So you’re scrolling through a Spanish menu, or maybe you’re three weeks into a Duolingo streak, and you keep seeing it. Ellas. It looks simple enough. You’ve probably already gathered that it translates to "they." But if you just leave it at that, you’re going to run into some awkward social hurdles when you actually try to speak the language in Madrid or Mexico City.
Spanish isn't like English. In English, "they" is a catch-all. It’s a linguistic Swiss Army knife. In Spanish, pronouns are picky. They care about who is in the room, how many people there are, and—most importantly—what’s in their chromosomes (or at least, how the language grammatically categorizes them).
Basically, ellas is the feminine version of "they." But knowing that is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Core Definition: What Does Ellas Mean in Spanish?
At its most basic level, ellas is a third-person plural personal pronoun. It refers to a group of people or things that are entirely female or feminine.
Think about a group of three women standing at a bus stop. That’s ellas. A group of ten thousand women at a protest? Still ellas. But the moment one man—just one—walks into that group of ten thousand women, the pronoun magically transforms into ellos. It’s a quirk of the Spanish language that feels a bit lopsided to modern English speakers, but it’s the foundational rule of Romance languages.
Spanish is a gendered language. Everything has a "sex," grammatically speaking. While we use "they" for people and "them" for objects in English, Spanish uses ellas for both, provided the nouns are feminine.
It’s Not Just for People
This is where beginners usually trip up. They think ellas only refers to human women. Nope. Honestly, it refers to any group of feminine nouns.
Take the word for "tables" (las mesas). If you want to say "They are dirty," you would say, "Ellas están sucias." You are literally calling the tables "they (feminine)."
Here’s a quick list of things that would be referred to as ellas:
- A group of sisters (las hermanas)
- A collection of chairs (las sillas)
- Several ideas (las ideas)
- A bunch of apples (las manzanas)
If you’re talking about your favorite guitars (las guitarras), you’d use ellas. If you’re talking about your aunts, you’d use ellas. It’s all about that "a" ending or the "las" article that precedes the noun.
The "One Man Ruined It" Rule
We have to talk about the "masculine plural" rule because it defines when you cannot use ellas.
In Spanish, the masculine plural (ellos) is the "default" or "inclusive" plural. Imagine a room filled with 99 female doctors and one male doctor. If you are talking about them as a collective, you use ellos.
Some people find this outdated. In fact, there is a growing movement in Spanish-speaking countries—especially in academic and activist circles in Argentina and Spain—to use "inclusive" language like elles. However, the Real Academia Española (RAE), which is basically the "Supreme Court" of the Spanish language, still insists that the masculine plural is the only correct way to refer to mixed groups.
So, if you’re writing a formal paper or taking a traditional exam, you only use ellas when the group is 100% feminine.
Pronunciation: It’s Not "El-las"
If you pronounce the "ll" like the "L" in "lemon," people will understand you, but they’ll know you’re a gringo.
The double-L (ll) in Spanish is its own sound. In most of the Spanish-speaking world, it sounds like the "y" in "yes." So, ellas is pronounced EH-yahs.
But wait. If you’re in Buenos Aires or Montevideo, you’ll hear something different. They use a sound called sheísmo. To them, ellas sounds more like EH-shahs or EH-zhahs. It’s breathy and rhythmic. It’s one of the most beautiful sounds in the language, but it can be confusing if you’ve only ever heard the "y" sound.
When to Drop the Word Entirely
Here is a pro tip: You don't actually need to say ellas as often as you think.
Spanish is a "pro-drop" language. Because the verb endings change depending on who is doing the action, the pronoun is often redundant.
If you say "Ellas hablan español" (They speak Spanish), it’s perfectly correct. But usually, a native speaker will just say "Hablan español." The "an" at the end of the verb already tells the listener you’re talking about "them."
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You only really use the word ellas for two reasons:
- Emphasis: "They (those girls specifically) are the ones who did it!"
- Clarity: If you’ve been talking about a group of guys and a group of girls, you use ellas to make sure the listener knows you’ve switched focus to the women.
Common Phrases Using Ellas
To really understand how the word lives in the wild, you should see it in context.
- Entre ellas: "Among them (feminine)." You might use this when talking about a secret shared between sisters.
- Todas ellas: "All of them." This adds a layer of totality.
- Como ellas: "Like them."
You'll also see it in literature and music. Think of the famous song "Todas Ellas." The word carries a certain weight in poetry; it’s lyrical and soft compared to the more abrupt "ellos."
The Grammatical "Why"
Behind the scenes, ellas acts as the subject of a sentence. But it also stays the same when it’s the object of a preposition.
For example: "I bought the flowers for them." In Spanish, this is "Compré las flores para ellas."
In English, we change "they" to "them." In Spanish, ellas stays ellas. It’s remarkably consistent in that way. It doesn't matter if they are the ones doing the action or the ones receiving the gift; the word remains unchanged.
Regional Nuances and Evolution
Language isn't static. While ellas has been the standard for centuries, the way people use gendered language is shifting.
In some parts of the Caribbean, you might hear the final "s" dropped entirely, sounding like E-ya. In Spain, you’ll hear a very distinct, crisp pronunciation.
More importantly, the social context is changing. If you are in a very progressive environment in Barcelona, using ellas to refer to a group that includes non-binary individuals might be seen as exclusionary. While ellas is strictly for females in traditional grammar, the conversation around gender in Spanish is more active than ever.
Why Getting This Right Matters
Precision is respect.
If you’re talking about a group of grandmothers and you use ellos, you’re not just making a grammar mistake; you’re stripping away their identity in the sentence. It sounds "off" to the native ear, like calling a group of men "ladies."
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Actionable Steps for Mastery
Don't just memorize the definition. Use it.
First, start observing groups. When you see a group of women, consciously think to yourself: ellas. When you see a pile of books (los libros), think ellos. When you see a pile of magazines (las revistas), think ellas.
Second, practice your verb endings. Since ellas is usually dropped in conversation, you need to be comfortable with the third-person plural conjugation.
- Hablar becomes hablan.
- Comer becomes comen.
- Vivir becomes viven.
Third, listen for the regional accent. Go to YouTube and search for interviews with women from different countries—Colombia, Argentina, Spain. Listen to how they say ellas. The more your ear gets used to the variation, the less likely you are to be confused when you're actually on the ground in a Spanish-speaking country.
Lastly, stop overthinking the "mixed group" rule. Yes, it’s frustrating that one guy changes the whole group to ellos. But that’s the current state of the language. If you want to be safe and understood by everyone, follow the traditional rule. If you want to be "modern," you can try ellas y ellos, but it’s a mouthful.
Understanding ellas is your gateway to understanding the gendered soul of the Spanish language. It’s more than a pronoun; it’s a reflection of how the language organizes the entire world into categories. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll stop translating in your head and start feeling the rhythm of the conversation.
Check out some basic verb conjugation charts for the third-person plural to see how ellas interacts with different tenses. Try writing five sentences describing a group of female friends using only feminine adjectives like altas, simpáticas, or inteligentes to see how the gender agreement flows through the entire thought.