When to use the 'tu form' ...
Suppose I am speaking to a stranger, and I am telling them about my sister. Would I say "Ella es baja" or would I say "Ella eres baja"? In other words, is the person I am talkin to that determines the formal or informal case? Or is it the person I am talking about?
4 Answers
Well since you are talking about your sister you would say "Es baja" because you are talking in the third person, which has no formal/informal. "Ella eres baja" is incorrect because it means " She are short" If you were talking to the stranger about himself (you are), you would use the usted form. In brief, it is who you are talking TO that determines the formality, but only if you are talking in second person (second person is when you say YOU and is the only time you must choose between formal and informal).
Note: "es" can mean "you are (formal)", "he is, "she is, or "it is" depending on context.
Also keep in mind that the use of tú or Usted for "YOU" changes from country to country. In Guatemala, the children I knew never used tú with anyone except an exact-age peer. In Spain, we wait for the permission to use tú after time (tutear). In Columbia, I believe there is another option - "vos" is like an even closer tú. No one used Usted in Puerto Rico, except in advertisements for Wal-Mart.
Hello, and welcome to the forum. The verb ser (of which es and eres are forms) goes with your sister. She is short. Your sister is doing the being, so you use es (which, as it is in all other verbs, is both the Ud. form and the ella form). You onyl distinguish between tú and Ud. when speaking directly to a person. For example, if you wanted to say "you're short" you would have to choose between "eres bajo" (tú)and "es bajo" (Ud.).
Thank you so much for these answers! They were all very helpful! :D
