You, You, and Now You?

Time for an overdue post about the Spanish language. WARNING: This may only interest Spanish majors/minors.

If I haven't scared you off, a quick Spanish lesson for all non-speakers. There are two main ways to say singular "you" in Spanish: usted (formal) and tú (familiar). Each has its own verb conjugations that everyone learns in Spanish 101.

That was it. At least, until I arrived here.

All of the Central American countries and a few South American countries also use vos. Vos is basically a substitute for tú in terms of respect for the addressee, but is only used heavily in a couple countries (most notably Costa Rica and Argentina). Vos has its own set of conjugations that overlap with tú and is not to be confused with vosotros (a form of saying "y'all" only used in Spain).

I had my host sister explain the perhaps overly-formal Costa Rican use of these terms to me. She told me that basically, a true Tico would never use tú. Usted is always best, but you can use vos with people with whom you have an intimate relationship, excluding parents. This was confirmed when my composition professor asked my class who used vos and tú when talking to their parents: no one raised his or her hand.

Some signs in vos around San José that might puzzle foreigners:

Si vas a tomar, no manejés. (If you're going to drink, don't drive) - PSA

Disfrutá (Enjoy) - Coca-Cola

Llevala con vos...llevá a tu país. (Carry it with you...carry your country) - ICE phone card

Y vos, ¿sos Capitan? (And are you a Captain?) - Captain Morgan

This is something we definitely don't learn in school, but it's OK since (allegedly) most people just call you vos and then use the tú conjugations. Only present tense verbs and commands are different between the two and some verbs like estar and ir don't really change at all. Almost all of the rest of the verbs just add an accent to the tú conjugation. I might need to make using vos a habit...

Pura vida,
Eric