YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NOT SURE
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Vous
Vous
Tu
Tu
Tu
Tu
Vous
Tu
Vous
Tu
YES
NO
Tu
Vous
NO
NO
NO
Tu
Vous
YES
NO
Tu
Vous
Vous
God?
Are you speaking to a child?
Are you an adult?
You are speaking to...
Is the child like a prince or something?
Are you speaking to an adult?
Is the adult a family member?
A friend or lover
Someone you don’t formally know
Your spouse
Your father-in-law
Your boss
Your teacher
Is your spouse former President Jacques Chirac?
Is your teacher young enough to be your daugh - ter or son?
Do you work at a company like Le Google where no one wears neckties and everyone is “tu”?
Is this someone consider - ably older (say, a half generation
Did you participate in the French May 1968 riots demanding government reform and free love?
This is a “vous” situ - ation. Except . . . did your boss just really tick you off, and you want him to know it?
Were you at Woodstock?
Come on, really?
Swear to God
Do you consider this person a peer, that is, a fellow student, the coworker in the next cubicle, an Internet chat room acquaintance, or someone you met in a bar last night and just woke up next to?
Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?
YES
YES
YES
YES
Tu
Tu
YES
YES
Best to ask
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
Believe it or not
Tu
OK, MAYBE NOT
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NOT SURE
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Vous
Vous
Tu
Tu
Tu
Tu
Vous
Tu
Vous
Tu
YES
NO
Tu
Vous
NO
NO
NO
Tu
Vous
YES
NO
Tu
Vous
Vous
God?
Are you speaking to a child?
Are you an adult?
You are speaking to...
Is the child like a prince or something?
Are you speaking to an adult?
Is the adult a family member?
A friend or lover
Someone you don’t formally know
Your spouse
Your father-in-law
Your boss
Your teacher
Is your spouse former President Jacques Chirac?
Is your teacher young enough to be your daugh - ter or son?
Do you work at a company like Le Google where no one wears neckties and everyone is “tu”?
Is this someone considerably older (say, a half generation or more) than you?
Did you participate in the French May 1968 riots demanding government reform and free love?
This is a “vous” situ - ation. Except . . . did your boss just really tick you off, and you want him to know it?
Were you at Woodstock?
Come on, really?
SWEAR TO GOD
Do you consider this person a peer, that is, a fellow student, the coworker in the next cubicle, an Internet chat room acquaintance, or someone you met in a bar last night and just woke up next to?
Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?
YES
YES
YES
YES
Tu
Tu
YES
YES
Best to ask
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
Believe it or not
Tu
OK, MAYBE NOT
William Alexander is the author of, among other books, the forthcoming "Flirting With French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me, and Almost Broke My Heart."