oís

Oís is the second person plural present indicative form of the Spanish verb oír, meaning “you hear.” It is used with the pronoun vosotros in Spain, as in Vosotros oís la música. In most of the Spanish-speaking world, where the pronoun ustedes is standard, the corresponding verb form is oyen (they/you all hear).

Etymology and morphology: Oír comes from Latin audīre, with phonetic changes over centuries that produced the irregular present-tense forms. The tú, él, and nosotros forms are oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, and oyen, while the vosotros form is oís. The accent on í marks the stress in the present indicative vosotros form.

Usage and regional variation: Oís is characteristic of regions that use the voseo or traditional vos vosotros system, notably Spain. In Latin America, where ustedes is used for both formal and informal second-person plural, the standard form is oyen, not oís. The verb oír is irregular in several tenses, with spelling changes and occasional accent shifts (for example, oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oísteis, oyeron in the preterite).

Pronunciation: Oís is pronounced with a diphthong in the first syllable and a stressed í: roughly [ˈois]. The presence of the accent on í indicates that the stress falls on that syllable.

Examples:

- ¿Oís ese ruido? (Do you hear that noise?)

- Vosotros oís la música desde la calle. (You all hear the music from the street.)

See also: oír, escuchar.