¿eres tú?
The Spanish phrase "are you?" is translated as ¿eres tú?
A question used to ask if a specific person is the one being referred to.
Which one should you use?
While ¿eres tú? specifically emphasizes the identity of the person (Are you the one?), ¿eres…? is used to ask about a quality or profession (Are you [a doctor/tall]?).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the pronoun tú is often omitted because the verb conjugation eres already indicates the subject is "you".
Did you know?
- The word eres is a linguistic fossil from Latin, as it is actually the future tense form 'you will be' that survived to become the present tense in Spanish.
- If you use ¿Eres tú? with a stranger, you might sound accidentally rude, as the use of tú implies a level of familiarity or friendship.
- The spelling of tú requires an accent mark to distinguish it from the possessive adjective 'your', which is spelled tu without the accent.
Examples in context
- Saludos. ¿Usted es el señor García?Greetings. Are you Mr. García?
- Disculpe, ¿es usted el nuevo gerente?Excuse me, are you the new manager?
- ¿Está usted en la oficina?Are you in the office?
- Hola Marta, ¿tú eres la hermana de Pedro?Hi Marta, are you Pedro's sister?
- ¿Eres tú el que ganó la competencia?Are you the one who won the competition?
- Hola, ¿estás en casa?Hi, are you at home?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eres, tú, CC BY-SA 4.0.
