Usted/Ustedes

DaveG

DaveG

OK, What is the difference bewteen Usted es and ustedes son???? they are both "You Are"
Loriann

Loriann

Piece of cake, walk in the park, Dave... Usted is the polite, formal form of you in the singular form (a term you would use with elders, people in positions of authority, or someone you would address as Mr. or Mrs.) Tu is the informal singular you, for when you're speaking to friends, children, etc. Ustedes is the plural you used as in "you guys". This term for the plural you is used in the vast overwhelming majority of the Spanish-speaking world. The only place that I personally am aware of where they use "vosotros" insead of "ustedes" is Spain itself... so don't sweat it. Just worry about using ustedes in the same way you would use ellos and ellas, and you'll be just fine.
Loriann

Loriann

Dave - I don't know if I suggested this to you before or not (so if I did, just ignore me or tell me where to go... LOL) but you might want to look into getting a good book with Spanish verbs and their conjucations in the various tenses. It will help you immensely. One good book is The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs (if memory serves me, it's $15 or less on Amazon.com) It's an enormously helpful tool.
nohablo

nohablo

In addition to Loriann's excellent suggestion, you might also take a look at the free supplementary materials available from Rocket Spanish, especially the Beginners Spanish book (in .pdf format). In the first chapter (section 1.4, p. 21) you'll find a section entitled "Which 'You' Should You Use?" It talks about Tú, Usted, and Ustedes (and Vosotros).

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