Voseo

Voseo is the use of the second person singular pronoun vos in several dialects of Spanish, instead of tú, which is often considered the standard. Vos is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular in various countries around Latin America, including Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay, but only in Argentina, Uruguay, and increasingly in Paraguay, is it also the standard written form. In the dialect of Argentina and Uruguay (known as Rioplatense Spanish) vos is also the standard form for use in television media. Vos may also be present in other countries as a limited regionalism (For instance The "Maracucho" spanish used in Maracaibo,Venezuela).

Related Topics:
Second person - Singular - Pronoun - Spanish - Argentina - Costa Rica - Ecuador - Guatemala - Honduras - Nicaragua - Paraguay - Uruguay - Rioplatense Spanish - Maracaibo - Venezuela

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This pronoun comes from the Old Spanish form vos, which was the formal expression for the second person of the singular (in contrast with the modern usted), while vosotros was the formal expression for the second person of the plural. Nevertheless, vos is now an informal form, used instead of tú.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Below is a comparison table of the conjugation of several verbs for tú and for vos, and next to them the one for vosotros, the informal second person plural currently used only in Spain. The accented forms (vos and vosotros) and the infinitives are stressed in the last syllable; the tú forms are stressed on the penultimate one. Note the alternations (caused by stress shift) in the roots of poder and venir.

Related Topics:
Spain - Infinitive - Stress - Alternations - Root

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It should be noted that some Uruguayan speakers combine the pronoun tú with the vos conjugation (for example, tú sabés).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The independent accusative pronoun ti is also replaced by vos. That is, vos is both nominative and accusative, as well as the form to use after prepositions. Therefore para ti "for you" becomes para vos, etc. The preposition-pronoun compound contigo "with you" becomes con vos.

Related Topics:
Accusative - Nominative - Preposition

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The pronoun vos is usually informal, like tú in other varieties of Spanish, and contrasts with the formal usted, but appropriate usage varies by dialect. While vos may be considered uneducated in some dialects, it is standard in others. Voseo was long considered a reprehensible practice by prescriptionist grammarians (with the idea that only Castilian Spanish is good Spanish), but it is now regarded simply as a local variant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~