soy él
/soi el/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I am him" translates to Spanish as soy él.
This phrase is used to identify oneself as the specific person being discussed or sought.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of soy (I am) and él (him/he).
How does it change in a sentence?
While soy él identifies oneself as a specific third party, soy yo is the more common way to say "it is me" when responding to "Who is it?"
Did you know?
- While soy él is grammatically correct, using it in a casual setting can sound like a line from a movie or a dramatic revelation of a secret identity.
- The Spanish él is a direct descendant of the Latin word ille, which originally functioned as a demonstrative meaning 'that one' rather than a simple pronoun.
- In Spanish, the word él carries an accent mark to distinguish it from el, which means 'the'.
Example conversation
Daniel is answering a phone call from María.
- María¿Hablo con el nuevo profesor?Am I speaking with the new teacher?
- DanielSí, soy él.Yes, I am him.
- MaríaHola, Daniel. Soy María.Hello, Daniel. I am María.
- DanielMucho gusto, María.Nice to meet you, María.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries soy, él, CC BY-SA 4.0.
