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12. WHAT IS MEANT BY FAMILIAR AND FORMAL “You”?
IN ENGLISH There is no difference between “you~~ in the singular and “you” in the plural. If you were in a room with many people and asked aloud, “Are you coming with me?” the “you” could refer to one person or many; it could also refer to close friends or complete strangers, the President of the United States or a dog.
IN SPANISH There is a difference between “you~~ in the singular and “you” in the plural; there is also a difference between the “you” used with close friends, the familiar you, and the “you” used with persons you do not know well, the formal you.
FAMILIAR “YOU” —* TÜ, VOSOTROS OR VOSOTRAS The familiar forms of you are used with members of one’s family, friends, children, and pets. In general, you use the familiar forms with persons you call by a first name.
1. to address one person, male or female (singular) -+ fri
Juan, tcómo estás tü? masc. sing. familiar you
John, how are you?
Maria, tcómo estás td? fern, familiar you
Mary, how are you?
2. to address more than one person (plural) a group of all males or a group of males and females —> vosotros
Juan y Pablo, ~cómo estáis vosotros? masculine plural familiar you
John and Paul, how are you?
J an y Maria, tcómo estáis vosotros? masculine plural familiar you John and Mary, how are you? • a group of all females —* vosotras Maria, y Ana, ~cómo estáis vosotras? feminine plural familiar you
Mary and Ann, how are you? The plural familiar forms vosotros and vosotras are used only in Spain. In Latin America ustedes is used as the plural of tü. See below.
FORMAL “YOU” —* USTED AND USTEDES The formal forms of you are used to address persons you do not know well or persons to whom you should show respect. In general, you use the formal forms with persons you address with a title: Ms. Smith, Mr. Jones, Dr. Anderson, Professor Gómez.
1. to address one person male or female (singular) -4 usted
Señor Gómez, ~cómo está usted? masculine singular formal you
Mr Gómez, how are you? Señora Gómez, ~c6mo está usted? feminine singular formal you
Mrs. Gómez, how are you? 2. to address more than one person, a group of males, females or mixed (plural) —> ustedes
Profesor Gómez y Doctor Garcia, ~cómo están ustedes? I I formal you plural
Professor Gómez and Doctor Garcia, how are you? In Latin America ustedes is the plural of both the familiar and formal forms: vosotros/vosotras are not used. In Latin America ustedes would be used in the following situations. Profesor Gómez y Doctor Garcia, ~cómo están ustedes? formhl you masculine plural Professor Gómez and Doctor Garcia, how are you?
Juan y Maria, ~cómo están ustedes? familiar you mixed group plural John and Mary, how are you? Ana y Maria, jcdmo esthn ust?deu? III familiar you feminine plural Ann and Mary, how are you? Here is a chart you can use as a reference.
ENGLISH SPANISH SPAIN LATIN AMERICA singular you tü plural you vosotros ustedes vosotras singular you usted usted plural you ustedes ustedes
If you are in doubt as to whether to use the familiar or formal forms, use the formal forms unless speaking to a child or animal. The formal forms of you show respect for the person you are talking to and use of familiar form~ can be considered rude if you do not know a person well.
To Choose the Correct Form of “You”
In order to choose the correct form of you in Spanish, you should ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you need the familiar or formal form? 2. If you need the formal form: • Are you speaking to one person? Then the form is singular —* usted • Are you speaking to more than one person? Then the form is plural —* ustedes
3. If you need the familiar form: • Are you speaking to one person? Then the form is singular —* tü • Are you speaking to more than one person? Then the form is plural, but the plural form you will choose depends on the region you are in. • Are you in Latin America? Then the form is the same as the formal plural form —> ustedes • Are you in Spain? Then the form will depend on the gender of the group you are addressing. • Are you speaking to a group of all males or males and females? Then the form is masculine —> vosotros • Are you speaking to a group of all females? Then the form is feminine —* vosotras
Let’s find the Spanish equivalent for you in the following sentences. Mr President, are you coming with us? FAMILIAR OR FORMAL: Formal
SINGULAR OR PLURAL: Singular
Then the form is usted. Señor Presidente, tviene usted con nosotros?
Mr and Mrs. Lado, are you coming with us? FAMILIAR OR FORMAL: Formal
SINGULAR OR PLURAL: Plural
Then the form is ustedes. Señor y señora Lado, tvienen ustedes con nosotros?
John, are you coming with us? FAMILIAR OR FORMAL: Familiar
SINGULAR OR PLURAL: Singular
Then the form is hi. Juan, ~vienes tü con nosotros?
Isabel and Gloria, are you coming with us? FAMILIAR OR FORMAL: Familiar
SINGULAR OR PLURAL: Plural
SPAIN OR LATIN AMERICA: Spain
MALES OR MIXED GROUP OR ALL FEMALES: Females
Then the form is vosotras. Isabel y Gloria penis vosotras con nosotros?
Vincent and John, are you coming with us? FAMILIAR OR FORMAL: Familiar
SINGULAR OR PLURAL: Plural
SPAIN OR LATIN AMERICA: Latin America
Then the form is ustedes. Vicente y Juan tvienen ustedes con nosotros?
Below is a flow chart of the steps you have to follow to find the cor- rect form of “you” in Spanish. It is important that you do the steps in sequence because each step depends on the previous one. YOU FAMILIAR |
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