1.9 Learn the difference between familiar and formal words.
Familiar and Formal Phrases in Spanish
In the Spanish language there are familiar and formal ways to say many words or phrases (pronouns and verbs). The words you use depends on the context and to whom you are speaking.
Familiar
The familiar or tú form is often used when talking to your family members, friends or people your own age.
Example:
¿Cómo te llamas? = "What is your name?" (What do you call yourself?).
The pronoun te and the verb llamas (with an -s ending) are familiar (tú) forms.
Formal
The formal or usted form is often used when you are talking to someone who is older than you, someone of higher professional or social status, or simply someone you don't know. It is mainly used to show respect to the person you are speaking to.
Example:
¿Cómo se llama? = "What is your name?" (What do you call yourself?).
The pronoun se and the verb llama (no -s ending) are formal (usted) forms.
Familiar and Formal Comparison
¿Cómo te llamas? = What" is your name? (familiar)
¿Cómo se llama? = What is your name? (formal)
¿y tú? = and you? (familiar)
¿y usted? = and you? (formal)
This page for Spanish 1 by the MN Partnership for Collaborative Curriculum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.