/tu/
Translation
you (informal singular subject)
Word origin
From Latin tu ('you'), unchanged in form for two thousand years; the same root gives French tu and Italian tu.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- tu
- English cognates
- thou
Examples
¿ ?
What do you think about all this?
.
You always arrive before me.
, .
Between you and me, I do not like it at all.
, .
If you do not come, we are not going.
.
It is you who decides.
Tú is the informal second-person singular subject pronoun - the "you" for friends, family, children and anyone you are on first-name terms with. The written accent is load-bearing: tú is the pronoun, tu without the accent is the possessive ("tu casa" - your house). One mark, two different words.
As with every Spanish subject pronoun, tú is usually left out - "hablas" already means "you speak". Use it for emphasis or contrast ("tú decides"), and choose it over usted whenever the situation is friendly rather than formal; most of Latin America and all of Spain use it freely among peers.
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
(48)Spanish Accent Rules: agudas, llanas, esdrújulas (café, árbol, rápido)
Spanish Advanced Grammar (C1-C2): The Constructions That Sound Native
Spanish Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Spanish Text Cohesion and Style: signposting, avoiding repetition, en resumen
Spanish Comparatives: más que, menos que, tan como and the Four Irregulars
Spanish Correlative Comparison: cuanto más... más, cada vez más, el doble
Spanish Compound Tenses: the Future Perfect and Past Anterior (habré hablado, hube hablado)
Spanish Conditional: the 'Would' Tense, me gustaría and Polite Requests
Conjugating Spanish -ar Verbs in the Present Tense
Conjugating Spanish -er Verbs in the Present Tense
Conjugating Spanish -ir Verbs in the Present Tense
Conjugating Spanish Reflexive Verbs in the Present Tense
Spanish Verb Conjugation: The Complete Rules with Examples
The Spanish Diacritic Accent: tú vs tu, sí vs si, qué vs que
Spanish Formal Commands: usted and ustedes
Spanish Future Tense: ir a + Infinitive and the Inflectional Future
Spanish Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today
Gustar and Verbs Like It: Why Spanish Says the Coffee Pleases You
Spanish Imperative: Affirmative Tú Commands and the Eight Irregulars
The Spanish Imperfect Subjunctive: Formation, Examples and Practice
Spanish Imperfect: hablaba, comía, vivía and Only Three Irregulars
Spanish Irregular Verbs: The Groups Worth Learning and the Ones to Memorise
Spanish Negative Commands: Why no hables Borrows the Subjunctive
Spanish Nosotros Commands: the 'Let's...' Form
Spanish Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns: lo, la, le, se
The Spanish Present Perfect Subjunctive (haya hablado), with Practice
The Spanish Pluperfect Subjunctive and Conditional Perfect (hubiera hablado, habría hablado)
The Spanish Pluperfect (había hablado)
Spanish Politeness: Softening Requests (¿Podría...?, ¿Te importaría...?, quisiera)
Spanish Possessive Pronouns: el mío, el tuyo, el suyo and the Long Possessives
Spanish Possessive Adjectives: mi, tu, su and Why Agreement Trips Beginners
Spanish Prepositional Pronouns (para mí, conmigo, entre tú y yo)
Spanish Present Perfect: he hablado, ha vivido, hemos visto
The Spanish Present Subjunctive: Forms, the Opposite-Vowel Rule, and Practice
Spanish Preterite: hablé, comí, viví and the Big Irregular Group
Spanish Reflexive Verbs: levantarse, llamarse, lavarse and the Pronoun Position
Spanish Regional Grammar: voseo (vos tenés), ustedes, and preterite vs perfect
Spanish Register: tu vs usted, vosotros vs ustedes (and how formal to be)
Reported Speech in Spanish: tense backshift (dice que, dijo que)
Saber vs Conocer: The Two Spanish Verbs for 'To Know'
Ser vs Estar: When to Use Each, with a Practice Quiz and Worksheets
Spanish Set Phrases with tener, dar, hacer, echar (tener ganas, echar de menos, hacer falta)
Si Clauses in Spanish: Real and Unreal Conditions (si llueve, si tuviera, si hubiera)
Spanish Stem-Changing Verbs: e>ie, o>ue, e>i and the Boot Pattern
Spanish Subject Pronouns: yo, tú, él and Why You Usually Leave Them Out
Spanish Subjunctive After Emotion
Spanish Subjunctive After Wishes
Spanish Word Order: SVO, Pro-Drop and the Five Rules That Cover 90% of Sentences
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tú: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Spanish word "tú" (you (informal singular subject)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 2.