Usted versus Ellos

Question

Would I use Ellos or Ustedes for the following:

1. El doctor Gregorio y la doctora Elsa trabajan en la oficina de medicos.

2. El senor y la senora Valle ensenan en la universidad.

3. Los musicos tienen un concierto en la sala de conciertos todos los lunes.

4. Tu y Jorge necesitan practicar para el concierto.

Why would #1 and #2 be ellos instead of Ustedes? - kellydonn, Apr 28, 2015

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Answer 1

Ustedes is the formal form of the second person of the plural (you). It is only used in South America, not in Spain. In Spain, the word ustedes is a reminiscent of the past, except in a few cities of the south, and we always use the form vosotros I am not sure if the use of "ustedes" in South America has another hints or if it use depends of any other variable, but for us (Spanish) it is useless.

In most of South America "ustedes" is used for plural formal and informal "you". - ian-hill, Apr 28, 2015

Ty. Ian. I lied a bit in my post, Im from one of the cities where ustedes is used, but it is considered as a low-cultural-level word. I wrote as a Spanish in general ;) - txustaboy, Apr 28, 2015

Why a language needs umpteen words for "you" I have no idea. :) - - ian-hill, Apr 28, 2015

Hola Txusta ¿has visto mi nueva pregunta en Spanishdict en la cuál he pedido la oportunidad practicar mi Castellano con un nativo de España? - FELIZ77, Apr 28, 2015

Answer 2

To answer the question you asked in your comment, you use "ustedes" when talking TO more than one person. #1 and #2 are talking ABOUT more than one person. "Ustedes" means "you"; "ellos" means "they."

....and "vosotros"?... I am Spanish native speaker and never used "ustedes", so your explanation is incomplete. - txustaboy, Apr 28, 2015