What is the difference between 'Vosotros' and 'Ustedes'?

They are the plural form of 'You', which would be 'You all' in English, so both of them have the same meaning.In Spain two forms are used because sometimes we want to show a certain degree of respect or politeness. This can be achieved by using 'Ustedes' instead of 'Vosotros'. Thus, there are two main differences between them. The level of respect that they transmit and the conjugation of the verb that has to be used.Ustedes is used when we want to sound more respectful and formal. Therefore, it could be used when talking to the elderly, or to people that we don't know. It adopts the conjugated form of the person 'Ellos/Ellas'. You can remember this by thinking that as we don't know these people, we want to use a form of the verb that is 'farther' from us, so we use the 'Ellos' conjugated form of the verb. An example would be:'¿Ustedes son de aquí?'On the other hand, 'Vosotros' is used in every other case, therefore in more informal and general cases, for instance when talking to family and friends.Unsurprisingly it keeps the conjugated form of the verb that corresponds to this person 'Vosotros'. An example would be:¿'Vosotros sois de aquí?'

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