Formal and informal you
તું for a friend, તમે for an adult or a group, and the respectful આપ, with the verb forms and the words for your that go with each.
Learn
Formal and informal you, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Use તું for one person you are close to
તું is for a friend, a brother or sister, a younger cousin or a child: તું ક્યાં જાય છે? where are you going? Using it with an adult you do not know well sounds rude.
Use તમે for an adult, or for more than one person
તમે is polite, and it is also the plural: તમે ક્યાં રહો છો? where do you live? It takes the -ો verb forms: તમે આવો છો, તમે આવશો, તમે આવ્યા.
Use આપ to show special respect
આપ is for elders, guests, officials and formal letters: આપ ક્યાંથી આવો છો? where are you from? It takes the same verb forms as તમે, with આપને to you and આપનું your.
Match the word for your
તારું goes with તું, તમારું with તમે and આપનું with આપ: તારું નામ શું છે?, તમારું નામ શું છે?, આપનું નામ શું છે?. Each agrees with the thing owned, like મારું: તારો ભાઈ, તારી બહેન.
Match commands to the person
To a friend, the bare stem: બેસ sit, આવ come. To an adult, -ો: બેસો, આવો. પધારો is a warm, respectful welcome for a guest.
Show respect when you talk about someone
Gujarati uses the plural for an older person you respect: મારા દાદા બહુ સારા છે my grandfather is very kind, તેઓ આવ્યા he came. -જી after a name or a relative adds respect: દાદાજી, ગાંધીજી.
Use the register the role-play card asks for
Each role-play card says whether it is formal or informal. An informal one needs તું, તારું and their verb forms; a formal one needs તમે or આપ and theirs, and no slang. In the picture-based task either register is accepted.
Formal and informal you key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Register
- How formal your language is: informal with friends, formal with adults, officials and in letters.
- તું
- You, to one friend or family member. It takes -ે in the present: તું રમે છે.
- તમે
- You, politely to one adult, or to more than one person. It takes -ો: તમે રમો છો.
- આપ
- You, with special respect, for elders, guests and formal letters. It takes the તમે verb forms.
- Honorific plural
- Using the plural for one person to show respect: મારા શિક્ષક આવ્યા my teacher came.
- -જી
- A respectful ending added to a name or a family word: બાપુજી, મમ્મીજી.
Common mistakes in Formal and informal you
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Using તું with a teacher, as in તું શું કરે છે?.
An adult you do not know well needs તમે: તમે શું કરો છો?.
Mixing two forms of you in one sentence, as in તમે તારું પુસ્તક લાવ્યા?.
Keep the pair together: તમે તમારું પુસ્તક લાવ્યા? or તું તારું પુસ્તક લાવ્યો?.
Giving આપ the તું verb form, as in આપ ક્યાં જાય છે?.
આપ takes the તમે forms: આપ ક્યાં જાઓ છો?.
Practice
Try a Formal and informal you question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which question asks a friend what she ate?
- તેં શું ખાધું?
- તું શું ખાધું?
- તેં શું ખાધો?
- તમે શું ખાધો?
Show the answer and the working
Answer: તેં શું ખાધું?
Eating has an object, so in the past the friendly you takes its agent form તેં, and the verb agrees with શું, neuter: તેં શું ખાધું?
- Eating has an object, so the doer takes its agent form.
- For તું that is તેં.
- The verb agrees with શું: ખાધું.