Voseo is the use of the second person singular pronoun vos instead of tú. Vos is used extensively as the primary spoken form of the second-person singular predominantly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and in the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In the dialect of Argentina and Uruguay (known as Rioplatense Spanish) vos is also the standard form for use in television media. Here are some examples of Rioplatense Spanish and European Spanish in the imperative form, the first form is Rioplatense Spanish and the other is European Spanish.
Hablá - Habla
Comé - Come
Viví - Vive
Pensá - Piensa
Dormí - Duerme
Entendé - Entiende
Cerrá - Cierra
Tené - Ten
Hacé - Haz
Andá (ir) - Ve
Decí - Di
Poné - Pon
The song “Cha Cha Cha”, by La Mosca, has some examples of voseo, have a look:
“Vení, bailá, quedáte un rato más” (Come, dance, stay a little longer)
Las horas nunca se me pasan si no estoy con vos (The hours don´t go by when I´m with you.)
See you next time!
One Comment
For a beginner, the “Vos” explanation was hard to understand.
I appreciated the translations from the music.
Vince