article: Tú vs. Usted in Spanish · changes
diff --git a/src/spanish-tu-usted.md b/src/spanish-tu-usted.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2df1fe2 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/spanish-tu-usted.md @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +# tú vs. usted in spanish + +> *Quizás este hecho sea obvio para cualquiera que estaban prestando atención a la gramática.* +> “Perhaps this fact is obvious to anyone who was paying attention to grammar.” + +The realization has only just dawned on me that the formal “you” in spanish (`usted`) is conjugated like the third-person (`él`/`ella`). +There is in fact a reason for this – it is because “usted” evolved from an honorific title “vuestra merced” which means “your mercy,” or “your grace.” +When speaking this way (formally) the conjugation agrees with the third-person noun “merced.” + +Using the third person is also symbolic of respect by creating some distance between the speaker and the subject. + +No matter how you slice it remember that `usted` is **always** conjugated the same way as `él`/`ella`.