Puerto Rican Spanish question - tu/usted?

Question

Hi, just wanted some input.  In puerto rican culture, when do you use usted?  (Please don't give me the Spanish 1 answer that you use usted to show respect.)  Specifically, I'm looking for help in the following situations (oh, and I'm an adult).
1. Friend of a friend.  She's an adult that I don't know well.  I assume I use usted.
2. Her 3 children, ages 9, 3, and 2 months.
3. My own son.  I have been "tuteandole", but then I heard her refer to her son as Usted.  Does this vary from culture to culture?

Thanks :)

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

1.-  Usted

2.- Tú, for all of them. If you address a kid  as "usted", it will look weird; kids are generally addressed as "tú" by adults, unless they are in school, where many teachers address children, teenagers and young adults as "usted".

3.- Addressing your own son as "tú"  is fine. As far as I know, at least in Mexico and Central America, children from "pueblos" (small towns) where people don't have higher education in general, are the ones who call their parents "usted". In big cities it is very rare to see that, and that happens mostly when the parents came to the city from a small town.

But in no case whatsoever have I ever seen a parent call their children "usted". They do it only when scolding them, to make them see they are serious (example: Muchacho malcriado, LE dije que se portara bien en la fiesta" Naughty boy, I told you to behave at the party).

loralaey · Answer

1. Usted
2. Tu
3. Tu

"Usted" is use when you don't know a person or if is an older adult.  "Tu" is use for children and persons younger than you.(teenagers for example).  Children should always address adults as "Usted",  other children as "Tu"
I am from P.R., Say hello to all my paisanos, for me.

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Puerto Rican Spanish question - tu/usted?

2 Answers