Difference between revisions of "Language/French/Grammar/Vous-and-Tu-Complete-Guide"

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When one person is being addressed it is difficult to give hard and fast rules about when to use tu and when to use the polite vous. Generally, one can say that the non-native speaker would be well advised to use vous from the outset, and to allow the native speaker to take the initiative about any change to tu. The following table (Table 3.B) illustrates some uses of tu and polite vous, but it is not possible to give an exhaustive list of such usage. Individual speakers may vary in their own preferences for use of tu or polite vous, and that usage may vary regionally (for example, it is often said that tu is used more readily in the south of France than it is in the north).
When one person is being addressed it is difficult to give hard and fast rules about when to use tu and when to use the polite vous. Generally, one can say that the non-native speaker would be well advised to use vous from the outset, and to allow the native speaker to take the initiative about any change to tu. The following table (Table 3.B) illustrates some uses of tu and polite vous, but it is not possible to give an exhaustive list of such usage. Individual speakers may vary in their own preferences for use of tu or polite vous, and that usage may vary regionally (for example, it is often said that tu is used more readily in the south of France than it is in the north).




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==Complete list of situations ==
==Complete list of situations ==


=== Speakers ===
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!Speakers
!Speakers
Line 93: Line 93:
|Often tu
|Often tu
|When a speaker wants to  be deliberately disrespectful to somebody (e.g. because they're annoyed with  them), they can deliberately 'break' the social barrier and use tu where vous would otherwise be expected.
|When a speaker wants to  be deliberately disrespectful to somebody (e.g. because they're annoyed with  them), they can deliberately 'break' the social barrier and use tu where vous would otherwise be expected.
|}
=== Context / Typical Usage by 2 speakers ===
{| class="wikitable"
|Context
|Typical usage by two speakers
|-
|Adult strangers meeting for the  first time in formal contexts: e.g. business meetings, interviews, dealing  with state administration and services.
|Both use vous.
|-
|Adults meeting in informal  contexts: e.g. neighbours, socializing, shopping.
|Initially both use vous, but with continued contact it is likely that they will change to tu, especially with young adults (under  40).
|-
|Professional superior and inferior
|Generally both use vous, but in some organizations the inferior may use vous and the superior tu.
|-
|Professional equals
|Both use tu, but older speakers (50-ish or over) may use vous.
|-
|Immediate family
|Both use tu.
|-
|Distant relatives: e.g. second  cousins, great aunts/uncles, etc.
|Both use tu, but there is a tendency to use vous when older family members are involved.
|-
|Friends
|Typically tu but older speakers (50-ish or over) may use vous. This does not necessarily indicate  less warmth in the friendship.
|-
|Adults to young children
|Adults use tu to young children up to early adolescence. When very young they  will respond with tu, but  as they grow older they are expected to learn when and where vous is required of them.
|-
|Teachers and pupils
|Teachers typically use tu to children under 14 and vous to older pupils, but some teachers continue to use tu, either to express power over their  pupils, or solidarity with them. The younger the teacher, the greater the  likelihood that tu will be  used. Pupils typically use vous to teachers, occasionally tu. Under tens are rarely expected to say vous  to their teacher.
|-
|Students
|Both use tu from the first meeting.
|}
|}



Revision as of 08:26, 17 October 2021

Learn french tu or vous.jpg
French-Language-PolyglotClub.png
The use of vous and tu

Knowing when to use VOUS or TU in French can be a real headache.


This guide will help you see more clearly.


We will list the situations where you must use the polite form VOUS and those where it is preferable to use the unformal form TU.


vous can have two functions: to address more than one person, and as a polite form of address to one person when there is a certain 'social distance' between the speaker and the addressee, tu is used only to address one person when there is no social distance between speaker and addressee.


In its plural use, vous refers simply to more than one addressee, whether social intimates or not:

  • Vous voulez aller au match dimanche?

Do you want to go to the match this Sunday?

(e.g. several friends discussing where to go)

  • Vous allez me refaire ce devoir

You lot are going to have to do this homework again

(e.g. a teacher talking to a class)


When one person is being addressed it is difficult to give hard and fast rules about when to use tu and when to use the polite vous. Generally, one can say that the non-native speaker would be well advised to use vous from the outset, and to allow the native speaker to take the initiative about any change to tu. The following table (Table 3.B) illustrates some uses of tu and polite vous, but it is not possible to give an exhaustive list of such usage. Individual speakers may vary in their own preferences for use of tu or polite vous, and that usage may vary regionally (for example, it is often said that tu is used more readily in the south of France than it is in the north).


Basic rule

The difference between TU and VOUS is simply a question of courtesy. Thus to use one or the other will dépend of the person you’re speaking to.

VOUS

For any type of formal situation when you don’t know the person well. When in doubt, use vous!

TU

For familiar situations with friends and family and those you know reasonably well, and for those who have accepted the usage of TU.

Complete list of situations

Speakers

Speakers Form of address used Comments
Family members tu Family members pretty automatically use tu between one another. So a 3-year-old child would normally use "tu" to his 80-year-old grandmother.
Speakers aged 15-30 Generally tu Generally, adults up to the age of about 30 (and often up to 40) automatically use tu unless another factor (e.g. a junior worker talking to their boss) provokes vous. Conversely, close solidarity (a 20-year-old and 50-year-old in the same job) could extend this age range.
Adult to child Often tu unless a specific social barrier demands vous. Generally, somebody above the age of about 15 would automatically use tu to somebody below the age of 15. For speakers around the age of 15, this is essentially an extension of the previous observation.
Young child to adult vous A young child (up to about 10) talking to an adult (aged about 15 onwards) would commonly use vous.
Child to child tu Children under the age of about 15 will automatically use tu to one another.
Colleagues Generally tu, or vous when there is a marked difference in hierarchy Generally, colleagues would use tu to one another. But, for example, a teacher talking to the headmaster, or a junior office worker talking to their boss or somebody important in the company, would be likely to use vous. It would also be normal for the boss to use vous back to the junior colleague. Particular workplaces can also have particular protocols (just as in English-speaking companies there may be a protocol as to whether people are addressed on first name terms).
Pupil to teacher vous This is an analoguous situation to the 'hierarchy gap' mentioned above.
Teacher to primary school pupil tu To young children in any social situation, tu is generally used.
Teacher to older pupil Often vous It is not uncommon for teachers to use vous to pupils from the age of about 13, possibly as a way of 'distancing themselves' socially from the pupil.
Participants in on-line forums, Internet Relay Chat etc Generally tu The tendancy to use tu in these non face-to-face situations appears to be stronger than in face-to-face situations.
New business contacts vous initially, then often tu New contacts meeting or exchanging e-mails for the first time would generally use vous. If a close working relationship was forged, then it would be common for one party to suggest using tu.
Speaker A treating speaker B with contempt (e.g. because B has just crashed into A's car). Often tu When a speaker wants to be deliberately disrespectful to somebody (e.g. because they're annoyed with them), they can deliberately 'break' the social barrier and use tu where vous would otherwise be expected.

Context / Typical Usage by 2 speakers

Context Typical usage by two speakers
Adult strangers meeting for the first time in formal contexts: e.g. business meetings, interviews, dealing with state administration and services. Both use vous.
Adults meeting in informal contexts: e.g. neighbours, socializing, shopping. Initially both use vous, but with continued contact it is likely that they will change to tu, especially with young adults (under 40).
Professional superior and inferior Generally both use vous, but in some organizations the inferior may use vous and the superior tu.
Professional equals Both use tu, but older speakers (50-ish or over) may use vous.
Immediate family Both use tu.
Distant relatives: e.g. second cousins, great aunts/uncles, etc. Both use tu, but there is a tendency to use vous when older family members are involved.
Friends Typically tu but older speakers (50-ish or over) may use vous. This does not necessarily indicate less warmth in the friendship.
Adults to young children Adults use tu to young children up to early adolescence. When very young they will respond with tu, but as they grow older they are expected to learn when and where vous is required of them.
Teachers and pupils Teachers typically use tu to children under 14 and vous to older pupils, but some teachers continue to use tu, either to express power over their pupils, or solidarity with them. The younger the teacher, the greater the likelihood that tu will be used. Pupils typically use vous to teachers, occasionally tu. Under tens are rarely expected to say vous to their teacher.
Students Both use tu from the first meeting.

Funny diagram 😂

This funny diagram exaggeratesly shows how difficult it can be to choose between TU or YOU.


Tu-and-vous-diagram.jpg

Source: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-og-bastile-vous-tu-20140711-htmlstory.html

Sources

http://www.french-linguistics.co.uk/grammar/tu_and_vous.shtml

https://www.ouiinfrance.com/difference-between-tu-and-vous-in-french/

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-og-bastile-vous-tu-20140711-htmlstory.html