Question

Why is it not always necessary to include a subject pronoun before the verb in Spanish? Write your answer in English and give an example in Spanish.

Answer 1

Spanish is a pro-drop (null-subject) language: the verb endings encode person and number, so the subject pronoun is usually redundant and can be omitted. For example, the form voy clearly indicates first person singular, so you normally say Voy al mercado rather than Yo voy al mercado.

Subject pronouns are kept when you want to add emphasis, contrast, politeness or to remove ambiguity (e.g., habló can mean él/ella/usted), for example: Yo quiero ir, pero él prefiere quedarse.