Many courses skip vosotros “because it’s only Spain”. Then learners arrive in Madrid, sit at a table with friends and everybody says “¿Qué queréis tomar?”. If your ears have never heard it, you freeze.
Vosotros vs ustedes
| Spain | Latin America | |
|---|---|---|
| You all (friends) | vosotros | ustedes |
| You all (formal) | ustedes | ustedes |
Note: in the Canary Islands and parts of western Andalusia, people use ustedes informally too.
Vosotros cheat sheet (present tense)
| Verb | Vosotros | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hablar | habláis | ¿Habláis inglés? |
| comer | coméis | ¿Dónde coméis hoy? |
| vivir | vivís | ¿Vivís en Madrid? |
| ser | sois | ¿De dónde sois? |
| estar | estáis | ¿Cómo estáis? |
| ir | vais | ¿Vais a la fiesta? |
| tener | tenéis | ¿Tenéis hambre? |
| querer | queréis | ¿Qué queréis tomar? |
The rest of the vosotros family
- os (object): Os quiero = I love you (all).
- vuestro / vuestra (your): ¿Es vuestra casa?
- Imperative: ¡Venid! (come!), ¡Sentaos! (sit down!). In speech many people say “¡Venir!”, and you’ll hear it constantly even if textbooks say it’s wrong.
Related: Spanish from Spain or Latin America? and tú or usted in Spain.
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Is vosotros used in Latin America?
No. Latin America uses ustedes for all plural “you”.
Do I need to learn vosotros?
If Spain is your goal, yes, at least to understand it. If not, ustedes works everywhere.
Will Spaniards understand me if I use ustedes?
Yes. It may sound formal or Latin American, but it’s perfectly understood.
What is the vosotros form of ser?
Sois. “¿De dónde sois?” = where are you (all) from?
Is vosotros hard to learn?
No. The endings are regular (-áis, -éis, -ís) and you’ll hear them constantly in Spain.
— Monica Bernabe Perez
$20 symbolic price · 30 minutes · with Mónica
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