Use of vos in Guatemala different than vosostros??
Hola, Buenos Dias. Simple question. I know that the Spanish in Guatemala uses vos as a more intimate tu form. I believe, though not sure, that this is solely for the tu form(second person') and not for third person plural like vosotros which is a different form for ustedes. Would anyone know a little more about this? I am wondering what is the difference in the verb endings between vos and vosotros and is my understanding correct? If they are different does anyone know the rules for vos? The rules are very clear for vosotros, it's in every spanish textbook on the planet, although here in los Ustados Unidos the latin American Spanish is much more common. However, I am finding very little about the use of vos''? Any help is greatly appreciated.
On a somewhat related tangent Mexico uses a word and someone told me it was similar to vos. I hope he was wrong or I am really confused. The word is "wey" now I am very familiar with how that word is used, my evening job is in a restaurant and I hear that word probably close to a zillon times a night. My imperfect translation would be "dude" but I think that differs from vos which I know changes verb endings. Thanks again, muchos gracias.
Robin
8 Answers
"Vos" was the old courtesy pronoun used in Spain, from which vosotros (vos-otros = you-other) comes from. Nowadays, it is the main 2nd person pronoun (instead of "tú") in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and it is used along with "tú" more or less, depending on the speaker and the degree of formality, in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and some parts of Colombia, Panama, and less in other places (e.g. Chiapas in Mexico). In Chile, Peru and Bolivia, and some parts a Central America (e.g. Guatemala), "tú" is generally preferred in a bit more formal Spanish (and "usted" the most formal), whereas "vos" is more colloquial or familiar. Although "vos" is the preferred form in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, they all understand and can use perfectly the "tú" and "usted" forms.
"Ustedes" is the modern form of the old very polite "vuestras mercedes" (your worship) used in Spain, being now formal in Spain (with "vosotros" informal), and practically the only 2nd person plural in most parts of Latin America.
Vos, like Lazarus said is used as Tu. It is widely used just about everywhere in Lain America, but is more common in Argentina, Guatemala and Peru. Other countries us it , but you'll see it less. Tu and vos are practically interchageable, but remember that Usted, the formal form is more often used to show appreciation and respect. Use usted when speak to someone, unless you know the person already and feel comfortable to do so.
Ani
Hey! I saw that they answered that they do use vos in Guatemala and that they said that it is used instead of tu. Some I lived in Guatemala for a time and here is what I picked up..NEVER use it with someone unless they are a close friend or family member or it will be seen as extremely offensive. It is a corrupted form of vosotros so the verb endings are not the same as vosotros but are similar. For example "you (informal) have" in Guatemala using the vos form would be "vos tenes" instead of "teneis" the basic rule of thumb is take the vosotros form and drop the "i" hope this helps!
I agree with most of the replies but I have to take exception to the use of the word "wey". I live in Guatemala for almost a year, 10 years in México and several decades in the US and that word is more of a put down than just a "dude" alternative. It actually comes from the word for oxen (buey) and can be used very creatively to mean anything from idiot to a__hole to dude to you name it. I would be careful using it and would find another word instead. Thanks
Abe
"Wey" es "dude". My students use it all of the time, and they told me so.
Hey Luke that site was awesome. I spent quite some time there looking at other subjects, however, it perfectly answered my question. I ran it past my guatemalan novia and she confirmed that it is pretty much correct. Thanks!
I'm not sure how they use vos in Guatemala, but I have lived in Argentina and Uruguay where vos is commonly used. Indeed, Argentinos use vos instead of tú, but there is more to it than simply replacing one word for the other. The verb conjugations change as well. Here's more info on how to conjugate verbs when using vos. Fortunately, the conjugations are quite simple, especially the command form.
Hi shrapton, welcome to the forum 
I have moved your thread as you will get more answeres on this category. This is an interesting topic, I hope our friend GUS sees it who is from Guatemala.
