Tú vs Usted

Q: What is the difference between tú and usted?

Both mean you. Tú is informal — friends, family, children, people your age. Usted is formal — strangers, older people, customers, officials, and anyone you want to show respect to.

Q: Which verb form goes with usted?

The él / ella form: usted habla, usted tiene, usted es. Usted comes from vuestra merced (your grace), so it is grammatically third person even though it means you.

Q: When should I use usted?

With strangers, older people, in shops, offices and at work with people you don't know, and in formal emails. When in doubt, start with usted — the other person will suggest tú (¿Nos tuteamos?) if they prefer it. Young people tend to use tú with each other straight away.

Q: What is the plural of tú and usted?

In Latin America both become ustedes, with the ellos form of the verb (ustedes hablan). In Spain the informal plural is vosotros (vosotros habláis), and ustedes is only formal.

Q: Which pronouns and possessives go with usted?

Te becomes lo or la (direct object) or le (indirect object), the reflexive te becomes se, tu becomes su, and contigo becomes con usted: ¿Cómo se llama? ¿Le puedo ayudar? Aquí tiene su pasaporte.

Q: Is usted used the same way in every country?

No. Spain switches to tú quickly, even with strangers of a similar age. In much of Latin America usted is more common, and in parts of Colombia or Costa Rica it is used even among family. In Argentina, Uruguay and much of Central America vos replaces tú.

Q: Is there a printable tú vs usted worksheet?

Yes — this page has a free printable tú vs usted worksheet (PDF) with all 30 exercises and an answer key with short explanations. It prints on A4 and US Letter and is free for classroom use, no sign-up needed.

Question 1

Perdone, señor, ¿___ habla inglés?

Accepted Answer

usted. Perdone and señor show you're speaking politely to a stranger, so usted. It goes with the él / ella form of the verb: usted habla.

Question 2

Oye, Pablo, ¿___ vienes al cine esta noche?

Accepted Answer

tú. Oye and a first name point to a friend, and vienes is the second-person form — so tú.

Question 3

Señora Ruiz, ¿usted ___ en esta calle desde hace mucho? (vivir)

Accepted Answer

vive. Usted takes the same verb form as él and ella: usted vive. Vives is the tú form.

Question 4

Mamá, ¿tú ___ dónde están mis llaves? (saber)

Accepted Answer

sabes. With family you use tú, which takes the second-person form ending in -s: tú sabes.

Question 5

Doctora, ¿usted ___ tiempo para atenderme hoy? (tener)

Accepted Answer

tiene. A doctor is addressed as usted, and usted takes the él / ella form: usted tiene.

Question 6

Usted ___ muy amable, muchas gracias por todo. (ser)

Accepted Answer

es. Usted is grammatically third person, so ser becomes es — not eres, even though you're talking to the person.

Question 7

Buenas tardes, ¿cómo ___ llama usted?

Accepted Answer

se. Llamarse is reflexive. With usted the reflexive pronoun is se, like with él: ¿Cómo se llama usted?

Question 8

¡Hola! ¿Cómo ___ llamas? — Me llamo Lucía.

Accepted Answer

te. With tú the reflexive pronoun is te: ¿Cómo te llamas? Tu without an accent is the possessive your.

Question 9

Señor Martín, aquí tiene ___ pasaporte y la tarjeta de embarque.

Accepted Answer

su. The possessive for usted is su, the same as his or her: su pasaporte. Tu is for someone you call tú.

Question 10

Carlos, no olvides ___ mochila en el aula otra vez.

Accepted Answer

tu. A classmate gets tú, so the possessive is tu — without an accent. Tú with an accent is the pronoun you.

Question 11

Señora, ¿___ ayudo con las maletas?

Accepted Answer

la. Te becomes lo or la for usted. Ayudar takes a direct object, and here it is a woman: ¿La ayudo?

Question 12

Oye, Javier, mañana ___ llamo y quedamos para el partido.

Accepted Answer

te. Oye and quedamos show a friend, so the object pronoun for you is te. Lo would be for usted.

Question 13

Señor García, ¿puedo hablar con ___ un momento?

Accepted Answer

usted. After a preposition, usted stays usted: con usted. Contigo (with you) is only for tú.

Question 14

Pase, siéntese y ___ un momento, por favor. (esperar)

Accepted Answer

espere. Pase and siéntese are usted commands, so esperar must match: espere. Usted commands use the present subjunctive form.

Question 15

Lucía, ___ la puerta, que hace mucho frío. (cerrar)

Accepted Answer

cierra. Lucía gets tú, and the affirmative tú command looks like the él form of the present: cierra. Cierre would be the usted command.

Question 16

Chicos, ¿___ quieren pizza o tacos para cenar?

Accepted Answer

ustedes. Quieren is the ellos / ustedes form, so the pronoun is ustedes — what all of Latin America uses for a group, friends included.

Question 17

Chicos, ¿___ queréis venir a la playa el sábado?

Accepted Answer

vosotros. Queréis is the vosotros form, used in Spain for a group of friends. In Latin America the same question is ¿Ustedes quieren…?

Question 18

Señores, ¿ustedes ___ algo de beber mientras esperan? (querer)

Accepted Answer

quieren. Ustedes takes the ellos / ellas form of the verb: ustedes quieren.

Question 19

In which sentence is usted the natural choice?

Accepted Answer

¿Me puede decir dónde está la estación, señora?. Asking a stranger for directions calls for usted: ¿Me puede decir…? Siblings, classmates and parents get tú.

Question 20

Which sentence has a mistake?

Accepted Answer

¿Usted vives aquí?. Usted always takes the él / ella form: usted vive. Vives belongs to tú.

Question 21

How do you politely ask a shop assistant 'Can you help me?'

Accepted Answer

¿Me puede ayudar?. A shop assistant you don't know gets usted, and usted takes the él / ella form: ¿Me puede ayudar?

Question 22

In writing, how is usted usually abbreviated?

Accepted Answer

Ud.. Usted is abbreviated Ud. (or Vd. in older texts from Spain), and ustedes Uds. The abbreviation is read as the full word.

Question 23

Ya somos compañeros de trabajo: ¿nos ___? Así es más fácil.

Accepted Answer

tuteamos. Tutear means to address someone as tú. ¿Nos tuteamos? (Shall we say tú to each other?) is the polite way to switch from usted.

Question 24

Profesor, ¿___ puedo hacer una pregunta sobre el examen?

Accepted Answer

le. You ask a question to someone, so the person is the indirect object: for usted that is le. Lo would be a direct object.

Question 25

¿A usted ___ gusta el café con leche o solo?

Accepted Answer

le. With gustar the person is an indirect object; for usted that is le: a usted le gusta. Les would be for ustedes.

Question 26

Yo prefiero el té. ¿Y a ti, ___ gusta el café?

Accepted Answer

te. A ti shows you're using tú, so the pronoun with gustar is te: a ti te gusta.

Question 27

In Mexico, how do you ask a group of friends 'Are you coming?'

Accepted Answer

¿Vienen?. Latin America has no vosotros: a group is always ustedes, with the ellos form of the verb — ¿Vienen?

Question 28

Buenas noches, señores. ¿Qué ___ pongo para beber?

Accepted Answer

les. Señores is formal plural, so ustedes, and with poner algo a alguien the people are the indirect object: les. Os is the informal vosotros pronoun.

Question 29

Por favor, ___ aquí su nombre y su dirección. (escribir)

Accepted Answer

escriba. Su nombre shows you're speaking to usted, and usted commands take the subjunctive form: escriba. Escribe is the tú command.

Question 30

¿Cómo ___ usted, don Ernesto? ¿Mejor de la rodilla?

Accepted Answer

está. Don before a first name is a respectful title, so usted — with the él form: ¿Cómo está usted?

Tú vs Usted

The rule, in plain English.

Download printable worksheet (PDF) — free, with answer key

Practice.

Other topics.

Spanish Commands (Imperative) Practice

Object Pronouns Practice

Spanish Present Tense Practice

Common questions.