Vos and Vosotros - Are they the same?
Vos and Vosotros
Are they the same thing? Is “vos” just a shortened version of “vosotros” - like Ud. and Usted? The short answer is, “No. Vos and vosotros are actually completely different. Vos is singular and vosotros is plural.” The longer answer requires a bit of background.
Vosotros
If you have studied Spanish before, depending on your teacher, you have probably been exposed to vosotros. In the traditional verb box, it looked like this:
Hablar = to speak
yo hablo
tú hablas
él, ella usted habla
nosotros hablamos
vosotros habláis
ellos, ellas, ustedes hablan
Your teacher would probably say that it is only used in Spain. This is true. Vosotros is very common in Spain and is used throughout. It is the equivalent to “y’all” or “you guys” as we would say in the upper Midwest.
Conjugation vosotros in the present tense:
-ar verbs: drop ar and add áis to the stem
-er verbs: drop er and add éis to the stem
-ir verbs: drop ir and add ís to the stem
For example:
Vosotros habláis mucho. = You talk a lot.
Vosotros coméis pizza. = You eat pizza.
Vosotros escribís una carta. = You write a letter.
Vos
Vos, on the other hand, is equivalent to tú. It is the singular, informal 2nd person form. It is commonly used in several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. I have also seen it in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela. Each country has their own meaning for vos and tú. In some regions, vos implies greater intimacy than tú. In other regions, tú is more intimate. If you are not from that country, you will be fine to use tú. If the vos is used more often in that particular region, you will pick this up quickly. In the meantime, here are the endings for vos.
Conjugating vos in the present tense:
-ar verbs: drop ar and add ás to the stem
-er verbs: drop er and add és to the stem
-ir verbs: drop ir and add ís to the stem
For example:
Vos hablás mucho. = You talk a lot.
Vos comés pizza. = You eat pizza.
Vos escribís una carta. = You write a letter.
Still confused? Listen to another explanation from Why Not Spanish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S7TBbADHYA
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