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BrentB

Nov 26, 2004, 5:04 PM

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VOS	Can't Post \| Private Reply

In parts of Central America, and also Argentina, they have a form of "tratando" a person called Vos. Vos,is more than tutear, mas allá que tu. Vos is, ultra-familiar, usually reserved for siblings and peers.

Some examples of verbs using the Vos form would be: decime (dime),¿Sos Vos? (¿Eres Tu),¿Vos,que quierés que te digo? (¿Que quieres que te digo?) Vos vení, (ven) Hermanito, hablás puras mentiras (hablas puras mentiras).

My question is; where can I find a reference on conjugation of verbs using the Vos form, especially irregular verbs.

I haven't been to Argentina lately, but just got back from Guatemala, and usage of Vos,seems to be dying out, with TU, taking it's place, come to think of it, Usted, also seems to be dying out, as it seems to be in Mexico.

Could Vos, be a throwback to the "old days", much like Vosotros?

Thanks for any information

Brent

jerezano

Nov 28, 2004, 7:21 AM

Post #2 of 5 (2098 views)

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Re: [BrentB] VOS, the use of in South America

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Hello Brent,

You've got it. The Vos (from latin) is way back from the middle ages and is the very formal familiar. Does that make sense?

Anyway it was used for nobility and royalty and for really honored members of the community and of course the family. It is similar to the Royal "We" in that the King refers to himself as we and us since he is speaking for his people.

As it has been explained to me it is the second person plural. Which, of course, is still used in Spain. You use those second person plural verbs with Vos and Os as the subjects. and there you have it. Although I expect that there in South America they might have made some changes. Not having been there I can't say, but the method works with the soap operas.

Your ear hasn't quite caught the correct sound--or maybe Argentinans mumble. But what you refer to as ¿Sos vos? would be printed as ¿Sois vos? and ¿Qué quirés que te digo? would be ¿Qué quiréis que te digo? and Vos veni would be Vos venís (do they swallow s's in La Argentina as we do here in Mexico?) etc.

Good luck. Jerezano.

quevedo

Nov 28, 2004, 7:44 AM

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Re: [jerezano] El vos sudamericano

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La forma de hablar el vos en Sudamérica difiere de la clásica en España. Sos vos (Sois vos) corresponde a Eres tú. ¿Qué querés que te diga? (¿Qué queréis que os diga?) significa ¿Qué quieres que te diga? De la misma forma, Vení vos (Venid vos) quiere decir Ven tú.

El vos es una forma coloquial que expresa lo mismo que el tú aquí en México.

Saludos dominicales,

Quevedo

BrentB

Nov 29, 2004, 7:14 PM

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Re: [jerezano] VOS, the use of in South America

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Jerezano,

Thanks for the information, that and what Don Quevedo said goes a long way to clear my doubts. Actually it wasn't my hearing that was at fault, (this time, at least) I had been reading a book where the author was trying to relate lives of the humble people of Guatemala. He used words and spellings such as pior (peor),gueno (bueno)
asegún (según) and of course nadien (nadie).
This was the first time I saw "vos" usage in print, even though I had heard it, and thought it correct. I guess he was trying to paint a scene much like the italicized words above. This as Don Quevedo explained, is why it is so rare to see that usage in print.
I had one prof in the university, many years ago, that had learned his Spanish in Spain. He tried to give us a short primer on Vosotros,and the "old" Castillian. Since he said that it was about as dead as latin, we didn't pay much attention, or spend much time on it. He taught mainly "new world" Spanish.

Thanks to you and Don Quevedo again!

Brent

mundo

Jan 3, 2005, 11:26 PM

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Re: [BrentB] VOS

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Vos is not a more intimate form of tu, it is an equivalent alternative. Voseo is used instead of tuteo in certain countries...principally countries that border the Rio Plata.
The conjugation is the very old latinate one, very simple tenes, podes, etc. Irregulars are pretty scattered, such as "sos" in place of "eres". But it's not an all a hard tense to manage. Thing is, though, you don;t have to, most people are aware of both usages. (Voseo is good for telling Argentino jokes, though).