Captáis

Captáis is the second-person plural present indicative form of the Spanish verb captar, used in the vosotros form. It means “you all capture” in a literal sense, but in everyday usage it is commonly understood as “you all understand,” “you all grasp the idea,” or “you all pick up (a signal, a meaning),” depending on the context. The form is characteristic of Peninsular Spanish, particularly in Spain, where vosotros is the informal plural you.

Etymology and grammar

Captar comes from the Latin capere, meaning to seize or take. In modern Spanish, captar has several senses, including to seize or capture something physically, to attract or attract attention, to grasp or understand conceptually, and to pick up signals or information. The vosotros form follows the regular -ar verb paradigm in the present indicative: capt- + áis, with the stress on the “áis” syllable.

Usage and regional variation

Captáis is standard in regions that use the vosotros form (primarily Spain). In Latin America, where vosotros is not used in everyday speech, the corresponding present tense form is ustedes captan. Although some Spanish speakers outside Spain may encounter captáis in media or regional speech, it is less common there than its ustedes counterpart.

Examples

- Captáis la idea: you all understand the idea.

- Captáis las señales que envía la radio: you all pick up the signals the radio sends.

- Con esa explicación, captáis el concepto: with that explanation you all grasp the concept.

See also

captar, conjugation of captar, Spanish verb conjugation, vosotros form.