Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Ella, por su parte, llamó ayer.

Ella, por su parte, llamó ayer.

She, for her part, called yesterday.

Breakdown of Ella, por su parte, llamó ayer.

Questions & Answers about Ella, por su parte, llamó ayer.

Why is ella included here? Isn’t Spanish usually a language where you can drop the subject pronoun?

Yes. In Spanish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

So llamó ayer already means she/he called yesterday, depending on context.

Here, ella is included for a reason, usually to:

add contrast
emphasize who did the action
help make the reference clearer in context

In this sentence, that fits especially well because of por su parte, which often sets one person in contrast with another. So Ella, por su parte... is like saying:

She, for her part, called yesterday
As for her, she called yesterday
She, on the other hand, called yesterday

So ella is not grammatically necessary, but it is very natural if the speaker wants emphasis or contrast.

What exactly does por su parte mean?

Por su parte is an expression that often means something like:

for her part
as for her
on her side
meanwhile, she
she, in turn

It usually introduces what that person did or thought, often in contrast with someone else already mentioned.

For example:

Juan no respondió. Ella, por su parte, llamó ayer.
- Juan didn’t reply. She, for her part, called yesterday.

So the phrase does not literally mean a physical part here. It is an idiomatic way to show that we are now talking about that person’s own action or role in the situation.