Editing Spanish grammar (section)

== Dialectal variations ==

=== Forms of address ===
The use of {{lang|es|italic=yes|usted}} and {{lang|es|italic=yes|ustedes}} as a polite form of address is universal. However, there are variations in informal address. {{lang|es|italic=yes|Ustedes}} replaces {{lang|es|italic=yes|vosotros}} in part of [[Andalusia]], the [[Canary Islands]], and Latin America, except in the liturgical or poetic of styles. In some parts of Andalusia, the pronoun {{lang|es|italic=yes|ustedes}} is used with the standard {{lang|es|italic=yes|vosotros}} endings.

Depending on the region, Latin Americans may also replace the singular {{lang|es|italic=yes|tú}} with {{lang|es|italic=yes|usted}} or {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}}. The choice of pronoun is a tricky issue and can even vary from village to village. Travellers are often advised to play it safe and call everyone {{lang|es|italic=yes|usted}}.

A feature of the speech of the [[Dominican Republic]] and other areas where syllable-final /s/ is completely silent is that there is no audible difference between the second- and third-person singular form of the verb.  This leads to redundant pronoun use, for example, the tagging on of {{lang|es|italic=yes|¿tú ves?}} (pronounced {{lang|es|italic=yes|tuvé}}) to the ends of sentences, where other speakers would say {{lang|es|italic=yes|¿ves?}}.

==== ''Voseo'' ====
{{Main|Voseo}}
{{lang|es|italic=yes|Vos}} was used in medieval Castilian as a polite form, like the French {{lang|fr|italic=yes|vous}} and the Italian {{lang|it|italic=yes|voi}}, and it used the same forms as {{lang|es|italic=yes|vosotros}}.  This gave three levels of formality:
* {{lang|es|italic=yes|Tú quieres}}
* {{lang|es|italic=yes|Vos queréis}} (originally {{lang|es|italic=yes|queredes}})
* {{lang|es|italic=yes|Vuestra merced quiere}} (today {{lang|es|italic=yes|usted}})

Whereas {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} was lost in standard Spanish, some dialects lost {{lang|es|italic=yes|tú}}, and began using {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} as the informal pronoun. The exact connotations of this practice, called {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[voseo]]}}, depend on the dialect. In certain countries there may be socioeconomic implications. {{lang|es|italic=yes|Voseo}} uses the pronoun {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} for {{lang|es|italic=yes|tú}} but maintains {{lang|es|italic=yes|te}} as an object pronoun and {{lang|es|italic=yes|tu}} and {{lang|es|italic=yes|tuyo}} as possessives.

In {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[voseo]]}}, verbs corresponding to {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} in the present indicative (roughly equivalent to the English simple present), are formed from the second person plural (the form for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vosotros}}). If the second person plural ends in '''{{lang|es|áis}}''' or '''{{lang|es|éis}}''', the form for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} drops the '''{{lang|es|i}}''':

* {{lang|es|Vosotros habláis}} – {{lang|es|vos hablás}}
* {{lang|es|Vosotros tenéis}} – {{lang|es|vos tenés}}

Similarly the verb '''{{lang|es|ser}}''' (to be) has:

* {{lang|es|Vosotros sois}} – {{lang|es|vos sos}}

If the second person plural ends in '''{{lang|es|-ís}}''' (with an accent on the '''{{lang|es|í}}'''), then the form for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}}'' is identical:

* {{lang|es|Vosotros vivís}} – {{lang|es|vos vivís}}
* {{lang|es|Vosotros oís}} – {{lang|es|vos oís}}
* {{lang|es|Vosotros huís}} – {{lang|es|vos huís}}

In the imperative, the form for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} is also derived from the second person plural. The latter ends always in '''{{lang|es|-d}}'''. So for the form for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} this '''{{lang|es|d}}''' is removed, and if the verb has more than one syllable, an accent is added to the last vowel:

* {{lang|es|Tened (vosotros)}} – {{lang|es|tené (vos)}}
* {{lang|es|Dad (vosotros)}} – {{lang|es|da (vos)}}

The only exception to these rules is in the verb '''{{lang|es|ir}}''' (to go), which does not have an imperative form for '''{{lang|es|vos}}''' and uses the analogous form of the verb '''{{lang|es|andar}}''', which has a similar meaning, and is regular:

* {{lang|es|Andad}} – {{lang|es|andá}}

In the present subjunctive, the same rules as for the present indicative apply, though these forms coexist in Argentina with those for the pronoun '''{{lang|es|tú}}''':

* {{lang|es|Que vosotros digáis}} – {{lang|es|que vos digás}}
Or:
* {{lang|es|Que tú digas}} – {{lang|es|que vos digas}}

Other tenses always have the same form for '''{{lang|es|vos}}''' as for '''{{lang|es|tú}}'''.

Outside Argentina, other combinations are possible. For instance, people in [[Maracaibo]] may use standard {{lang|es|italic=yes|vosotros}} endings for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vos}} ({{lang|es|italic=yes|vos habláis}}, {{lang|es|italic=yes|que vos habléis}}).

==== ''Vosotros'' imperative: ''-ar'' for ''-ad'' ====
In Spain, colloquially, the infinitive is used instead of the normative imperative for {{lang|es|italic=yes|vosotros}}. This is not accepted in the [[linguistic prescription|normative]] language.
* {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Venir!}} instead of {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Venid!}}
* {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Callaros!}} instead of {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Callaos!}} ({{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Callarse!}} in some dialects)
* {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Iros!}} or {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Marcharos!}} instead of {{lang|es|italic=yes|¡Idos!}}

==== Non-normative ''-s'' on ''tú'' form ====
A form used for centuries but never accepted normatively has an {{lang|es|italic=yes|-s}} ending in the second person singular of the preterite or simple past. For example, {{lang|es|italic=yes|lo hicistes}} instead of the normative {{lang|es|italic=yes|lo hiciste}}; {{lang|es|italic=yes|hablastes tú}} for {{lang|es|italic=yes|hablaste tú}}. That is the only instance in which the {{lang|es|italic=yes|tú}} form does not end in an {{lang|es|italic=yes|-s}} in the [[linguistic prescription|normative]] language.

[[Judaeo-Spanish|Ladino]] has gone further with {{lang|es|italic=yes|hablates}}.

=== Third-person object pronoun variation ===
The third-person direct-object and indirect-object pronouns exhibit variation from region to region, from one individual to another, and even within the language of single individuals. The {{lang|es|Real Academia Española}} prefers an "etymological" usage, one in which the indirect object function is carried by {{lang|es|italic=yes|le}} (regardless of gender), and the direct object function is carried by {{lang|es|italic=yes|la}} or {{lang|es|italic=yes|lo}} (according to the gender of the antecedent, and regardless of its animacy).

The Academy also condones the use of {{lang|es|italic=yes|le}} as a direct object form for masculine, animate antecedents (i.e. male humans). Deviations from these approved usages are named {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[leísmo]]}} (for the use of {{lang|es|italic=yes|le}} as a direct object), and {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[laísmo]]}} and {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[loísmo]]}} (for the use of {{lang|es|italic=yes|la}} and {{lang|es|italic=yes|lo}} as indirect objects). The object pronoun variation is studied in detail by {{Harvcoltxt|García|Otheguy|1977}}.

Here are some examples for this:

* '''{{lang|es|Leísmo}}''': {{lang|es|italic=yes|Le miraron}} (They saw him/her/it). <u>Normative</u>: {{lang|es|italic=yes|lo miraron}} or {{lang|es|italic=yes|la miraron}} depending on the gender of the object.
* '''{{lang|es|Laísmo}}''': {{lang|es|italic=yes|La dijeron que se callara}} (They told her to shut up). <u>Normative</u>: {{lang|es|italic=yes|Le dijeron que se callara}}. The person who is told something is an indirect object in Spanish, and the substituting pronoun is the same for both genders.
* '''{{lang|es|Loísmo}}''': {{lang|es|italic=yes|Lo dijeron que se callara}} (They told him to shut up). <u>Normative</u>: {{lang|es|italic=yes|Le dijeron que se callara}}. See above.

=== ''Queísmo'' and ''dequeísmo'' ===
[[Dependent clause|Noun clauses]] in Spanish are typically introduced by the [[complementizer]] {{lang|es|italic=yes|que}}, and such a noun clause may serve as the object of the preposition {{lang|es|italic=yes|de}}, resulting in the sequence {{lang|es|italic=yes|de que}} in the standard language. This sequence, in turn, is often reduced colloquially to just {{lang|es|italic=yes|que}}, and this reduction is called {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[queísmo]]}}.

Some speakers, by way of [[hypercorrection]] (i.e. in an apparent effort to avoid the "error" of {{lang|es|italic=yes|queísmo}}), insert {{lang|es|italic=yes|de}} before {{lang|es|italic=yes|que}} in contexts where it is not prescribed in standard grammar. This insertion of "extraneous" {{lang|es|italic=yes|de}} before {{lang|es|italic=yes|que}} — called {{lang|es|italic=yes|[[dequeísmo]]}} — is generally associated with less-educated speakers.