Tu or vous

In French, as in some other latin based languages, the meaning of the word “you” changes depending on the person being addressed; tu or vous are used in different ways. The pronoun “You” can will be translated into “tu” for more familiar situations and “vous” for more formal situations. En English the words “tu” and “vous” both mean ‘you’ and it can be used to address any person or number of people, whatever the age or social status of that person.

The “tu” form:

It is more likely to be used to address somebody in a similar social situation (same age, same role or job status, even though she or he is a stranger)

The “vous” form:

It is more likely to be used to address somebody in a superior social situation (older than you, higher hierarchy in a professional relationship or a person that you just make acquaintance)

In case of doubt, you can always ask the person what he or she prefers or start with “vous”, and see if the person asks you to switch to “tu”. You can also listen to what other people, similar to you in status, call the person in order to choose the appropriate tu or vous pronoun.

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Practice some questions here:

Questions personnelles (informal):	Questions personnelles (formal):
Tu – t’ – ton – ta	Vous / votre
1.- Comment t’appelles-tu?	Comment vous appelez – vous ?
2.- Comment vas-tu?	Comment allez –vous ?
3.- Quel est ton métier?	Quel est votre métier?
4.- Quelle est ta profession?	Quelle est votre profession?
5.- Où travailles-tu?	Où travaillez – vous ?