used as the plural spanish pronoun when referring to a mixed group of male and female? For example:

Ana y su esposo van al mercado y tengo ir con ellos. (Ana and her husband are going to market and I need to go with them.)

I cannot use "ellas" instead of ellos in the above sentence, right?

Thank you.

[Rusty]

Correct, for subject pronouns and prepositional pronouns.
Mixed group, or all male = ellos
All female = ellas

[JPablo]

That's right.
I think it is good to be aware too of the usage of "they" as SINGULAR as noted in Random House...
(from Random House Unabridged)
Usage. Long before the use of generic HE was condemned as sexist, the pronouns THEY, THEIR, and THEM were used in educated speech and in all but the most formal writing to refer to indefinite pronouns and to singular nouns of general personal reference, probably because such nouns are often not felt to be exclusively singular: If anyone calls, tell them I'll be back at six. Everyone began looking for their books at once. Such use is not a recent development, nor is it a mark of ignorance. Shakespeare, Swift, Shelley, Scott, and Dickens, as well as many other English and American writers, have used THEY and its forms to refer to singular antecedents. Already widespread in the language (though still rejected as ungrammatical by some), this use of THEY, THEIR, and THEM is increasing in all but the most conservatively edited American English. This increased use is at least partly impelled by the desire to avoid the sexist implications of HE as a pronoun of general reference.

[gracemayer]

Originally Posted by vita32

Is "ellos" used as the plural spanish pronoun when referring to a mixed group of male and female? For example:

Ana y su esposo van al mercado y tengo ir con ellos. (Ana and her husband are going to market and I need to go with them.)

I cannot use "ellas" instead of ellos in the above sentence, right?

Thank you.

Though you can use the @ (ell@s) to make some inroads into sexism in language

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by gracemayer

Though you can use the @ (ell@s) to make some inroads into sexism in language

I hope that comment was made in jest, because that is the most terrible suggestion I have ever seen. Why do people think that recognizing a difference between grammatical genders is remotely sexist? I feel a rant coming on.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

The use of "@" to suggest "ellos" and "ellas" or similar feminine-masculine words, is used only in internet slang. It's not considered proper Spanish at all.
The correct usage has been explained by Rusty.
In any case, when using inclusive gender language, people tend to say things like "ellos y ellas" or "ellos(as)".

[vita32]

Thank you, all your responses are very helpful.

[Equis]

I don't want to make a new thread...

... what makes more sense if you want to say. Im going to buy you all presents.

Yo me voy a comprarlos regalos
or
Yo me voy a comprarles regalos

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Voy a comprarles (indirect object) regalos (a todos).

"Me voy a..." gives the idea of "I'm going out to..."

For just saying "I'm going to...", we usually conjugate without the pronominal form.

[subtleisntme]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

The use of "@" to suggest "ellos" and "ellas" or similar feminine-masculine words, is used only in internet slang. It's not considered proper Spanish at all.
The correct usage has been explained by Rusty.
In any case, when using inclusive gender language, people tend to say things like "ellos y ellas" or "ellos(as)".

Ell@s is also used in academia. It's especially used in conversations about people who don't consider themselves in the traditional gender binary. The fluidity of the 'a' into the larger circle suggests men, women, and everyone in between.

Just a note.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Informal communications have introduced this use of "@", but formal Spanish does not allow its use that way.

[subtleisntme]

Except that in that context, it does... I wouldn't call published books about LGBT issues informal. Perhaps not accepted, but certainly not informal.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by subtleisntme

Ell@s is also used in academia. .

And yet more evidence that even academics can be really stupid.

[irmamar]

Sorry, but I must disagree, RAE doesn't accept it:

2.1), ha comenzado a usarse en carteles y circulares el símbolo de la arroba (@) como recurso gráfico para integrar en una sola palabra las formas masculina y femenina del sustantivo, ya que este signo parece incluir en su trazo las vocales a y o: l@s niñ@s. Debe tenerse en cuenta que la arroba no es un signo lingüístico y, por ello, su uso en estos casos es inadmisible desde el punto de vista normativo; a esto se añade la imposibilidad de aplicar esta fórmula integradora en muchos casos sin dar lugar a graves inconsistencias, como ocurre en Día del niñ@, donde la contracción del solo es válida para el masculino niño.

http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltConsulta?lema=arroba

[subtleisntme]

Originally Posted by Perikles

And yet more evidence that even academics can be really stupid.

See the above. I, personally, think it makes perfect sense in the context of LGBT. Perhaps it's not accepted, but it certainly occurs in contexts which are not in the least bit informal.

[CrOtALiTo]

Likes to Rusty told you before,

You need to write Ellas in Famele person and 3third person and Ellos also in 3third person at least in Spanish form.

Greetings.

[gracemayer]

Hola - Feliz Año Nuevo - Happy New Year!

Sorry to have made people feel like ranting re the above - don't forget the saying: 'A mind is like a parachute - it doesn't work until it opens' ;-)

Saludos a tod@s para un muy buen 2011!!!

[JPablo]

¡Gracias igualmente!