The Complete Guide to 'Ellos' in English: Meaning, Pronunciation, and Sentence Examples
By James H. Sterling
One major advantage for English speakers studying ellos is its stability behind prepositions. In English, subject pronouns shift into objective pronouns following a preposition: "they" becomes "them" (we walked with *them*, not with *they*). Spanish does not alter ellos in these contexts.
When placed after common prepositions like para (for), de (of/from), sin (without), or con (with), the pronoun retains its exact spelling and sound. The expression con ellos translates directly to "with them". Unlike the first-person singular pronoun which mutates into the irregular conmigo, the third-person plural creates no irregular compounds. You simply place con before ellos.
Consider an authentic conditional sentence illustrating this structure: "En el caso de que no puedas ir con ellos, ¿quieres ir con nosotros?" Here, con ellos clearly translates to "with them," functioning smoothly within a complex inquiry. The word maintains its identity whether initiating a clause as an active agent or trailing at the end of a prepositional phrase.
However, you must never confuse prepositional pronouns with Spanish object pronouns. If you are acting directly upon a group without a preposition, ellos is incorrect. Saying "Yo veo ellos" is ungrammatical. The direct object pronoun must be used instead: "Yo los veo" (I see them). Similarly, when delivering something to them, the indirect object pronoun les takes over: "Les envié una carta" (I sent them a letter).
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
