Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ustedes son de Colombia y ellos son de Chile. - You are from Colombia and they are from Chile.

Ustedes son de Colombia y ellos son de Chile.

You are from Colombia and they are from Chile.

Breakdown of Ustedes son de Colombia y ellos son de Chile.

Questions & Answers about Ustedes son de Colombia y ellos son de Chile.

Does ustedes mean a formal or informal 'you' here?

In Latin America, ustedes is the only way to say plural "you" (like "you all" or "you guys"). You use it for everyone, whether you are talking to close friends or to people you need to be formal with.

Why do both ustedes and ellos use the exact same verb word, son?

In Spanish, the pronoun ustedes (you all) always shares the exact same verb conjugations as ellos and ellas (they). Since ellos son means "they are", ustedes son means "you all are".

If the group from Chile includes both men and women, do we still use ellos?

Yes! In Spanish, you use the masculine pronoun ellos for a group of entirely men, or for a mixed group of men and women. You only use the feminine pronoun ellas if every single person in the group is female.

Why do we use son (from the verb ser) to say where they are from, instead of the other 'to be' verb?

Spanish has two verbs for "to be": ser and estar. You always use ser (like son in this sentence) when talking about a person's origin, nationality, or permanent identity. You use the phrase ser de to mean "to be from" somewhere.