# Spanish (Spain) language question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-spain-language-question/853877 "2020-05-15T19:06:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-spain-language-question/853877/1 "2020-05-15T19:06:52Z")
A Spanish guitarist I follow on YouTube posted: > [@](#): > > … y composiciones que estoy creando para ustedes y en futuro cercano poder enseñároslas … I know what it means, because she provided an English translation, “and compositions I’m creating to show you in a near future”. I’m curious though about _os_. With Google’s help, I’ve guessed it’s the reflexive pronoun version of _vosotros_. Is that right? She also uses _ustedes_ though, so that’s confusing. Is that normal usage, or maybe just a _pedo cerebral_? (That translation is also courtesy of Google.) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-spain-language-question/853877/2 "2020-05-15T19:20:17Z")
According to the Wikipedia [table of Spanish Pronouns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_personal_pronouns), _os_ is the accusative 2nd person plural, whereas _ustedes_ is the nominative 2nd person plural. The Nominative case is for when it is used as the subject of the sentence, and the accusative case is used for when it is the object. I’m pretty sure there is a poster around here from Spain who will be able to answer more authoritatively. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-spain-language-question/853877/3 "2020-05-15T19:29:54Z")
from the context here _os_ is the dative from of vosotros (to you) I am not sure about mixing the _ustedes_ and _vosotros_ forms. That seems odd. I am also not sure why _poder_ isn’t conjugared. But i am not a native speaker. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-spain-language-question/853877/4 "2020-05-17T08:37:33Z")
As a native Spanish speaker from Spain (Latin America may vary) I would say the sentence is not completely correct, as it lacks an “un” (“el” would do as well): "… y composiciones que estoy creando para ustedes y en _ **un** _ futuro cercano poder enseñároslas … " and “os” and “ustedes” are indeed on different levels of politeness (\*\*Zimaane \*\*explained the dative correctly). So I would either say: … y composiciones que estoy creando para vosotros y en un futuro cercano poder enseñároslas … or … y composiciones que estoy creando para ustedes y en un futuro cercano poder enseñárselas … Finally, as the first part of the sentence explains what he is doing the composing for I would not link both half-sentences with a simple copulative “_y_” but with a “_para_” (for) to express finality. But that is on the level of what Google translated a bit too literally with _pedo cerebral_, something we in Spain would rather call _paja mental_ or _comerse el coco_. At least in my age group, I don’t know what kiddies say today. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanish-spain-language-question/853877/5 "2020-05-17T16:35:14Z")
os = object pronoun referring to more than one person (Like the English you plural)