algarcia66

Formal / Informal (2)

2. TU / VÓS - VOCÊ / VOCÊS - O SENHOR / A SENHORA / OS SENHORES / AS SENHORAS - NÓS / A GENTE

Titles are peanuts when we think about the pronouns above. When I was 9 or 10 years old, in the Portuguese classes, just like any other student did at that time or does nowadays in Brazil, I used to practice verbs conjugation this way:

SER

EU sou

TU és

ELE é

NÓS somos

VÓS sois

ELES são

I didn't know why (and I think nobody did or does in sweet childhood), but it was so easy to conjugate the verbs in the first person of singular (EU), a little more difficult in the first person of plural (NÓS) and the hell on earth in the second person of singular (TU) and plural (VÓS). I only asked myself: "Who was the bastard that invented 'tu' and 'vós'?". Now I have the answer: the guys in the Bible. That's the only place in which you'll see them. Yeah, I'm just kidding. Maybe not.

2.1. TU / VÓS

Portugal and Brazil are christian countries. Very very christian ones. We breathe Christianism since the day we are born. It's present in all of our History, in Politics, Science, neighborhood gossips, family supper or even nightclubbing. That's why I can't help but mention it while talking linguistically about Brazil. Every child is obliged to learn how to conjugate the verbs using "vós", but the only place where it'll be really useful is at church. That's the way we refer to God: "Vós sois o caminho, a verdade e a vida." This archaic and complex form hasn't been used for centuries, except by three or four poets who loved to be highly refined. Yeah, I'm being sarcastic. Maybe not.

"Vós" is dead. Period. You'll just need it to read ancient books or bad poetry. "Tu" is another story. I think in Portugal it's currently used, I just don't know how. "How?", you might have asked. Yeah, there are three ways to use "tu": the right form, the not-that-right form and the I-didn't-even-know-that-I-was-using-it form:

The right form: Just like any other person, the second of singular has its right form to be conjugated: Tu és, tu fazes, tu foste, tu fizeste... and the logic (if there is any) is really similar to Spanish (tú comes - tu comes; tú escribiste - tu escreveste), but I'm not here to play my 4th grade teacher's role, having you conjugate it... What I have to say is that this right form is barely used in Brazil. I know they use it in some places in the northern and northeastern regions, for instance Manaus and some cities in Maranhão, such as the capital São Luiz. Don't ask me why, though. Languages are alive, I'd have to go there for a thorough study on the matter, so I could answer it. The right form is also largely used in poetry and songwriting, mainly in Bossa Nova lyrics...

The not-that-right form: In Rio Grande do Sul (especially in Porto Alegre), some places in Northeast and in Rio de Janeiro, notwithstanding they'd never admit it, they say it a lot. The not-that-right-form consists of using "tu", but conjugating the verb as if it was "você". Example: "Tu é de São Paulo, não é não?". I've heard this sentence one hundred times, because although we, "paulistanos" have always thought we don't have any accent, it's impressively clear to the others... Well, I call it "not-that-right" because, as I said, languages are alive. I can't blame anybody for using a developed and legitimate form, just because it's not in the dictionaries or grammar books. Yeah, I'm being radical. Maybe not.

The I-didn't-even-know-that-I-was-using-it form: The most common form, "você", has a big problem. The object and possessive pronouns. We use "o, a, se, si, lhe" and "seu, sua, seus, suas", regarding they must be the same as third person of singular. But sometimes, it might be confusing, because we love to hide the subject pronouns (e.g.: "É bonito.", instead of  "Você é bonito." or "Ele é bonito.") and it makes impossible to know who we are talking about. Well, it has been naturally and easily solved by complicating it more. We use "você" and conjugate the verbs in the third person of singular, but to make information clearer we use the object and possessive pronouns in the "archaic" (or not that much) second person of singular: "te, ti" and "teu, tua, teus, tuas". Example: "Você viu que o teu livro 'tá com a tua irmã?", "Como você sabe? Ela te falou isso?". It happens here in São Paulo, and in the whole country, all the time. But nobody realizes it. "Contigo" is also very used instead of "com você". And there's the imperative stuff, that I'll explain later.

What about formality and informality? Using "tu" is as formal as using "you" in English. In other words, it doesn't matter if the situation is formal or not. Just depending on WHERE you are, you'd always, sometimes or never use it at all. However, this mess only takes place in Brazil. I heard that in Portugal, "tu" is quite informal, you shouldn't use it with people you don't know very well.

...TO BE CONTINUED...

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