Forms of Address

The polite speech in Spanish requires the usage of the special pronominal forms usted (for singular) and ustedes (for plural) followed by a verbal form in third person (singular or plural, respectively):

• Usted es siempre bienvenido.

You (politely speaking to a man) are always welcomed.
• Usted es siempre bienvenida.

You (politely speaking to a woman) are always welcomed.
• Ustedes son siempre bienvenidos.

You (politely speaking to men, or to men and women together) are always welcomed.
• Ustedes son siempre bienvenidas.

You (politely speaking to women only) are always welcomed.

The form usted is often abbreviated as Ud. or Vd. and the form ustedes as Uds. or Vds.

This manner of polite speaking is paralleled in Portuguese (você / vocês), Catalan (vostè / vostès) and Italian (lei / loro); it was used also in French till the 19th century.