what is it?
Spanish has a dedicated set of pronouns — called tonic or prepositional pronouns — that must be used after prepositions (de, para, sin, sobre, etc.). For the first and second person singular, these forms are mí and ti — not the subject pronouns yo or tú. The preposition con is irregular: it fuses with mí and ti to produce the mandatory forms conmigo and contigo. For all other persons, the tonic pronoun is identical to the subject pronoun (él, ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas, usted/ustedes).
when to use it
After any preposition except con — use mí or ti wherever a preposition governs a first- or second-person singular pronoun: «para mí», «sin ti», «de mí», «sobre ti».
After con — the preposition con fuses with mí and ti. Use conmigo and contigo — never «con mí» or «con ti».
For emphasis or contrast with a clitic — the pattern a mí / a ti appears alongside an unstressed object clitic (me, te) to highlight who is affected or to contrast two people: «A mí me gusta el café, pero a ti no.»
formation
The table below shows the tonic pronoun for each person after a typical preposition (para) and after con.
| person | after most prepositions | after con |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular (yo) | mí — para mí | conmigo |
| 2nd singular (tú) | ti — para ti | contigo |
| 3rd singular (él/ella/usted) | él / ella / usted — para él | con él / con ella / con usted |
| 1st plural (nosotros) | nosotros — para nosotros | con nosotros |
| 2nd plural (vosotros) | vosotros — para vosotros | con vosotros |
| 3rd plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | ellos / ellas / ustedes — para ellos | con ellos / con ellas / con ustedes |
Only the 1st and 2nd person singular have special tonic forms. All other persons use the same pronoun as the subject. The fusion with con is unique to mí and ti.
examples in context
common pitfalls
«para tú» → para ti — After a preposition, the subject pronoun tú cannot be used. The correct tonic form is ti. This applies after all prepositions: sin ti, de ti, sobre ti, etc.
«con mí» / «con ti» → conmigo / contigo — Con does not simply precede mí or ti. It fuses with them to form conmigo and contigo. The unfused versions are ungrammatical in standard Spanish.
«de mi» (no accent) → de mí — Without the written accent, mi is a possessive adjective meaning «my» (mi libro — my book). The prepositional pronoun always carries an accent: mí. Omitting the accent changes the meaning entirely.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Después de la tormenta, el cielo se aclaró por ___ mismo.
Fill in the blank with the correct tonic pronoun form.