In Spanish, you say “with him” as “con él,” using an accent on él to mean “him,” not the article “the.”
You’ll see “with him” in travel chats, classwork, and everyday talk. Spanish makes it simple, but there’s one detail that trips people up: the accent mark. Get that right and you’ll sound natural right away.
What “with him” is in Spanish
The direct translation of “with him” is con él. Con means “with.” Él means “he/him,” and the accent mark is part of the meaning.
Without the accent, el is the word for “the” before a masculine noun: el libro (the book). With the accent, él is the pronoun. So con él is “with him,” while con el usually points to “with the …” and needs a noun right after it.
Pronunciation you can copy
Con él sounds like: kohn EL. The final n in con is clear, and él is a single beat.
- con → “kohn”
- él → “EL” (not “elll”)
When Spanish changes “with + pronoun”
Spanish has a quirky set of special forms for “with me” and “with you.” Instead of con mí and con ti, you say conmigo and contigo. “With him” stays regular as con él, which is good news.
How To Say ‘With Him’ In Spanish In Real Sentences
Seeing the phrase inside complete sentences makes it stick. Here are clean, classroom-safe lines you can reuse. Read them out loud once or twice and you’ll feel the rhythm.
Daily sentences
- Voy con él. — I’m going with him.
- Estoy con él ahora. — I’m with him now.
- Quiero hablar con él. — I want to talk with him.
- ¿Vas con él? — Are you going with him?
- No puedo ir con él. — I can’t go with him.
School and work style sentences
- Trabajo con él los martes. — I work with him on Tuesdays.
- Estudio con él después de clase. — I study with him after class.
- Tengo una reunión con él. — I have a meeting with him.
- Hice el proyecto con él. — I did the project with him.
How to pick the right Spanish verb with “con él”
English uses “with” for a lot of jobs. Spanish often keeps con él, but the verb you pick changes the feel. This section saves you from the most common mismatches.
Going with him
If you mean joining him or traveling together, ir is the default: Voy con él. If you mean “come with him” as an invitation, Spanish often uses venir: Ven con él.
Being with him
Estoy con él is the plain “I’m with him.” If you mean you’re spending time with him, Spanish can use pasar tiempo: Paso tiempo con él.
Talking with him
Hablar con él is “to talk with him.” Hablar pairs with con in the same way as English.
Working with him
Trabajar con él is “to work with him.” If you mean collaborating on a task, hacer algo con él can be a better match: Hice la tarea con él.
When “con él” is not the best fit
Most of the time, con él is the phrase you want. Still, Spanish has a couple of patterns that can sound smoother, depending on what “with” means in your sentence.
If “with him” means “together with him” in a longer sentence, junto con él can feel more natural: Fui al cine junto con él. It keeps the idea of doing something side by side.
If you mean “along with him” as in “in addition to him,” Spanish can use además de él. That’s not the same as company; it’s more like adding another person to a list.
If you see con el in a text, don’t auto-correct it to con él. It might be right as-is, like con el profesor (with the teacher) or con el libro (with the book).
Reference table for “with” + people
Spanish keeps the same base pattern, then swaps the pronoun. Use this chart to build your own sentences without guessing.
| English | Spanish | Note |
|---|---|---|
| with me | conmigo | Special form, not con mí |
| with you (informal) | contigo | Special form, not con ti |
| with him | con él | Accent shows the pronoun |
| with her | con ella | No accent needed |
| with you (formal) | con usted | Use for polite speech |
| with us | con nosotros | Also con nosotras for women-only group |
| with you all (Spain) | con vosotros | Also con vosotras for women-only group |
| with them (mixed/men) | con ellos | People group, not objects |
| with them (women) | con ellas | Women-only group |
| with you all (LatAm) | con ustedes | Common across Latin America |
Accent marks: the small detail that changes meaning
Spanish accent marks can separate two words that look identical. Él and el are the classic pair. The accent turns “the” into “he/him.”
When you type Spanish on a phone, press and hold the vowel to pick the accented version. On a computer, you can switch to a Spanish typing layout, use character maps, or set up a shortcut. If you can’t type the accent in a pinch, many readers will still understand you, but adding it is cleaner and avoids mix-ups.
Autocorrect may drop the accent, so glance back before you send. If you’re typing on Windows, Alt codes work too. On Mac, Option+E then E makes é, and Option+N then N makes ñ in many apps.
Fast checks before you hit send
- If the word is “the,” it must be followed by a noun: el chico.
- If the word stands alone as a person, it’s él.
- If you see con el, ask “with the what?” You’ll expect a noun next.
Common mistakes and clean fixes
Most errors come from copying English patterns straight across. Here’s what to watch for, plus a simple fix you can apply on the spot.
Writing “con el” when you mean “with him”
Mistake:Voy con el.
Fix:Voy con él.
The first line reads like it’s missing a noun. The second line clearly points to a person.
Using “con mi” for “with me”
Mistake:Ven con mi.
Fix:Ven conmigo.
Overusing names when a pronoun is fine
Spanish often repeats names less than English when the context is clear. If you already said who you mean, con él keeps the flow light: Juan llega a las cinco. Voy con él.
Second reference table: phrases you’ll use a lot
These are common English ideas that call for “with him,” paired with Spanish that sounds natural in conversation.
| What you mean | Spanish | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Go with him | Ve con él | Command form of ir |
| I’m going with him | Voy con él | Simple present covers near plans |
| Come with him | Ven con él | Use venir for “come” |
| Stay with him | Quédate con él | Reflexive command |
| Talk with him | Habla con él | Hablar + con |
| Work with him | Trabaja con él | Collaboration at work or school |
| Live with him | Vive con él | Living arrangement |
| Go out with him | Sal con él | Hanging out, not dating by itself |
| With him too | Con él también | también = “too” |
Little tone shifts: “with him” across different contexts
English “with him” can mean company, partnership, romance, or even taking someone’s side. Spanish can carry those shades too, but sometimes it prefers a different structure.
Company vs. agreement
Estoy con él can mean “I’m with him” in the sense of being together in the same place. It can also mean “I agree with him,” depending on the conversation. If you want to avoid that second meaning, add a clarifier: Estoy con él en el café (I’m with him at the café).
Dating meaning
When English says “I’m with him” to mean dating, Spanish often uses a relationship verb: Salgo con él (I’m seeing him) or Estoy saliendo con él. If you only mean you’re physically together, stick to estoy con él.
Taking someone’s side
To show agreement or taking a side, Spanish can use Estoy con él or Estoy de su lado. If you’re writing, you can make it explicit: Estoy de acuerdo con él (I agree with him).
Practice mini-drill you can do in five minutes
Short practice beats long study sessions. Try this quick drill and you’ll lock in the accent mark and the sentence rhythm.
- Say con él ten times, slow at first, then at normal speed.
- Swap the verb: Voy con él, Vengo con él, Hablo con él, Trabajo con él.
- Write three lines about your week using con él. Keep each line short.
- Check your accents, then read your lines out loud.
How to avoid awkward repetition in writing
If you’re writing a paragraph and “with him” shows up a lot, Spanish gives you a few clean options. You can swap in a name once, then return to con él. You can also drop the pronoun when the verb already makes the subject clear, then bring it back when needed for clarity.
When two men are in the same sentence, clarify with a name or a description once: Hablo con Luis, y luego voy con él. Readers then know who “él” points to.
Two extra phrases that pair well with “con él”
If you’re building longer sentences, these two chunks show up a lot. They’re simple, and they keep your Spanish from sounding like a word-for-word translation.
“Just with him”
To say “just with him,” Spanish often places solo near the pronoun: Solo con él or Con él solo. Word order shifts by region, yet both are widely understood.
“With him and …”
When you add another person, Spanish stays direct: con él y conmigo, con él y con ella, con él y con mis amigos. Repeating con is optional; many speakers keep it once.
Final check: what to type and what it means
If you only take one thing from this page, make it this: con él is “with him,” and the accent is the signal that it’s a person. Write it that way, say it with a clean “EL,” and you’re set.