Tú, Usted or Ustedes?

Spanish has three everyday ways to say you, and the verb changes with each one:

• tú for one friend, child or relative: Oye, Pablo, ¿quieres un café?
• usted for one person you treat politely (a stranger, a doctor, an older neighbour). It takes the he/she form of the verb: Señora, ¿quiere un café?
• ustedes for a group. It takes the they form: Señores, ¿de dónde son? (Gentlemen, where are you from?)

The way the person is addressed tells you which to use: Señor, Señora, Doctor, Don/Doña → usted; a first name, Mamá, Papá or Oye → tú; Niños, Chicos, Señores → ustedes. The pronoun itself is usually left out. In Latin America ustedes is used for every group; in Spain a group of friends or children is vosotros (tenéis, queréis), which is also accepted here.