Spanish Language and Culture 10-3Y

2.5 Formal vs. Informal

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In Spanish, unlike in English, we use certain pronouns to show respect to the person to whom we are talking. We have a special pronoun for you (usted) for when we need to show respect. Let's look at when to use the formal (usted) and when to use the informal (tú).

Informal	Formal
Use tú when: talking to someone your age or younger talking to a family member	Use usted when: talking to someone older than you talking to a person you don't know talking to someone to show respect

Use vosotros and vosotras when talking to family members, or people your age or younger, only in Spain. Vosotros and vosotras are the plural forms of tú in Spain. It is like saying "all of you" in English. Vosotros or vosotras is only used in Spain. In Latin America, there is not an informal pronoun for "all of you." Instead, we would use the formal "ustedes."

Use ustedes when talking to any group of people (all of you) to show respect. As mentioned above, ustedes is also used in Latin America for "all of you" in informal situations as well. In this and other lessons, we will use ustedes when referring to you plural.

Subject Pronouns Review