01003 Spanish Lesson - formal vs. informal

[sharpknifesedge]

Do you really say "usted" that often? because in Italian you generally use just the conjugated verb, you don't say "Lei" all that often.

[tontitofrito]

@sharpknifesedge No, it's generally understood with the verb..

¿Cómo está Usted? / ¿Cómo está? (would both be fine)

[sharpknifesedge]

@tontitofrito Thanks for the fast reply.

[Rocco111087]

@sharpknifesedge in italy we use that form too! we say "lei" to translate "she" and we use the same pronoun to translate the spanish form "usted" that literally doesn't exist in english... and "lei" is very used in italy!!

[xiaocurrypuff]

OMG formal and informal speech are so confusing

[cassmckay17]

AWSOME



[BulletToothPikey]

i think the word "usted" comes from the arabic "ustaz" which means "sir" or "mister". something i concluded just now

[tontitofrito]

@BulletToothPikey

Actually it is a contraction of the two words:

"Vuestra merced" which was used to address royalty and meant "your grace". It was shortened over time to: "usted"

[BulletToothPikey]

@tontitofrito you sure? i mean that's quite a coincidence that these two words are so similar and have the same meaning, especially seeing as how spain was conquered by the arabs for many years

[lackiest1]

@BulletToothPikey Be sure, I'm spanish, and Usted is the contraction of the old form "Vuestra Merced", used to express maximum respect (if you read "Capitan Alatriste", you can see that anything below "Vuestra Merced" is almost an insult), usually used for authorities, kings, and very respectful people, also to strangers and anytime you wanted to be very respectful... today we only use "Usted" (wich is almost the same) but we use it for strangers, older people, work (just like the video says)

[cassmckay17]

i like your spanish videos

[kodak1191]

how can you say "Nice to meet you." in formal way?

[lackiest1]

@kodak1191 "Es un placer conocerle" but this is very very respectful, even keeping distance between the two speakers, usually we use "Es un placer" for everybody, formal or not. We use also "Encantado" more usually or "Encatado de conocerle" for a formal way. If you want an advice, just use "Encantado" an you never will be wrong.

[kodak1191]

@lackiest1 gracias :-)

[barbiloify]

cool.. thanks 4da videos bt how da hell do i remember it all?

[odie798]

@sugasweet1992 It would be familiar....."tú" form because they are so close to you

[sugasweet1992]

what about parents would that be formal or informal? because it kind of fits under both catagories.

[lackiest1]

@sugasweet1992 Well, that is curious... In 90% of cases, parents is very familiar, so "Tú" is the correct thing... but there are some villages where they use "Usted" for parents, kind of culture thing of the most deepest Spain (not usually, we use "Tú" for every member of the family, trust me)

[itsxnotxaxsmallworld]

LOL ... I used the "tu" form with a complete stranger that was older than me haha :P

[6493caro]

@itsxnotxaxsmallworld ??? Don't you have respect.

I'm French and we have formal adverbs as well.

I just hate when foreigners do play by the rules.

[olgolu]

"VOS" is from Spain dialect, but in the countries from Normal Spanish "Tú" is much better than "Vos" so don't confuse, "just say "Tú" alright? ;)

[lackiest1]

@olgolu Vos???? That is not from Spain, you are wrong. "Vos" is from Argentina, wich are in the other part of the Earth... You will NEVER hear "Vos" from any spanish people, don't get you wrong...

[olgolu]

@lackiest1 lol eres de Argentina ¿verdad?

[lackiest1]

@olgolu No, lo cierto es que soy Español, de Castilla-La Mancha

[olgolu]

@lackiest1 entonces sí tienes razón, creo que debí confundirlo con "Vosotros" ¿no?

[rebek0609]

@lackiest1 no es solo de argentina..

[tontitofrito]

@1eyesnipe

es = he/she is => ¿Cuál es tu nombre? = What is your name?

se = himself /herself / yourself => ¿Cómo se llama? = What does he call himself? / What does she call herself? / What do you call yourself?

[yvonnewongdds]

I love your videos. They are very well made and easy to follow. What is another way to practice spanish? I wished there were shows in Spanish that had english subtitles so I could follow through. Do you know of any shows with english subtitles?

[tontitofrito]

@yvonnewongdds You could just buy dvds here and there (especially kids movies) and see if they have a Spanish audio track, then you can put English subtitles on... although sometimes you'll notice certain things are translated differently to sync up with the mouths when they dub.

[SHMYusuf17]

Why would you speak Spanish the president of UNITED STATES?

[thesock77]

LOVE IT !!!.....GRACIAS

[ilovedavidsilva]

im learning spanish becuase if i meet david silva i can talk to him. Thanks for this, i have to use the 'usted' to him then? yeah. you're great, thanks!

[skatejam7]

dude, your spanish videos are awesome. thanks man! im only learning it out of general interest, if i ever got to use it, it would be awesome :P

[Dementcha]

this is basic and easy, the vocabulary is the hardest part, I'm from mexico and I don't even know some words in spanish XD.

[rebek0609]

in costa rica we use "VOS" or "USTED" in formal or infomal way... it does´nt matter. It´s depend on the country that you are

[lackiest1]

@rebek0609 Tienes razón, hay muchos sitios en Sudamérica (como en méxico) que utilizan usted de forma familiar, para amigos e incluso para tus propios hijos, pero aquí en España usted es solo usado para mostrar respeto ante extraños o personas superiores, como jefes o miembros importantes, o para gente mayor.

[rebek0609]

@lackiest1

mexico no esta en suramerica pero como sea ese no es el punto... tengo entendido q en Mexico solo se utiliza el "usted" para formalidades... eso creo D:! me corrigen si estoy equivocada xD

[scrubmacdub]

hey man im guna watch your videos every day before i go to central america, since my current level of spanish is zero! thanks a lot for posting :)

[angelusp777]

?respecto el presidente  de América? NO gracias

[ManWhoLovesTheMary]

!Gracias for another informative video! Would a verb like "ir" (to go) have a formal and informal command? I know "you go" (va), but "you go (formal" (vais) is confusing me a bit. To a friend, you would say "! va al banco!" by my understanding; but to a parent would you say "! vais al banco!"? I know this is probably pretty straightforward but I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes when confronting people.

[tontitofrito]

@ManWhoLovesTheMary

Sorry for the confusion...

If you're telling someone to do something (command) it's a little different:

ve - (you) go

vaya - (you) go [usted form]

vayan - (you all) go / id - (you all) go [vosotros in Spain]

[lackiest1]

@tontitofrito you are right, except for "vayan"... "vayan" is for the plural of usted (ustedes) so, vayan is a respect way to say the imperative... the familiar and most usual way to say it is "id", for example: "Id a la estación de tren a sacar el ticket", or "Coged las tijeras y podad las parras", these two examples are for familiar use of the imperative in plural... but the most spanish change the final "d" for an "r", but this is a mistake (we say "coger" or "ir" for imperative mistakenly)

[tontitofrito]

@lackiest1

If you re-read my comment, I said "id" was used for the imperative of 2nd person plural of ir in Spain, which it is.

However, in Latin America (not Spain), ustedes is the preferred 2nd person plural (regardless of formality) and for the imperative of ir, we would say: vayan.

[lackiest1]

@tontitofrito You're right, I might skip that part, I was only trying to clarify the imperative in formal and informal way, which is very simple, actually (more than indicative or subjuntive conjugations)

[lackiest1]

@ManWhoLovesTheMary If you say "Va al banco", it's not a command, it's a fact (present simple) for third person "(él) Va al banco". If you want to give a command to a familiar (friend) person, you say "Vete al banco" or "Ve al banco" for singular, or "Id al banco" for plural. "Vete" is two words, "Ve" and "te" that is a retrospective form. "Vete" is more usual. For the formal way, you use "Vaya (usted) al banco" for singular or "Vayan (ustedes) al banco" for plural. Hope this help you...

[androstempest]

I notice locally that the tu forms are used far more commonly, even among children speaking to adults - which I find slightly annoying when I took the time to learn it and they seem to not bother. I do find the usted conjugation problematic and look forward to seeing some written rules as I find myself mixing them. It isn't uncommon for me to say something like "de donde eres usted" or "como estas usted".

[lackiest1]

@androstempest That two conjugations are incorrect... You must use the third person conjugation for usted, either for plural and singular. So, if you say "¿Cómo está él?" you must say "¿Cómo está usted?", and if you say "¿Cómo están ellos?" you must say "¿Cómo están ustedes?". You use the third person form for the "Usted or ustedes" form, even if you are talking directly to the person, you use the third person form... Hope this help

[christy8891]

What is the difference between nos vemos más tarde and hasta luego? I'm confused..

[tontitofrito]

@christy8891

'Nos vemos' might be more common among certain people while 'hasta luego' might be preferred by others. They both are used to mean "see you later"

[lackiest1]

@tontitofrito Yeah, the two are very common, but "Hasta luego" are more common, actually... but, since those are familiar ways to say "see you later", we actually pronounce it like "Ta luego"... In case you hear "Ta luego" it means "Hasta luego"... We also say "Ale, adiós", "Que te vaya bien", "Ta mañana" to say goodbye...

[latamaritabonita]

Again, another very useful video for some basic pronunciation; I'll be connecting it to my blogs for teaching Spanish on wordpress at latamaritabonita and for IST's language blog on wordpress at istlanguages; Muchas gracias for all your hard work! Sra. Tamara

[NicoleAgent]

I always use the usted form when talking to my customers at work. It always makes them smile to be addressed so respectfully and in Spanish.

[PabloM02]

Nice videos! It's hard to teach a neutral spanish (It'll always vary between countries), but you do a great job!

[MultiJaymore]

HI i really love this spanish lessons coz you make them so easy to understand but i have one question.its about es in de donde es usted? It means where are you from doesnt es mean is or does it also mean are?

[JesKaulitzGermanotta]

que buenos tus videos

si que sabes enseñar español ^^

[kelseankimx3]

Thanks for the videos! :D

I was failing Spanish, but I understand now o_o

[miegerrobsten]

i have a question. Do people in Argetina or in general revese when they ask?

[Jakersssssss]

why would you be speaking spanish to the president of the united states?

[LindaDooWop]

What a fantastic teacher you are! I'm so grateful!

[tavashichio]

Thank you so much!

[devkamadara]

Greatest Be Naughty women benaughtyman.info

[wwefansworld]

claro nosotros nos matamos aprendiendo ingles y ustedes aprenden español

[mocafester]

hablas mal

[MrSamwinston]

verygood teaching' hope i learn the basics soon. help me for my travel in spain

[IveGotPhotoWithSarah]

hello, nice work, I am beggining to learn spanish, and I really like Your lessons, but please, tell me how to use it? I mean, with all those numbers - which lesson is first, and which number goes further on? thanks!

[tontitofrito]

You can look at the playlists on my channel page and they have the videos in order for you. ;-)

[CristhianBlazter]

@tontitofrito Me gusta tu pronunciación del idioma español congratulations !

[CristhianBlazter]

@tontitofrito Me gusta tu pronunciación del idioma español congratulations !

[Bogee195]

we have the same "formal, informal" thing in Hungarian but there are bigger differences here :D there are about three formal forms in our language :)

[MarieC4username]

omgosh Spanish was literally killing me before I found your videos!

Thanks so much:D

[lwe81]

thanks for the video. awesome

[123MzV]

your lessons arevery helpful :)

[gdgdgd01]

pues aqui en colombia sobre todo en la capital y sus alrededores se usa usted entre amigos, es raro pero si se hace alla no se tutea mucho pero algunos usan "vos" (tu) como en argentina y en paises de sur america y en una region de colombia

[rebek0609]

@gdgdgd01 sí, es muy similar a como hablamos los "ticos"

de hecho cuando viajo a otros paises siempre me confunden con colombiana! hasta colombianos me confunden con ellos xDD

[hmily2005]

Thank you for sharing! Gracias! ^^

[gnn510]

Hey, i like what you're doing, it's really helpful.

But this lesson i didn't understand all of it, you see when changed the questions you removed letters, added some (se),(es), and that made me confused..

Do I have to learn about it now ? or it just by time i'll figure it out ??

Thnx,,

[Meya12y]

you're gooodddd thanks for helping

[mkb1987]

You are the best!!!

[romanomar]

Thanks for ur easy Lessons .

If I meet the president of America I will askhim , De Donde es Usted ? :D

[BRoKeN1190]

wow i like ur lessons they`r the best

but u`ve said usteth not usted ,so it is usted or usteth?

[tontitofrito]

the d is softened from what our English ears are accustomed to. It is 'usted'

[BRoKeN1190]

@tontitofrito thank u ^.^

[gwenroses]

please make more videos pls love them !

[TeacherPhilEnglish]

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­eeee

[aroy900]

You say that usted is added to give a context to a question, is it necessary to add usted onto the end of every question which you ask a person, or would it be more normal to just use usted for the initial question? For example if I were to say ' como esta usted?', once they'd answered would it then be more appropriate to say 'de donde es?' or should I still add usted onto the end?

[luvmydimples]

GRACIAS el Sr. JORDANIA. LAS LECCIONES SON DE IMPORTANTE. Yo LOS QUIERO.

[713HoustonePlaya]

this is proper spainish...my grandma told me that the spainish they teach us is real proper everbody in my family speaks slang spainish.....i think slang spainish is more easyer than proper spainish......

[reinavidajose12]

REALLY HELPFUL... BRILLIANT!!!!

[everbodyisgay]

dude get out of ur parents house

[belenr124]

I use the ''Tu'' for all you never use the''Usted''

from Chile:)

[xgeriuz]

Están Tú, Usted y te falto Vos ...

[sevencoloriris]

Hi, I am learning Spanish from my second language (English). Your lessons are very easy to understand. Thank you so much for uploading these videos.

But Could you please make the explanation in English a little bit slower? I missed out some part of it. Gracias...

[knowyourspirit]

I am new to spanish, and living in a spanish speaking country now. This video is very friendly and useful. Thanks very much!!

[edomilies]

my first time to learn language with fun thank you

[MrMusicfan94]

You are good in teaching spanish.... i wouldn't say im fluent but im almost there!

[ilovejoedon]

i'm a freshman, and taking spanish 1 this year.

your video's have helped me a TONNNNN.

thanks (:

[gabo262]

jaja excelente forma de enseñar español!

Tú hablas español? o dónde aprendiste a hablarlo?

[AdriNexus2127]

Permiteme felicitarte porque es el único curso de español en línea que realmente considero que vale la pena. Sería genial que continuaras con estas clases porque realmente tus ejemplos son buenos, prácticos y bien pronunciados. Un abrazo y por favor continua con mas videos y si quieres ayuda en algo con gusto te colaboro.

[gijkj]

ya thats why i dont realy like my spanish class cause im from argentina but grew up with english so i know mostly argentine spanish which is a little diff then what my spanish teacher knows but like she cares xD

[tontitofrito]

It's tricky as teachers because we try to teach a 'standard' Spanish that doesn't exist. I would hope your teacher would care though and use your Spanish to educate the student about differences in different regions, countries, classes, etc!

[italiankahlan]

me 2!

sometimes my argentine spanish slips through and everyone gets all confused

[ShavedIce94]

we used your videos for my spanish class

[gaston16z]

in argentina we don't use ''TU'' we use ''VOS''

[tontitofrito]

True.

[gaston16z]

@tontitofrito

pero de esa manera confundirias a los estudiantes, ya que solo se usa ''VOS'' en argentina.....felicitaciones por tu video.

[zmile11]

No solo en Argentina , tambien Colombia ,El Salvador ,Honduras y Guatemala , Viaja mas amigo y sabras donde mas se usan ciertas palAbras.

[gaston16z]

equivocado...el lunfardo ''vos'' se tomo apartir de distintas inmigraciones realizadas por los paises vecinos de argentina,de esta manera se empezo a emplear la palabra. Y no temas, soy agente de turismo, VIAJO MUCHO.

[tontitofrito]

Resulta que tiene que ver con la historia del idioma castellano. Cuando la gente venía a las Américas, 'el voseo' en España había pasado por cambios hasta que significaba algo como 'tú'. En respuesta a eso, se creó 'vosotros' para hablar en el plural. Y 'el voseo' se dejaba de usar en España porque el tuteo ya existía. Yo tengo entendido que el voseo no llegó a ser por Argentina, sino que llegó a ser por los inmigrantes y marineros de España aunque ya no se usaba en la península.

[jamesdudu]

@tontitofrito Soy de España y tienes razón, el "vos" se utilizaba en España, en el castellano antiguo, hace algunos siglos para referirse a "tu".

[belenr124]

es verdad pero se usa mas el tu en mas paises Argentina es el unico pais en donde se usa el ''vos'' xd

[tatathereal]

@gaston16z that was in argentina speak a spanish with accent dood xD...

[XatruchJ8]

@gaston16z Ciertas provincias colombianas también "Vocean" en lugar de "Tutear"

y también desde Nicaragua pasando por Honduras, El Salvador y Guatemala también usamos "VOS" en vez de "TU" ( que por cierto para mi el "TU" suena gay)

[dynoh]

@XatruchJ8 ¿El tu suena gay? hahaha, no te entiendo, ¿que tiene que ver tu con gay?

[matyasgmail]

@gaston16z es cierto...pero si dices tu igual se entiende......es lo mismo

[game1606]

@gaston16z pero en argentina ustedes usan un español mas usado en españa

[BOOM3headshots]

@gaston16z ...That's Castillian O_O The Spanish teacher said that dialect is only used in Spain, lol

[dxx92]

wow bueno son buenas sus lecciones Saludos

[julia2009z]

You are great! Thanks for the videos.

[ARYT13]

What's the difference between "Te" and "Se"?

[tontitofrito]

'te' with tú (you (familiar))

'se' with usted (you (formal))

[mlr888]

claro :-) gracias senior

[matthew767xbxbxb]

que bien is what good because que hore es is what time is it lol you suck and gues what i'm only in 7th grade

[tontitofrito]

Actually, "¡qué bien!" means "good job", muchacho.

[tHrEeDaYsGrAcE88]

You are very rude. If you're such an expert on Spanish, why don't you post your own videos?

[osamah1986]

u r great.....ur lessons r great ...they r helping me so mmuch....thanks...

[tterminal]

gracias!! gracias amigo!

[kanappe0808]

Hola! Soy japonesa. Me gusta tu video! :))))

Arigato! Gracias!!

[shawtayluvs1024]

i will be learning spanish next year, and i will get a head started thanks to you, sr. jordan!! muchas gracias!

[micheljr17]

hola tontitofrio, me llamo jaime michel, yo hablo español pero solo tengo una pregunta tienes un video para los acentos soy horible, tome tres años de español en la escuela, y ya me gradue. solo que para el colegio mi consegero quiere que tome una clase avanzada, quiere que empieze en Spanish Speakers 2, por eso quiero practicar.

[maxooo5]

Yu soy aprandor español ^_^

[KENCOZ10]

Thanks im learning spanish in school im 14 and this is what i want to do when im older learning the spanish catalan language fluently, i also have a spanish tutor and with the addition of this it could really benefit me. Gracias

[Pwnsfreaks]

Te llamas = You call yourself : )

I'm sure you knew that, but it's just a little annoying correction x p

I'm an 14 year old guy, learning spanish at school, and your videos helps a lot, and I get an advantage at school, and of course great results! : )

Thanks!

[tontitofrito]

¡qué bien!

[xFramm]

To call and to name is "Llamar" in Spanish

[NeonMite]

How come the te changes to se between:

"Cómo TE llamas"

"Cómo SE llama usted"

[tontitofrito]

short explanation:

It just does.

Long explanation:

we use reflexive pronouns in front of the verb 'llamar' because people call them self their name:

me llamo (I call myself)

te llamas (he calls himself)

se llama (he calls himself / she calls herself /

you(form) call yourself)

nos llamamos (we call ourselves)

se llaman (they call themselves, you all call yourselves)

[tontitofrito]

oops, typo...

'te llamas' should say '(you call yourself)'

[T3rr0r86]

¿Cómo te llamas? --> What's your name?

¿Cómo se llama usted? --> What's your name?

It's the same for both.

[tifred0102]

the second one is more polite form

[psycopower90]

Hola maestro de idioma espanol! Me agrada mucho tu leccion! Excelente trabajo! Se sujecta perfectamente!

[tontitofrito]

Molto bene!... grazie per il tuo comentario! ;-)

[JulianTheMagnificent]

mucho gracias i've always wanted to learn spanish but it was really hard n boring to do ib by myself n not hearin someone who speak spanish every day so one more time thank you very much! !mucho gracias! :-) :D

[bonsai099]

Merci ! Thank you ! Gracias

[s0lrak007]

i think, it will take me days to master the 'd' sound.

[icanp00nyou]

I have a question. When you use usted in a scentece is it drected to a male, female, or both?

[tontitofrito]

Good question.

'Usted' can be used for either one male or female.

[imadumbass0691]

most people charge money for what you are doing. its nice to see there is someone out there like you. thanks a mill!

[socrplayr1329]

i love these little spanish videos.

[secretstar312]

Thank you , Thank you , Thank you :))

[onlinefriend2000]

Thanks so much, your great.

[playstati0n]

you speak very clearly and you make everything very easy to learn.. i find it hard just to read the grammar rules from a book, so this is VERY helpful! gracias señor! I hope you will keep these videos here!! muy bien! :)

[bunengkikay]

wow great and helpful vidz.. keep it up....

[jairoo9]

es completamente entendible no usar el usted. Ej: "¿cómo está?"

[tontitofrito]

Como no. Es entendible pero sí puede causar confusión en varias situaciones.

[audijam]

En español no, la congujación del verbo te indica todo, puedes prescindir del pronombre en todo momento :)

[Sinnick88]

Pero supongo que querra decir que puede confundirse "¿cómo esta? (usted)" con "¿cómo esta (el)?" Ten en cuenta que en ingles usan siempre los pronombres, para ellos puede ser confuso.

Buen trabajo profe ;) Son unos videos buenisimos.

[smile08Godiswithus]

Good job! :)

[tontitofrito]

¡Gracias!