Five-minute Spanish Lessons - Lesson 1.

You / Tú, Vosotros /as, Vos, Usted, Ustedes (1)

Learners of English often find it strange but there is only one way to address the person, animal (or thing) we are talking to - whether formal or informal: "you":

We should like to invite you to a small inauguration party with wine and light snacks. (Formal invitation to business client)

Nos complace invitarle a una pequeña fiesta de inauguración con vino y tapas. (Spanish "usted" formal)

Do you want to come out for a drink, John?

¿Te apetece salir a tomar una copa, John? (Spanish "tú" informal)

Come over to the grass, Fido; you can't do your business here!

Ven aquí al césped, Lucky; ¡aquí no puedes hacer caca! (Spanish "tú" informal)

Right, tele. I've had it up to here with you! Work now or I'll rip out your cathode ray tubes!

Vale, tele. ¡Se acabó! Funciona ya o te arranco los tubos de rayos catódicos. (Very informal "tú"!)

Exceptions must be when talking to royalty but I shall not go into that in depth for the rare occasions most students have to practise this:

Would you like another cup of tea Your Majesty?

¿Quiere su Majestad tomar otra taza de té?

Learners of Spanish need to be aware of all the possibilities of address and (unfortunately) learn all the accompanying verb forms!

"Tú" is used widely in Spain when you are on a first name basis, or to children and animals. Spanish children usually call adults "tú". But "usted" (formal) is reserved for situations between adults in daily situations such as contact with strangers or respect to older people:

Adult shouts at a child in the street:

Hey, kid! You can't play with your ball round here!

¡Oye, tú, niño! ¡No puedes jugar a la pelota por aquí! (informal)

Adult to adult. To know who is the last in a queue in the bank etc:

Are you the last in the queue?

¿Usted es el último, señor? (formal)

Buying a lottery ticket in Spain:

Have you got one that finishes in a three?

¿Tiene uno que termina en tres? (formal)

I'm sorry, madam. But I've only got left one with forty-seven

Usted, perdone, señora. Pero sólo me queda el cuarenta y siete.

In South America "usted" is more widely used than in Spain. Rules of use vary from country to country but children usually call adults "usted" and in some cases even speak to their parents with "usted". In some South American countries such as Argentina, "vos" may replace "tú" in the informal style. Though the object pronoun is still "te" and the possessive adjective "tu":

I'm going to report you. I'm fed up with you and your dog around here.

Te voy a denunciar. Estoy harto de vos y tu perro por acá.

"Vos", in South America, usually takes another verb form other than the "tu" or "usted" forms. Though these verb forms may differ from region to region so these are best learnt in the country you are visiting:

Marta, my love. You are the joy of my heart.

Marta, mi vida, vos sos la alegría de mi corazón. (Argentina)

The plural informal form "vosotros" ("vosotras" - feminine) is heard mostly in Spain and rarely in South America, where "ustedes" is usually used.

Are you coming to see me this weekend? You can come by car.

¿Venís (vosotras) a verme este fin de semana? Podéis venir en coche. (Spain)

¿Vienen (ustedes) a verme...? Pueden venir... (South America)

Learning the "usted" and "ustedes" verb forms is made easier if the student remembers that they coincide with the third person, eg,: él/ella and ellos/ellas:

Chairman in a formal business meeting. "Como verán" = "You will see" and "They will see":

You will see there are three points on the agenda.

Como verán, el orden del día tiene tres puntos.

However, note that the Spanish use "you" when somebody identifies himself/herself when behind a door, on the phone or anywhere they cannot be seen. This may sound strange for English speakers:

On the phone:

- Hello, Mary.

- Sorry, who is this? / who is it?  (In Spanish, "who are you?")

- It's me, Jane. (In Spanish, "I'm me")

- Oh, hello, Jane. How are you?

- Hola, Mary.

- Perdone, ¿quién es (usted)? / ¿quién eres (tú)?

- Soy yo, Jane.

- Hola, Jane. ¿Qué tal? 

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