you [juː]
pronombre
Note that subject pronouns are used less in Spanish than in English - mainly for emphasis or to avoid ambiguity.
1 (sing) (as subject) tú; (as direct/indirect object) te; (after prep) ti
what do you think about it? ¿y tú que piensas?; you and I will go iremos tú y yo; you're very strong eres muy fuerte; you don't understand me no me entiendes; I know you te conozco; I'll send you a postcard te mandaré una postal
I gave the letter to you yesterday te di la carta ayer
I gave it to you te lo di; I told you to do it te dije a ti que lo hicieras; es a ti a quien dije que lo hicieras
it's for you es para ti
she's taller than you es más alta que tú
can I come with you ¿puedo ir contigo?
(as subject) usted; Ud; Vd; (as direct object) lo/la; le; (Esp) (as indirect object) le; (after prep) usted; Ud; Vd you're very kind es usted muy amable; I saw you, Mrs Jones la vi, señora Jones; I gave you the keys le di las llaves
Change [le] to [se] before a direct object pronoun:
I gave it to you se lo di; I gave them to you se las di
this is for you esto es para usted
they're taller than you son más altos que usted
2 (pl) (as subject) vosotrosasvosotras;as vosotras (Esp) ustedes; (LAm) (as direct object) os; (Esp) los/las; (LAm) (as indirect object) os; (Esp) les; (LAm) (after prep) vosotrosasvosotras;as vosotras (Esp) ustedes; (LAm)
you've got kids but we haven't vosotros tenéis hijos pero nosotros no; you're sisters, aren't you? vosotras sois hermanas, ¿no?; you have all been here before todos (vosotros) habéis estado aquí antes; you all know why we are here todos sabéis por qué estamos aquí; you stay here, and I'll go and get the key (vosotros) quedaos aquí, que yo iré a por la llave; I know you both yo os conozco a los dos; I gave it to you os lo di; I gave them to you os los di; I'd like to speak to you quiero hablar con vosotros
I live upstairs from you vivo justo encima de vosotros
they've done it better than you lo han hecho mejor que vosotros
they'll go without you irán sin vosotros
(as subject) ustedes; Uds; Vds; (as direct object) los/las; les; (Esp) (as indirect object) les; (after prep) ustedes; Uds; Vds you are very kind son ustedes muy amables; are you brothers? ¿son (ustedes) hermanos?; may I help you? ¿puedo ayudarlos?; I gave you the keys les di las llaves
Change [les] to [se] before a direct object pronoun:
I gave it to you se lo di; I gave them to you se las di
we arrived after you llegamos después de ustedes
3 (general)
When [you] means "one" or "people" in general, the impersonal [se] is often used:
you can't do that no se puede hacer eso; eso no se hace; eso no se permite; you can't smoke here no se puede fumar aquí; no se permite fumar aquí; se prohíbe fumar aquí; when you need one it's not here cuando se necesita uno no está aquí
you never know you never can tell nunca se sabe
A further possibility is [uno]:
you never know whether ... uno nunca sabe si ...
Impersonal constructions are also used:
you need to check it every day hay que comprobarlo cada día; conviene comprobarlo cada día; you must paint it hace falta pintarlo; fresh air does you good el aire puro (te) hace bien
4 (phrases and special uses)
you Spaniards vosotros los españoles; you doctors! ¡vosotros, los médicos!
between you and me entre tú y yo
you fool! ¡no seas tonto!
that's lawyers for you! ¡para que te fíes de los abogados!
there's a pretty girl for you! ¡mira que chica más guapa!
if I were or was you yo que tú; yo en tu lugar
you there! ¡oye, tú!
that dress just isn't you ese vestido no te sienta bien
poor you!poor old you!you poor old thing! ¡pobrecito!
When translating you, even though you often need not use the pronoun itself, you will have to choose between using familiar tú/vosotros verb forms and the polite usted/ustedes ones.
In Spain, use tú and the plural vosotros/vosotras with anyone you call by their first name, with children and younger adults. Use usted/ustedes with people who are older than you, those in authority and in formal contexts.
In Latin America usage varies depending on the country and in some places only the usted forms are used. Where the tú form does exist, only use it with people you know very well. In other areas vos, used with verb forms that are similar to the vosotros ones, often replaces tú. This is standard in Argentina and certain Central American countries while in other countries it is considered substandard. Use ustedes for all cases of you in the plural.
