Meaning of V-form | Babel Free

Definitions

A second-person pronoun used in formal situations, to address unfamiliar people and superiors.

Equivalents

Examples

“In the Erzin dialect, children address their parents with the V-form; to use the T-form would show a lack of respect for parents.”

“But cross-linguistically one finds that plural pronouns are predominant for the V-form. Again, there may well be a universal here that a plural address implies respect and that the singular pronoun implies a personal, i.e. intimate type of address.”

“Typically, the informal pronominal address term (T-form) is the original second-person pronoun (Latin tu; Germanic du) and the polite or formal V-form is a plural form.”

“... in March 2010 Ikea's Swiss website in German, French and Italian used the V-form except when addressing prospective job applicants.”

CEFR level