usted

Contents

SpanishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

• Vd.
• Ud.

EtymologyEdit

From vuestra merced (literally “"your mercy" (etymological) or "your grace" (idiomatic)”), an honorific style. Compare with the Portuguese você.

PronunciationEdit

• IPA^(key): /usˈted/, [usˈt̪eð]

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eð

PronounEdit

usted m, f (plural ustedes)

1. second person formal; you (singular)
2. (Colombia, chiefly Bogotá) second person informal; you (singular)

Usage notesEdit

• Functionally, usted and ustedes are second person pronouns, but grammatically, the verbs they govern are conjugated in the third person. See Appendix:Spanish pronouns for details.

See alsoEdit

Spanish personal pronouns

				nominative	dative	accusative	disjunctive
first person	singular			yo	me		mí1
	plural	masc.		nosotros	nos		nosotros
		fem.		nosotras			nosotras
second person	singular	tuteo		tú	te		ti1
		voseo		vos			vos
		formal2		usted	le	lo/la3	usted
	plural	familiar4	masc.	vosotros	os		vosotros
			fem.	vosotras			vosotras
		formal/general2		ustedes	les	los/las3	ustedes
third person	singular	masc.		él	le	lo	él
		fem.		ella		la	ella
		neut.		ello5		lo/la3	ello
	plural	masc.		ellos	les	los	ellos
		fem.		ellas		las	ellas
	sing. & pl.	reflexive		—	se		sí1

• Like other masculine Spanish words, masculine Spanish pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
  
• If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g., "Se lo dije" instead of "Le lo dije")

¹ Not used with con; conmigo, contigo, and consigo are used instead, respectively

² Treated as if it were third-person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity

³ Depending on the implicit gender of the object being referred to

⁴ Used primarily in Spain

⁵ Used only in rare circumstances

ReferencesEdit