A Short Guide for using Vous and Tu Are you an adult? yes Are you speaking to a child? no Is the child like a prince or something? yes no no Are you speaking to an adult? Tu yes yes vous Is the adult a family member? no Tu no vous yes Tu You are speaking to . . . Someone you don’t formally know A friend or lover Your father-in-law Your spouse Your boss Your teacher Best to Tu Ask Believe it or not Tu yes God? Is your teacher young enough to be your daughter or son? Is your spouse former president Jacques Chirac? no vous yes Is this someone considerably older (say, a half generation or more) than you? no Tu yes vous Do you work at a company like Le Google where no one wears neckties and everyone is “tu”? no no This is a “vous” situation. Except . . . did your boss just really piss you off, and you want him to know it? yes Swear to God Come on, really? Tu no vous yes Tu yes Tu yes Tu no Did you participate in the French May 1968 riots demanding government reform and free love? Tu yes Were you at Woodstock? yes no OK, maybe not no vous Do you consider this person a peer, that is, a fellow student, the coworker in the next cubicle, an Internet chat room acquaintance, or someone you met in a bar last night and just woke up next to? not sure Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk? no vous no yes A lg o n q u i n Tu vous b o o k s • w w w. a l g o n q u i n . c o m
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