você

Você is a second-person pronoun in Portuguese used to address the listener. In Brazilian Portuguese, você is the standard singular form in most contexts, while tu remains common in some regions and informal speech. The plural form is vocês, used for groups of listeners. In Portugal and several African Lusophone communities, usage varies, with o senhor or a senhora used for formality and tu more common in informal speech.

Etymology and history: Você originated from the contraction of vossa mercê, a polite form meaning “your mercy” or “your grace” in medieval Portuguese. The term was used to address someone of higher status and gradually shortened and generalized, eventually becoming the standard second-person pronoun in many varieties of Brazilian and African Portuguese.

Grammar and conjugation: As the subject, você takes third-person singular verb forms: você é, você tem, você vai. The pronoun is typically followed by standard verb agreement and can appear in various sentence positions. For imperative or polite requests, speakers may rely on related subjunctive forms or accompany the sentence with formal address when formality is desired.

Plural and related forms: For second-person plural, the form vocês is used, conjugated with third-person plural verb forms: vocês são, vocês têm, vocês vão. The archaic vós form is rarely used in contemporary usage and is generally confined to liturgical or historical contexts.

Sociolinguistic notes: In Brazilian speech, o uso do você often signals familiarity, neutrality, or informal register, depending on region and context. In formal situations or with strangers, speakers may prefer o senhor or a senhora, or switch to tu in regions where tu is customary.