If you’ve ever traveled to Argentina or Central America, you will have heard the pronoun vos. This pronoun is the equivalent of tú meaning you, and it’s used in many parts of Latin America. In this post, we’ll show you how to use pronoun vos and how to conjugate verbs in this form. Want to impress your Spanish speaking friends with your mastery of vos? Let’s get to it!
What is ‘vos’ and where is it used?
Vos is a Spanish subject pronoun used for the second-person singular in a familiar context — the same way you would use the pronoun “tú.” There is no difference in meaning, the difference lies in the regions it is used. In some regions it fully replaces the pronoun “tú” and in others it is used alongside “tú.”
In Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, vos is used instead of tú.
In Central America, vos is used alongside tú. The predominant pronoun is vos.
In only certain regions of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Cuba, and Southern Mexico, vos is used alongside tú. The predominant pronoun is tú.
In Chile it is used alongside tú, but slightly different (keep reading to find out how).
In the Spanish-speaking countries, the art of using “vos” is called “voseo” and as an interesting fact, about 40 percent of Spanish speakers use it. That’s a lot of people! So, it is definitely worth giving it a shot, but don’t worry if you don’t master it fully — all Spanish speakers will understand you if you end up using “tú.”
How to conjugate verbs using the ‘vos’ form?
Pronouns tú and vos share most of the verbal conjugations; however, they differ in the present tense (indicative and subjunctive) and in the imperative. We’ll go over this next!
Present indicative tense
To form the present indicative in the vos form, remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add the following endings:
-ar verbs: -ás
you sing
-er verbs: -és
you eat
-ir verbs: -ís
you live
There are no stem-changes in this form (YAY!) compared to some verbs that have a stem-change in the tú form. Observe:
Stem-change
No stem-change
⇩
⇩
jugar meaning to play:
you play
tener meaning to have:
you have
dormir meaning to sleep:
you sleep
And, there are three irregular verbs in the vos form: ser meaning to be, ir meaning to go, and haber meaning to have, but the last two are identical to the form tú (tú or vos vas; tú or vos has). The only notable exception is the verb ser:
ser meaning to be:
you are
Note that verbs dar meaning to give and ver meaning to see are regular in the vos form, except they do not require a written accent: vos das meaning you give and vos ves meaning you see.
Curious to know more about Spanish accents? Then head over to our post!
Present subjunctive tense
The verb forms of the present subjunctive in Spanish are very easy for pronoun vos. Use the same forms as for pronoun tú, but change the stress to the last syllable. This means that in writing you will add an accent to the last vowel, and in speech you will say the last syllable with more emphasis.
cantar meaning to sing:
tú cantes → vos cantés
comer meaning to eat:
tú comas → vos comás
vivir meaning to live:
tú vivas → vos vivás
This includes all irregular verbs! For instance, the verb salir meaning to leave:
- Quiero que vos salgás temprano.
How to use commands with pronoun ‘vos’?
Vos commands in Spanish have one form in the affirmative and another form in the negative.
Affirmative commands
Vos commands are formed following a simple rule: drop the -r from the end of the infinitive form of the verb and put a written accent on the last vowel. This applies to all verbs, except ir meaning go, so there is no difference between regular and irregular in this case.
Infinitive Form
Verb ending | -ar | -er | -ir |
|---|---|---|---|
cantar Translation: to sing | comer Translation: to eat | escribir Translation: to write |
How to form affirmative commands. Rule: Drop the -r and add accent to the last vowel
Verb ending | -ar | -er | -ir |
|---|---|---|---|
cantá Translation: sing | comé Translation: eat | escribí Translation: write |
If you compare these forms with the regular forms of equivalent tú, you’ll notice that they are the same, except for the change in stress (aka the accent):
(tú) habstressedla → hablá vstressedos meaning speak
The other great feature of vos is that, since you’re using the infinitive as the base, there are no stem changes in the affirmative!
(tú) vuelve → (vos) volvé meaning come back
In affirmative commands, the verb ir meaning to go is replaced by andar meaning to walk, to go, which follows the rule above, so in Argentina you would say:
¡Andá a la escuela! meaning Go to school!Negative commands
The negative takes the same form as the tú commands regular and irregular, but an accent is added on the last syllable. This accent changes the pronunciation; now, the stressed or prominent vowel becomes the last one instead of the second to last.
| Verb form | Regular | Irregular | Irregular |
|---|---|---|---|
tú negative command | no bailes Translation: don't dance | no digas Translation: don't say | no tengas Translation: don't have |
vos negative command | no bailés Translation: don't dance | no digás Translation: don't say | no tengás Translation: don't have |
However, there are a few verbs that don’t follow this rule: -ir verbs that have a stem-change in the present tense like sentir meaning to feel, repetir meaning to repeat, vestirse meaning to get dressed, servir meaning to serve, dormir meaning to sleep, and morir meaning to die.
Stem-changing verbs ending in -ir follow these patterns:
-o is replaced with -u
dormirTranslation: to sleep→
no durmásTranslation: don't sleep-e is replaced with -i
preferirTranslation: to sleep→
prefirásTranslation: don't sleep
Check out our tables for more irregular verbs in the vos form!
What pronouns should I use with ‘voseo’?
Most of the time, you will use the same pronouns you would use with “ tú.”
Same pronouns as ‘tú’
Use pronoun “te” as the reflexive pronoun and as direct and indirect object pronouns (including with double object pronouns):
Reflexive →
You wake (yourself) up early.
Direct object pronoun →
I saw you in the store.
Indirect object pronoun →
We gave you the keys.
Double object pronoun →
He said it to you.
When using possessive pronouns, use “tuyo” (tuya, tuyos, tuyas) and use “tu” (tus) for the possessive adjective.
¿Este libro es tuyo?Is this book yours?
Vení acá con tus hermanos.Come here with your siblings.
Different pronoun than ‘tú’
Use “vos” after a preposition (aka prepositional object pronoun) or as a subject pronoun.
vs
vs
vs
To sum up
So there you have it, you now have all the ins and outs on how to use “vos.” Just remember that with vos there are fewer irregularities than its counterpart tú and that the stress usually goes in the last syllable. And when it comes to pronouns, use the same ones as you would use with pronoun tú, except after a preposition or the subject pronoun. Easy, right? Now, ¡andá a las actividades! meaning head on to the activities!
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