Está or estás - usted or tú?
What is the difference between"¿qué estás haciendo" or "¿qué está haciendo" ? They both mean "what are you doing".
Also when do I use "usted" and when do I use "tú"? They both mean "you".
6 Answers
¿Qué estás haciendo? is used when talking to a friend, colleague or someone of your age.
¿Qué está haciendo? is formal and used when talking to someone in authority, an older person, a teacher, someone you don't know etc.
Tú is an informal "you" and usted is formal. Other verbs than estar also change their form according to who you talk to.
Pstevenson said:
Tú is mostly used in Latin America and never used in Spain.
That's not true, according to Heidita and Lazarus who both live in Spain.
I asked this question before and was told that the "tu" form is almost always used in Spain.
I then asked "How about when asking a stranger for directions? Wouldn't I use the "usted" form there?" Their response was "No, in Spain we'd still use the "tu" form."
What a surprise, huh?!
I am only a beginner but isn't: ¿qué estás haciendo - the informal you version and ¿qué está haciendo - maybe another form?
"¿qué está haciendo" ?
Can also mean "What is she/he/it doing?" See the conjugation of "estar"; (Present Indicitive).
Example:
Ella no está bien de la cabeza. (She is not well in the head.)
No está en Grecia. (It is not in Greece.)
Bueno, estás equivocado. (Well, you are wrong.)
¿Me estás tomando el pelo o qué? (You are pulling my hair(leg) or what?
"Usted" is formal and is used for proper speaking for people you aren't familiar with. Tú is mostly used in Latin America and never used in Spain. Por ejemplo.....
¿Cómo Estas? = How are You?(Familiar... to people you know)
¿Cómo Está. Usted(Ud.) = How are You?(Formal speaking)
HI Lenora, tú estás haciendo (informal) Usted está haciendo (formal)
welcome to the forum 
