Eres vs es

Hola Word F.

This is a great question and it touches on one of the key differences in how Spanish handles levels of formality. The difference between "eres" and "es" comes down to the subject of the sentence — whether you're speaking informally to someone you know well (like a friend or family member), or formally to someone you don’t know well or want to show respect to (like a stranger, teacher, or elder).

In the informal case, you use "tú", the second person singular subject pronoun. The verb "ser" (to be) is conjugated as "eres" for tú. So, the question becomes: "¿De dónde eres?" which means "Where are you from?" when speaking informally.

For the formal version, you use "usted", which is technically a third person singular subject even though you’re still speaking directly to someone. This means that "ser" is conjugated as "es" — the same as for he/she/it. So, the formal question is: "¿De dónde es usted?"

Even though both questions mean the same thing in English, the Spanish versions reflect the relationship and tone you want to express. This formality distinction is very common in Spanish and appears in many everyday interactions.

Saludos

Silvia