Formal "where are you from"

Hola James,

No, it is not necessary to use the pronounusted, the same way we don't need to use tú.

You can say:

¿De dónde eres? ¿De dónde eres tú? ¿De dónde es? ¿De dónde es usted?

The reason why we included "usted" in the example is because if you see it without the pronoun, this could also mean "Where is he/she from? as the verb is conjugated in the 3rd person singular "es" for he/she/you formal.

I hope this clarified it.

Saludos,

Inma

Hola Shelly

We may use the pronoun right at the beginning (outside the question) or at the very end:

Tú,  ¿de dónde eres?

¿De dónde eres tú?

But it would sound very odd to place it between dónde and the verb as you were saying.

Saludos

Inma