Spanish speakers I need help understanding this?

Question

When do I use "te" as opposed to "tu"

For example, why do I say "Te compro" (I buy you) instead of "tu compro".

Answer 1

Tú is a personal pronoun (who is doing the action) meaning "you", it's used to express that you are doing the action.

Tú compraste un auto = you bought a car

Te is an object pronoun (who is being affected by the action) meaning "you", it's used to express that you are affected by the action.

(yo) te compré un auto = i bought you a car

There are some verbs called "reflexive verbs" in which the action affects the person who's doing it (like bañ****, caerse, cepillarse, etc.). In this case you must use "te" AND you can use "tú" if you want.

(tú) te bañaste = you bathed yourself (opposed to tú bañaste al perro = you bathed the dog)
(tú) te cepillaste los dientes = you brushed your teeth. (opposed to tú cepillaste los dientes de tu hijo = you brushed your son's teeth)


(tú) me compraste un auto = you bought me a car
(tú) te compraste un auto = you bought (you) a car
compraste un auto = you bought a car

(yo) te compro un auto = i buy you a car
(yo) me compro un auto = i buy (me) a car

Hope that helps ;)

And just to clarify "tu" (without accent mark) means "your"
tu casa = your house
tu auto = your car

Answer 2

I believe that most of the people on this board have been able to adequately explain the difference in useage of te and tu.

Tu is used like the subject pronoun you in english and to use that the verb must match in tense. Te is the object pronoun of the pronoun object pronoun you. Notice in english the object and subject pronoun are the same in spanish it is not the same. Te before the verb recieves the action of the verb

Tu compro is wrong, compro already contains a subject pronoun. saying tu compro is like saying Tu Yo compro. Te compro means I buy you. To use tu with the verb comprar in the present tense then the verb must end in the -as eg.
tu compras - you buy

Answer 3

It's what they call reflexive. You see, if you say tu that means "you" and compro means "I buy" so that would translate to "you I buy". When te is placed before an verb, that tells who the action is being done to. The conjugation of the verb tells who is doing the action. The o on the end of compro means that "I" and doing this action so you could place a yo infront of that but not tu. Tu could only be placed in front of compras meaning "you buy". Te compro is "I buy you" because the verb ends in o and that tells us that "I" is the person doing the action and te tells who it is being done to. Therefore, "Te compro = I buy you."

Answer 4

"te" in the instance of "I buy (for) you" is an indirect object pronoun, meaning that it indirectly recieves the action of the verb "comprar", in this case. te is also a reflexive pronoun and direct object pronoun.

Te as a reflexive pronoun, when the subject recieves the action of the verb... tu te llamas= tu, you (subject) te (reflexive pronoun) , yourself, llamas (verb, conjugated in the "tu" form) call.

Te as a direct object is when "you/te" directly recieves the action of the verb. Te amo for example, te is the direct object because it is recieving the action.

te is always placed before the verb, and in the instance of more than one verb, it always goes in front of the the conjugated verb, or can be attached to the end of the verb in the infinitive form. Example.... te voy a comprar or voy a comprarte. This is the same for the present progressive verb form also known as the gerrund. "te estoy comprando or estoy comrpandote"

Tú is always a subject pronoun, meaing "you" in the sense that you are performing the action.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Tu is a personal pronoun e.g. yo, tu el, etc.
Tu eres mi hermano.
You are my brother
Also a possessive pronoun,
Tu casa (belonging to you)
Te compro (reflexive pronoun)
I buy you.
Te daré
I will give you
Te quiero
I love you
Hope this helped!

Answer 6

Tu is used as a subject.
Te is used as an object.

Answer 7

tu is used as a subject (i.e. tu compras- you buy) te is a pronoun... it represents who the verb is being done to or for. (i.e. te compro or comprote- both mean i buy you)

Answer 8

"Te" is an object pronoun. It generally means "to you." For example: "I'm talking to you." "Te hablo."

"Tu" is a subject pronoun. It means "you" (friends, family, young children). For example: "You are my friend." "Tu eres mi amigo."

Answer 9

Te = did you
ex. Te compraste el carro??
Did you bought the car??


Tu = Your / you
ex. Tu color es amarillo
your color is yellow

Tu puedes
You can

Answer 10

Te is "I"
Tu is "you"
Te compro una? (Can I buy you one?)
Tu compras esta ves. (You buy this time.)