Uruguayan voseo: vos, tú, and the mixed form

Explanation

Like Argentina, Uruguay is voseante: the everyday second person is vos, with present forms vos tenés, podés, querés, sos and imperatives vení, comé, andá. Montevideo speech and the Rioplatense accent — including zheísmo/sheísmo — are broadly shared across the estuary.

What sets Uruguay apart is the greater survival of tú and, above all, the mixed 'tuteo pronominal + voseo verbal' — the pronoun tú with the vos verb form: tú tenés, tú sabés, tú podés. This blend, common in Montevideo and much of the country, is rare in Buenos Aires.

Usage shades by register and region: full voseo (vos tenés) is the informal default, the mixed tú tenés carries a slightly softer or more careful tone for some speakers, and usted marks formality. In the north (Rivera, on the Brazilian border), contact with Portuguese adds its own patterns.

Examples

Related rules

• Rioplatense voseo: vos as the full standard
• Zheísmo & sheísmo: ll and y pronounced 'sh'
• Everyday Uruguayan words: ta, bo, botija, championes