Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

In Spanish there are four different ways of talking directly to people other that yourself. In English, we use the single word “you’ to express these four ways of addressing other people. Therefore, it is not suprising most English speakers get confused when trying to state the different forms of saying “you’ in Spanish since this concept is so foreign to the English language.

It is important to be able to use these four Spanish forms correctly if you ever hope to speak fluent Spanish. Study the the explanations below.

First, “tú” (you singular form) is used almost exclusively when talking to one’s immediate family, to children, to animals and above all to close friends. This form is also used among close acquaintances of all ages. There is no absolute guide for the appropriate use of the so-called “intimate” form of “tú” but it is safe to use it with people one’s own age. In fact, Spanish has a special verb “tutearse” which means to speak to one another in the familiar or “tú” form.

Secondly,”vosotros” is the plural form of tú and roughly translates as “you all” or “all of you”. This form is employeed in Spain and rarely heard in Latin America. Instead, “ustedes” is substituted for all plural second persons. You should understand this form if you are going to study Spanish literature, but can forget it when it comes to spoken Spanish.

The form “vos” which is used instead of “tú” (you familiar) in some parts of Central and South merica including Costa rica, should not be confused with the plural form “vosotros” which as I just mentioned generally replaces “ustedes” in Mexican, Caribbean and South American Spanish.

“Usted” is the formal for saying “you” and is used in business and with anyone who is not a close friend or peer. Finally, “ustedes” is the plural form of “tú” in Latin America as we saw before. The plural of “usted” is also used to speak to more than one person on a formal basis or to two or more intimate people, friends, ect.

This explanation should clarity any confusion about the four ways to say “you’ in Spanish. if you still have any questions, consult a Spanish tutor or ask a Spanish teacher.

Tiquismo of the week: jamonero is a type of bully

In Spanish there are two different verbs which mean ‘to give’ — dar and regalar. let’s first start by examing the verb dar since it is used more frequently and is an important part of many idiomatic expressions.

Dar is most often used as follows: Give me a glass of water / Dáme un vaso de agua or I want to give you my telephone number/ Quiero darle mi número de teléfono.

We also use dar as part of many important idioms. Here are a few of the most common expressions.

(Me) da lo mismo - It’s all the same (to me), or (I) don’t mind.
Dar lata a - to bother or be a nuisance.
¡Dele! - Hurry up!
Dar de beber - to give a drink
Dar de comer - to feed
Dar a conocer - to make known
Dar con - to bump or run into a person or thing
Dar - to hit someone
Darle a cada cual lo suyo - give someone what they deserve
¿Qué más da? - What difference does it make?
Dar en el clavo - to hit the nail on the head

A very common idiomatic form of dar with a noun is similar to ‘make’ in English. For example, Me da verguenza / It makes me ashamed or Me da ganas de gritar/ It makes me want to scream.

The verb regalar also means to give but in the sense of ‘giving away’ something like a gift. For instance, Le regalé un libro para su cumpleaños / I gave her a book for her birthday.

Tiquismo of the week:
Al gato viejo ratón tierno. This expression refers to older men who like young women.

Recently I wrote an article about a short cut to speaking in the future in Spanish. We call this method the “false future.”

Briefly, we form the false future by placing the conjugated present tense form of the verb “IR” followed by the letter “A” before any unconjugated verb. For example, Voy a comer (I’m going to eat); Tú vas a comer (you are going to eat); él , ella, Usted va a comer (He, she or you are going to eat); nosotros vamos a comer (We are going to eat), Ellos, ellas or ustedes van a comer (they or ‘you all” are going to eat).

The above tense is the easiest and most common way of expressing future action. By using this simple form, you can reduce the number of tenses that you have to learn. However, your should learn the ‘real’ future tense.

The future is translated as “will” or “shall.” We use the future in Spanish the same way we do in English: I will see you tomorrow or I’ll see you tomorrow. However, unlike English the word “will” is not translated into Spanish. You only need one word to imply future instead of two. For example, veré means “I will see.”

The future is probably the easiest tense to form. Start with the infinitive of the verb and add the following endings to the end of the verb: é, ás, á, emos, án. For instance, the verb IR (to go) becomes iré, irás, irá, iremos, irán. the endings are the same for ar, er and ir verbs.

Some future forms don’t start with the infinitive and have a different stem. For example, the verb decir (to say or tell) doesn’t use the infinitive form as its stem, but changes to dir. The endings, however, are the same as you use for the regular future verbs: Decir becomes diré, dirás, dirá, diremos, dirán. Other irregular verbs are: venir (vendré, etc.), salir (saldré, etc.), poner (pondré, etc.), tener (tendré, etc.), and hacer (haré, etc.).

Tiquismo of the week:
El guaro no se hizo para lavar. Lovers of Costa Rican moonshine use this phrase to justify their vice.

In Spanish as well as English, we most often use the word “will” followed by a verb when referring to future events. For example, tomorrow I will go to Mexico.

However, if you pay close attention to most conversations in English, you will notice the verb “to go” is used much more frequently than the word “will” when talking about the future. The same holds true for Spanish. So, in both Spanish ans English you are more likely to hear ” I am going to the market” instead of “I will go to the market.”

Using the verb “to go’ instead of “will” when talking in the future is called the “false future.” Learning to use the so-called “false future” is much easier than using the traditional future tense.

The verb “IR“, pronounced like the English word “ear,” means “to go” in Spanish. When conjugated in the present tense, it can have one of the following meanings: voy - I go, vas - you go (familiar), va - he she it goes, vamos - we go and van - they or you (plural) go.

There are two formulas to remember when usuing “ir” to express the future. First, use any of the conjugated verb forms of “ir” given in the last paragraph, followed by an “a” and plus a noun (which usually names a place). For example, Voy a Mexico. (I’m going to Mexico) or (We are going to the market) etc.

The verb “ir” may also be used to talk about a future action. You can do this by using any of the previous conjugations of the verb “ir” followed by the letter “a” and an “unconjugated verb.” For example, Voy a comprar un carro (I’m going to buy a car) or Joe va a comer pizza (Joe is going to eat pizza). Get the idea?

By memorizing these structures and practicing, you should be able to communicate effectively in Spanish when talking about the future.

Tiquismo of the week:
Limpio usually means “clean” in Spanish, but in Costa Rica it is sometimes used when a person is “broke” or hasn’t any money.