Ustedes

Ustedes is the second-person plural pronoun used to address a group of people in Spanish. It functions as a pronoun for “you all” and is the plural counterpart to usted, which is the polite or formal singular form. Regional variation is notable: in Spain, vosotros/vosotras is the informal plural, while ustedes is used in formal contexts; in many Latin American varieties, ustedes is the standard second-person plural in both formal and informal situations.

Grammatical behavior is distinctive: although ustedes refers to the second person, the verb conjugation is in the third-person plural form. For example, ustedes hablan español, ustedes comen tarde, and ustedes son bienvenidos. This pattern applies across tenses, with the appropriate third-person plural endings. Ustedes can function as the subject of a sentence, and it can also appear with prepositions, as in a ustedes, a ustedes les gusta la música.

Usage notes include regional and register differences. In Spain, informal groups typically use vosotros; ustedes is reserved for formal address or for broader audiences, though in everyday speech ustedes is increasingly common. In Latin America, ustedes is widely used for both formal and informal address, making it the default plural second-person everywhere outside some parts of Spain. The pronoun pair usted/ustedes thus covers both politeness and plurality, with context and verb form signaling level of formality.

Etymology traces usted back to vuestra merced, a polite addressing form meaning “your mercy.” Usted developed as a singular pronoun, and its plural form, ustedes, emerged later as its plural.