Modes of Address
Spanish: AQA A Level, topic 16.31.1
Formas de dirigirse a alguien - Modes of address
In Castilian Spanish (i.e. Spanish spoken in Spain and its islands), there are formal and informal ways of addressing someone.
Informal 'you'
- If you are addressing someone you know well or you are an adult addressing someone younger, you may choose to use the informal versions of 'you'.
- Tú in the singular
- Vosotros/vosotras in the plural
Formal 'you'
- If you are addressing someone in authority, someone you are meeting for the first time or someone older, you would address the person as:
- Usted (shortened version is Vd) in the singular
- Ustedes (Vds) in the plural
- The verb form for the formal 'you' is the third person singular (ie, the el/ella form).
Examples
- Perdone, ¿usted me puede decir donde está la gasolinera más cercana?
- Excuse me, can you tell me please where the nearest petrol station is?
- ** ¿Dónde estais? Llevo veinte minutos buscándoos.**
- Where are you all? I’ve been looking for you all for twenty minutes.
Test yourself on Modes of Address
How do you say in Spanish 'you may sit' when the person you are speaking to is an old lady?