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You are sitting at a juice stand in Cartagena's Getsemaní neighborhood. The woman behind the counter looks at you and says: "¿Tú qué quiere'?" (What do you want?) In Bogotá, a stranger would almost certainly say "¿Usted qué desea?" In Medellín, a young person might say "¿Vos qué querés?" But here on the coast, tú is king. A taxi driver uses it with passengers. A shopkeeper uses it with customers. A teenager uses it with elders (though some elders might raise an eyebrow). Tú is not casual or rude here — it is the default way Costeños relate to the world.
This is not just a cultural curiosity. It means that if you learned Spanish through Bogotá-style usted forms, you need to activate an entirely different conjugation paradigm to speak and understand on the coast. And if you learned with textbook tú forms — congratulations, the coast is where those forms actually live.
In this lesson, you will master the full tú conjugation paradigm across present, past, and future tenses, and learn when tú is used versus the rare Costeño usted.
B1 Language Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
The tú form always ends in -s in the present tense. This is the fundamental rule. It applies to all three verb classes (-ar, -er, -ir) and to irregular verbs.
Regular verbs:
| Infinitive | Tú form | Usted form (Bogotá) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablas | habla | you speak |
| comer | comes | come | you eat |
| vivir | vives | vive | you live |
| trabajar | trabajas | trabaja | you work |
| bailar | bailas | baila | you dance |
Irregular verbs (stem-changing and high-frequency):
| Infinitive | Tú form | Usted form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| tener | tienes | tiene | you have |
| querer | quieres | quiere | you want |
| poder | puedes | puede | you can |
| ir | vas | va | you go |
| ser | eres | es | you are |
| estar | estás | está | you are |
| saber | sabes | sabe | you know |
| decir | dices | dice | you say |
| hacer | haces | hace | you do |
| venir | vienes | viene | you come |
The key difference: Tú adds -s. Usted uses the same form as él/ella (no -s). This single letter is the entire difference between sounding coastal and sounding bogotano.
The tú paradigm extends to past tenses, and here again, the -s is the marker.
Preterite (completed past actions):
| Verb class | Tú form | Usted form | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ar (hablar) | hablaste | habló | ¿Tú hablaste con ella? (Did you talk to her?) |
| -er (comer) | comiste | comió | ¿Tú comiste pescado? (Did you eat fish?) |
| -ir (salir) | saliste | salió | ¿Tú saliste anoche? (Did you go out last night?) |
| ir/ser | fuiste | fue | ¿Tú fuiste a la playa? (Did you go to the beach?) |
| tener | tuviste | tuvo | ¿Tú tuviste tiempo? (Did you have time?) |
| hacer | hiciste | hizo | ¿Tú hiciste la tarea? (Did you do the homework?) |
Imperfect (habitual/descriptive past):
| Verb class | Tú form | Usted form | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ar | hablabas | hablaba | Tú hablabas mucho de niño. (You used to talk a lot as a kid.) |
| -er | comías | comía | Tú comías de todo. (You used to eat everything.) |
| -ir | vivías | vivía | Tú vivías en Barranquilla. (You used to live in Barranquilla.) |
| ser | eras | era | Tú eras muy callado. (You used to be very quiet.) |
| ir | ibas | iba | Tú ibas a la playa todos los domingos. (You used to go to the beach every Sunday.) |
Catching Up With an Old Friend in Barranquilla
You run into your friend Luis at the malecón in Barranquilla. He has not seen you since before your trip:
"¡Epa! ¿Tú cuándo llegaste? ¿Cómo te fue? ¿Tú fuiste a Santa Marta o te quedaste en Cartagena? Yo sabía que tú venías pero no sabía cuándo."
Breakdown: ¿Tú cuándo llegaste? (When did you arrive? — preterite), ¿Cómo te fue? (How did it go?), ¿Tú fuiste...? (Did you go...? — preterite of ir), te quedaste (you stayed — preterite), sabía (I knew — imperfect), venías (you were coming — imperfect). Notice: every "you" question uses tú + the -ste preterite ending. In Bogotá, these would all be usted forms: ¿Usted cuándo llegó? ¿Usted fue...? Se quedó...
Costeños use two future constructions, just like all Spanish speakers. But the informal register of tú means they lean heavily on the ir + a + infinitive construction for plans.
Simple future (will):
| Infinitive | Tú form | Usted form | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablar | hablarás | hablará | you will speak |
| comer | comerás | comerá | you will eat |
| ir | irás | irá | you will go |
| tener | tendrás | tendrá | you will have |
| poder | podrás | podrá | you will be able |
Ir + a + infinitive (going to) — more common in everyday Costeño:
With Costeño phonology: Tú va' a i' a la fiesta. / ¿Tú va' a comprá' el pasaje?
Change usted to tú. If no pronoun is stated, add tú for clarity.
Present: add -s (habla → hablas). Preterite: change -ó to -aste/-iste (habló → hablaste, comió → comiste). Future: add -s (hablará → hablarás).
Drop the final -s on verb forms: hablas → habla'. Reduce para → pa'. Delete intervocalic /d/ in participles.
At a Costeño Restaurant — Tú in Service
A waiter in a Cartagena restaurant approaches your table:
Waiter: "¿Tú qué va' a pedí'?" (¿Tú qué vas a pedir? — What are you going to order?) You: "Yo quiero el pesca'o frito con patacón." Waiter: "¿Tú quiere' jugo? Tenemo' de lulo, de mango y de maracuyá." (¿Tú quieres jugo? Tenemos de lulo... — Do you want juice?) You: "Sí, un jugo de lulo, por favor." Waiter: "Listo, ya te lo traigo." (Ready, I will bring it right out.)
Notice: the waiter uses tú with a customer he has never met. In Bogotá, a waiter would say "¿Qué desea, señor?" or "¿Usted qué va a pedir?" This is normal, not rude.
In Costeño phonology, 'tú hablas' sounds like...
Colombia is unique in having three pronoun systems operating simultaneously across its regions. Understanding this map is a B1 sociolinguistic skill:
| Region | Default pronoun | Verb example ("you speak") | Social register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean coast | tú | tú hablas | Warm, egalitarian, default |
| Bogotá / Altiplano | usted | usted habla | Respectful, default even with friends |
| Paisa region (Medellín) | vos | vos hablás | Informal, affectionate, regional pride |
Convert to Costeño: '¿Usted salió temprano ayer?'
Planning a Beach Trip — Using Tú in All Tenses
Your Costeño friend María is planning a trip with you:
Present: "Tú conoces Santa Marta, ¿cierto? Tú sabes dónde quedan las mejores playas." Past (preterite): "La última vez que fuiste, ¿tú te quedaste en el Rodadero o fuiste al Tayrona?" Past (imperfect): "Cuando eras pequeño, ¿tú ibas mucho a la playa?" Future: "Esta vez tú vas a ver algo increíble. Te va a encantar."
All four tenses, all with tú. In Bogotá, every single tú would be usted, and every verb ending would shift accordingly.
Conjugation Drills for This Week
Monday-Tuesday: Write the full tú present tense for these 10 verbs: ser, estar, tener, ir, querer, poder, saber, hacer, decir, venir. Say each one aloud.
Wednesday-Thursday: Take 5 sentences from a Bogotá Spanish textbook that use usted. Convert each one to Costeño tú (change pronoun + verb + possessives). Then apply Costeño phonology (delete final -s, reduce para to pa').
Friday-Weekend: Practice the preterite tú: write 5 questions you might ask a friend about yesterday (¿Tú comiste...? ¿Tú hiciste...? ¿Tú fuiste...?). Then answer each one in first person (Sí, yo comí... Yo hice... Yo fui...).
Su (usted's) becomes tu (tú's). Le may become te. Example: ¿Usted tiene su pasaporte? → ¿Tú tienes tu pasaporte?