Tú and Usted

In Spanish, as in any other languages, there are two forms of treatment or addressing someone. This uses the singular form, tú and usted.

Usted uses the conjugation of verbs and pronouns in the third person singular and ustedes with the third person plural. This could be somewhat confusing for students because they might think that usted and ustedes are part of the third person, but it is not.

In Spanish the form of treatment usted is used less than in other languages. The plural of tú is vosotros and of usted, ustedes. But in Latin America it is not used the way vosotros: It is used the form ustedes. Vostros is only used in Spain. In addition, in many regions of the Southern Cone and Central America, for the second person singular, is used vos.

In Spain and Latin America, in the labor world, for example, among colleagues in the same or similar category tú is normally used. Among young people always tú is used and many seniors allow young people into use tú, but young people have to be used in many cases the form usted ( doctors , police officers , seniors should be addressed with the form usted) in schools and universities, teachers usually allow students and most teachers accept the familiarity on the part of students because it creates an atmosphere even more comfortable and that creates a better student-teacher relationship.

When you start a conversation with a person that you do not know, it is better to start with the form usted and then, if that person allows or invites him/her to use the endearment for tú only then we can use it.  Otherwise think the other person is a form of rudeness or lack of respect for the person to whom it is addressed.

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