Learn Spanish (Latin America): Ustedes están cansados y tienen sueño.

Ustedes están cansados y tienen sueño.

You are tired and sleepy.

Breakdown of Ustedes están cansados y tienen sueño.

to be (location/state)

cansado

tired

Questions & Answers about Ustedes están cansados y tienen sueño.

Why does the sentence use tienen (have) for "sleepy" instead of están (are)?

In English, we use "to be" for physical states like being sleepy, hungry, thirsty, or cold. But in Spanish, many of these feelings are expressed with tener (to have) plus a noun. So, tienen sueño literally translates to "you all have sleepiness."

Since cansados is plural to match ustedes, why isn't sueño plural too?

Cansados (tired) is an adjective (a describing word), so it changes to match the plural subject ustedes. However, sueño (sleepiness) in this phrase is a noun. When using the "tener + noun" structure for feelings, the noun usually stays singular. The group "has sleepiness" (tienen sueño).

Why is it están cansados rather than son cansados?

The verb estar (used here as están) is for temporary states, conditions, and locations. Since being tired is a temporary physical state that changes after you rest, you use están. The other verb for "to be", ser (son), is used for more permanent characteristics.

Does using ustedes mean the speaker is being formal?

Not in Latin America! In Latin American Spanish, ustedes is the only way to say "you" when speaking to more than one person. You use it for everyone: a group of your best friends, children, or your bosses.