The single English subject pronoun ‘you’ can create a whole host of problems during Spanish translation. That is because ‘you’ has four distinct forms in Spanish translation.

‘You’can become any of the following:

1. tú– singular second person form for informal occasions;
2. vosotros – plural second person form for informal occasions;
3. usted - singular third person form for formal occasions;
4. ustedes – plural third person form for formal occasions.

Translators must remember that none of these forms are interchangeable. They must remember not to shift between ‘tú’ and ‘usted’ during Spanish translation because that will introduce a note of anger or displeasure into the discourse. He or she must conform to the distinctions that exist between the formal and informal forms of discourse.

Spanish translation of direct and indirect object personal pronouns is also governed by a strict set of rules. Such pronouns must occupy previously defined positions in a sentence, for example, with affirmative commands, they must be placed at the end of a sentence; if a direct and an indirect object personal pronoun appear together, the indirect object must be placed before the direct object, etc.

Translators must pay particular attention to the Spanish indirect object because its meaning changes with the verb with which it appears. While generally it stands for ‘to’ or ‘for’, it can stand for ‘from’ when used with verbs like ‘comprar’, ‘quitar’ or ‘robar’.