One of the things I wish I learned in school was vosotros in Spanish class. Growing up in the US school system, we focused heavily on Latin American Spanish.
That’s great, and it’s what I often use with customers at my day job. But I really like Castilian Spanish vocabulary and media, and vosotros exists heavily in those things.
Even if you only ever use Latin American Spanish, I’m breaking down what vosotros is and why it’s still worth learning.
Before we get into it, this post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy to learn more.
What Is Vosotros in Spanish?
Vosotros is one of the different pronouns you use when speaking Spanish. The basic ones include:
- Yo (I)
- Tú (you, informal singular)
- Usted (you formal singular)
- Él (he)
- Ella (she)
- Nosotros/as (we)
- Ustedes (you plural in LA, you formal plural in Spain)
- Ellos/as (they)
Vosotros is the informal way to say “you” when speaking to multiple people. You’ll almost exclusively hear it in Spain or by Spaniards, and it’s not that common in Latin America.
When to Use Vosotros
If you want to learn Spain Spanish, you’ll use vosotros in a lot of situations. They’ll all involve talking to a group of multiple people.
You can use the informal pronoun when speaking with friends, family, coworkers, and more. It’s become so common in Spain that it’s almost the standard.
The only time you would use the more formal ustedes is when addressing authority figures, such as the police.
Vosotros vs. Ustedes
If you’ve started learning Latin American Spanish, you may be more familiar with ustedes. It’s also a plural form of you.
In Latin America, there are no differences between the formal and informal with the second person plural. You use ustedes for everything.
On the other hand, Spaniards use vosotros for most cases. They’ll only use ustedes in rare circumstances when addressing authority and wanting to convey respect.
Vosotros Conjugation
When I was learning verb conjugations in school, all of my teachers told me to ignore the vosotros conjugation because I would never use it. It’s true that you can get away with not using it, but I believe it’s helpful to know it.
In the present tense, the vosotros conjugation looks like:
- -áis for AR verbs (example: habláis el español)
- -éis for ER verbs (example: coméis las manzanas)
- -ís for IR verbs (example: escribís las cartas)
When using the preterite tense (a form of past tense), here are the vosotros endings:
- -asteis for AR verbs
- -isteis for ER verbs
- -isteis for IR verbs
If you’re speaking about something in the future tense, the ending will be -éis after the infinitive form of the verb you’re using. So to tell a group they are going to study, you would say “estudiaréis.”
And if you ever need to command a group of people to do something, you will simply replace the R at the end of the verb with a D. If you want to direct a group to study, you’d say “estudiad.”
Finally when using a group of people as an object, you would use the ending -os. So if you want to tell a group to sit, you would say “sentados.”
Vosotros Pronunciation
Most Spanish speakers pronounce vosotros with the same S sound we use in English. But I’ve recently learned there’s a small group of Spaniards that say it differently.
In some rural parts of southern Spain, there’s the concept of ceceo. To put it simply, they make a sound similar to the English TH for all Cs, Zs, and Ss.
However, the majority of Spanish speakers will pronounce the S in vosotros like an English native would expect. Even Spaniards that use distinción still say it that way. They just pronounce their Cs and Zs like we pronounce the English TH.
Do You Need to Learn Vosotros?
If you want to learn Spain Spanish, you should learn vosotros and its various conjugations. You’ll use it a lot when speaking with groups of people.
On the other hand, if you’ll be focusing on Latin American Spanish, you can pass on it. I got through multiple years of Spanish study and a minor in it without learning much about vosotros.
But I do wish I had studied it at least a little bit. Because if I ever want to read a book from Spain or watch a movie from there, it’s nice to know.
How to Practice Vosotros
If you want to get used to hearing and using vosotros in Spanish, you can practice in a few ways.
One thing I like doing is reading Spanish versions of my favorite books. For better or worse, the standard translation uses Spain Spanish.
You can also listen to Spain Spanish podcasts and watch TV shows from the country.
And if you’re using verb conjugation charts or flashcards, be sure to find some that incorporate vosotros. I made sure to include it in all of the tools offered on So in Spanish.
Why Isn’t Vosotros Used in Latin America?
The reason vosotros isn’t used in Latin America is similar to why Latinos use “seseo” over “distinción.”
Most of the early groups of Spaniards to come to the Americas were from southern Spain as well as the Canary Islands. By that time, people from those regions didn’t really use vosotros.
So the preference towards ustedes as formal and informal stuck.
Final Thoughts
Learning vosotros in Spanish doesn’t have to be scary or this insurmountable task. I wish I learned it a lot earlier in my studies because I love Spain and its culture.
But it’s never too late to start learning how to use and understand the vosotros form of verbs.
Be sure to check out our free online Spanish flashcards for more vocab practice (and to put your vosotros knowledge to the test).