10
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of "tuteándome" in Spanish?
It is the gerund conjugation of verb "tutear", which is "tuteando", plus the personal pronoun "me". "Tutear" means to treat someone with the colloquial singular 2nd person "tú" particle, instead of ...
- 314
10
votes
Accepted
Tratamiento formal plural en Argentina: "vosotros" versus "ustedes"
Vosotros no se emplea en Argentina, ni siquiera de manera formal. Hace unos cuantos años se lo podía oír aún, junto con las formas posesivas (vuestro, vuestra, y sus plurales) y las formas verbales de ...
- 39.2k
9
votes
What is the etymology of the pronoun "usted"? What formal pronouns existed before?
Usted is derived from "vusted", an archaic shortening of "Vuestra Merced", an old Spanish way of saying [lit.] "your mercy" (similar to the honorific "your grace").
From the Diccionario de la lengua ...
- 191
8
votes
¿Quiénes son los más afectados por el ustedeo?
Chiste que muestra la amplia diferencia entre "usted" y "tu":
El director general de un banco se preocupaba por un joven director estrella que después de un periodo de trabajar junto a él, sin ...
- 1,317
8
votes
Accepted
"Pay your respects" in Spanish
I've always seen it translated as «presentar los respetos (de alguien a alguien)»:
Realizar manifestaciones de cortesía a alguien. Presenté mis respetos a su esposa. —Source.
And, I add, can be ...
- 2,387
8
votes
Accepted
En España, ¿el Gobierno usa "tú" o "usted"?
Para cualquier correspondencia formal, el estado español usará solo usted (además, usará el tratamiento «don» o «doña» para todos).
Es posible encontrar ejemplos del tuteo en, por ejemplo, campañas ...
- 29.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to use "tú" (tutear) when addressing a stranger in Spain?
I'm not from Spain but I think the following will work anywhere, basically. What you're referring to is called the T–V distinction and, though it shows itself as a distinction between formal and ...
- 39.2k
7
votes
¿Es "Que sí/ Que no" incorrecto o agresivo como respuesta a una pregunta?
Yes/Indeed, I've tried that
puede expresarse como
Sí, lo he probado.
Efectivamente, lo he probado.
El causante del tono agresivo es el "que". En mi opinión se interpreta como:
(Ya te he ...
- 1,039
7
votes
Do Spaniards care much about "usted"?
Your conclusion is right. Using 'tú' is nowadays the norm in conversations between people who know one another, even in a work environment. Even people who object to the increasing use of 'tú' would ...
6
votes
"Pay your respects" in Spanish
In addition to what guillem mentioned, if I am correct, this phrase is also used when someone dies, and you want to say something to the person who lost the loved one. In this case, you can say:
...
- 682
6
votes
Accepted
Formalidad de "Tu mujer"
You can use "tu mujer" when refers to your wife, but "tu esposa" is more formal. By example when I go to present my wife to another person I never say "Les presento a mi mujer" I say "Les presento a ...
- 1,044
6
votes
Accepted
¿Es "Que sí/ Que no" incorrecto o agresivo como respuesta a una pregunta?
Sí se puede entender con esa connotación, porque tiene el sentido de
(Ya te he dicho) que sí lo he probado
con ese que introduciendo una oración relativa que refiere a un antecedente expreso (...
- 47.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Addressing a person in mail, person has a title
As stated on wikipedia
Formal salutations. Only written.
"Estimado" (+ name or title "Señor". "Sr." is the abbreviation). For male. Example for a man called Juan García: "Estimado Juan" ...
- 4,494
5
votes
¿Quiénes son los más afectados por el ustedeo?
En Argentina y Uruguay, en casi cualquier situación, incluso con desconocidos, se usa el "vos". El "usted" es sólo para casos formales, como ser al referirse a un superior en el trabajo o a un ...
- 71
5
votes
How formal is "cuán"? What are the informal alternatives?
"Cuan" may be an unusual word for American-Spanish talkers but in Spain is quite common, at least in the "quantitative meaning" in questions. Other uses are not very very frequent and, usually, "cuan" ...
5
votes
What is the meaning of "tuteándome" in Spanish?
I think the most accurate yet outdated translation of tutear would be to call thee.
As Gabriel Staples said in his comments, in Old English they had two words: thou (second person, singular informal) ...
- 77.2k
5
votes
Use of "usted" to convey formality *and* affection? (in Ecuador)
I do not know much about Ecuadorian way of speaking but since you asked about Colombia let me say this.
We mainly use two forms: Usted and Vos. (there are many questions on this site about tuteo and ...
- 10.6k
5
votes
Accepted
"Estimado Equipo de (nombre de la empresa)", ¿es correcto?
Descargo de responsabilidad: Esta respuesta está basada en mi interpretación del idioma y por tanto aplica al español de España.
Supongamos por un momento que la empresa es ACME. La carta empezaría ...
- 77.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Grados de formalidad en las expresiones para ir al baño
La variedad de maneras en que nos referimos a la susodicha habitación y, por metonimia, al acto que realizamos en ella, es impresionante en el mundo hispanoparlante. Que se los llama aseos en España ...
- 39.2k
5
votes
Using “tener” as English “to have” to ask for things (“can I have...?”)
Replying to my own question, a couple of points:
Tener is not used in the same way as English to have when it means "to receive" (an item) or "to consume" (a drink, a bite of something).
Tener cannot ...
- 39.2k
5
votes
Using "he/she" and "usted's" possessive pronoun in a sentence
You don't. There is ambiguity. Without context or further clarification is impossible to know in whose notebook he was writing. Ambiguity is an intrinsic characteristic of human conversations and ...
- 47.9k
5
votes
¿Por qué cambiar "usted" con "tú"?
Sin conocer el contexto es difícil responder. Usted generalmente expresa respeto, formalidad o distanciamiento, comparado con tú, pero en algunos dialectos es al revés y se usa de manera familiar.
Si ...
- 39.2k
5
votes
Usage of "tú" between men, implying homosexuality?
Regional prevalence
Yes, this implication of pronoun use is found in dialects of several central American countries:
Autores como Villegas (1963), Micheau (1991), Castro (2000) y la Real Academia ...
- 19.2k
5
votes
Why can the third person plural also mean ‘you’ like second person but never ‘we‘ like first person?
Maybe you're getting confused with the conjugation of the verbs, e.g.
Yo quedo.
Tú quedas.
Él/ella/Ud. queda.
Nosotros quedamos(e.g. we're unemployed)
Vosotros quedáis (e.g. "Os habéis quedado ...
- 2,034
4
votes
What is the etymology of the pronoun "usted"? What formal pronouns existed before?
Evolution and etymology of of usted
Usted comes ultimately from the phrase vuestra merced ("your grace"). Between the XIII and XIV centuries, the 'formal' second person singular pronoun vos ...
- 19.2k
4
votes
How do I ask someone not to call me "usted"?
Is it ever inappropriate (by situation or geography) to ask to be referred to in the tú form instead of usted?
Disclaimer: This answer could be very specific to a region but still answers this part ...
- 6,978
4
votes
¿Quiénes son los más afectados por el ustedeo?
En Bogotá, Colombia, es demasiado frecuente el "ustedear" de hombre a hombre bajo casi toda circunstancia. Tanto que incluso para mí, bogotano de nacimiento, es demasiado.
Puede que conozcas a una ...
- 201
4
votes
Accepted
"Armar un lío", es muy casual o apropriado para contenido formal?
A pesar de ser una expresión bastante coloquial e informal, no es tan inapropiada en el lenguaje formal como para no poder usarla.
Si quieres mantener un tono muy serio en el correo sustitúyela por ...
- 47.9k
4
votes
Addressing a person in mail, person has a title
In Spanish the proper way is Dr. (male) or Dra. (female). Both are abbreviations of doctor and doctora, respectively. If you use the whole word, it can be used in lower case, but if you use the ...
- 77.2k
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