Utilizás

Utilizás is the second-person singular present indicative form of the Spanish verb utilizar in the voseo variety, the form used with the pronoun vos. It corresponds to the standard tú utilizas, and is characteristic of the Spanish spoken in parts of the Río de la Plata region, especially Argentina (notably Buenos Aires) and Uruguay, where vos replaces tú as the familiar pronoun.

Grammatical notes. In voseo, utilizás is the present indicative for vos. Other verb forms in the same paradigm include: el imperativo afirmativo utilizá (you use!), negativo no utilicés; el presente de subjuntivo utilisés; el imperfecto utilizabas; el pretérito utilizaste; el futuro utilizarás. The vos form shares most endings with the tú paradigm, but the second-person forms consistently reflect the vos system, including the distinctive accent in utilizás and utilizés when needed for stress.

Orthography and pronunciation. Utilizás carries the stress on the final syllable, indicated by the acute accent: utili-zás. The root appears as utiliz- with the -ar verb suffix -ar in the infinitive utilizar.

Etymology. The verb utilizar comes from the Spanish formation from the root utilizado in Latin-derived vocabulary, built on the Latin stem utilis (useful) with the -izar suffix to form a verb meaning “to use” or “to employ.” The voseo form utilizás preserves regular -ás endings of the vos paradigm in the present tense.

Usage notes. Voseo usage varies regionally within Argentina and Uruguay and among speakers that adopt voseo in informal speech. In formal writing or in contexts outside the voseo region, tú utilizas or other standard forms are typically used.

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