Questions & Answers about Tú y Carmen sois iguales.
Why is the verb sois (the vosotros form) used here when the sentence mentions Carmen?
Whenever a subject includes tú and another person, the group is treated as 'you all'. In Spain, the informal plural 'you' is vosotros, so the verb takes the vosotros conjugation sois. Would it be wrong to say Tú y Carmen son iguales?
In mainland Spain, using son (the ustedes form) here would sound very formal or distant, as if you were speaking to two clients. However, in Latin America and parts of southern Spain, son is perfectly correct and standard, because vosotros is not used there. Why do we use ser (sois) instead of estar (estáis) with the word iguales?
We use ser because being 'the same' or 'alike' is treated as a core characteristic or personality trait here. If you used estáis, it would imply a temporary physical state or a passing resemblance, such as 'you both look the same today'. Why does the word igual become iguales in this sentence?
Because igual is acting as an adjective describing a plural subject (Tú y Carmen). In Spanish, adjectives ending in a consonant add -es to match a plural subject. Learn Tú y Carmen sois iguales and more in Spanish
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