Informal and Polite Address

Level 2

Tu, vosaltres, vostè, vostès and vós require different agreement patterns.

How It Works

Tu takes second-person singular verbs, while vosaltres takes second-person plural. Vostè addresses one person formally but uses third-person singular: vostè té. Vostès addresses several people and uses third-person plural: vostès tenen.

Respectful singular vós uses second-person plural verbs: vós teniu. Its use varies with region, tradition and institutional context. An adjective describing a single person addressed as vós is normally singular and agrees with that person, despite the plural verb form.

Keep your choice consistent across verbs and pronouns. Disculpi, vol seure? addresses vostè; disculpa, vols seure? addresses tu. Formality is a relationship and context choice, not a judgment that one form is always more polite than another in every encounter.

Examples (3)

  1. Tu tens un moment?

    Do you have a moment? (Informal singular.)

  2. Vostè vol seure aquí?

    Would you like to sit here? (Formal singular.)

  3. Vostès tenen reserva?

    Do you have a reservation? (Formal plural.)

How It Connects

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Informal and Polite AddressLevel 2

Learn This First

Understand grammatical person in finite verb agreement.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

vosaltresvostèsvós