dificultáis

Dificultáis is the second-person plural present indicative form of the Spanish verb dificultar, meaning to make something difficult or to hinder. It is used with the subject vosotros, which is common in Spain and parts of the southern cone, while many Latin American dialects use ustedes instead of vosotros and the corresponding form dificultan.

Etymology and form: Dificultar comes from the Latin difficile, meaning hard or troublesome, plus the Spanish suffix -ar. As a regular -ar verb, its present-tense forms follow standard endings: yo dificulto, tú dificultas, él dificulta, nosotros dificultamos, vosotros dificultáis, ellos dificultan. The accent in dificultáis marks the stress on the penultimate syllable, as in many Spanish verb forms.

Usage: Dificultar (and its forms like dificultáis) is transitive and requires a direct object that is made more difficult or hindered. In practice, you can say that someone or something dificultáis a process or a task. For example: “Vosotros dificultáis el acceso al sistema si no proporcionáis credenciales válidas,” meaning you all hinder access to the system by not providing valid credentials. Another example: “Las condiciones logísticas dificultan la realización de la tarea,” though in this sentence the third-person plural form sería dificultan in a general sense; with vosotros it would be used as shown above.

Regional notes: The vosotros form is characteristic of Spain; in regions where vosotros is not used, the corresponding present form for ustedes is dificultan. Dificultáis is therefore typical of Peninsular Spanish and formal instruction or literature that preserves the vosotros paradigm.

See also: dificultad, dificultar, obstaculizar.