learn_russian | (no subject)

(no subject)

Is "вы" always capitalized in writing when you are addressing only a single person? Or is this optional and you can leave it uncapitalized? Also, what about other forms of the word, such as

вас / вами /вам...

I assume they are also capitalized just as "вы" is?

What about the "вы"-based adjectives : ваш / ваши / ваша / ваше?

Thanks!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

yes, it is capitalized when you addressing to a single person. Same for Ваши-Ваше e.t.c

Spasibo

Wrong. There is no such mandatory rule, it's just a matter of style.

http://www.gramota.ru/spravka/letters?rub=rubric_88

Read carefully, it states "generally recommended" :)

read carefully till the end :-)

exhaustively

Read every single letter. Nowhere it goes beyond "recommendation" and "common practice".

Русский - Ваш родной? И смысл статьи всё ж не прояснен? Ну, я умываю руки :=)

Wrong, it is capitalized in business and personal correspondense (and it is still matter of style and not a rule), but never in books, articles, subtitles and all other texts.

What books??!! Do you mean the yellow press?
"Вы" is always capitalized in writing when you are addressing only a single person.
If it's informal, you just write "ты".

In any books, fiction and non-fiction, in articles and essays, in poetry etc. Capitalizing of вы is heavy overused in Russian advertising texts maybe that is why some people think they should always capitalize вы.

I have checked it. Chekhov, Brodsky, Blok. I am really surprised!!! You are right! Perhaps as early as in the school this idea was suggested to me. It was strange sometimes. In 3rd class we should write "Родина", but in 4th - "родина".

I don't know what you mean by "yellow press", but here are a few examples from Leskov:

"- Да в чем же вы тут, отец дьякон, видите сомнение? - спрашивали его
те, кому он жаловался."

" - А вы, отец Захария, как вы много логике учились, так вы вот это
прочитайте: "Даде в руку его посох". "

"- А вы, Наталья Николаевна, еще не започивали? - отнесся он к
протопопице."

As you can see, in all of these examples вы is directed to a single person and is not capitalized.

My answer is above. I apologize. I am really surprised.

It is not always capitalized.
It is customary to capitalize it in formal letters, a practice that spilled over into the Internet, were in many cases it seems out of place (although this is a matter of endless debates).
So, some do it, some don't.

+1

If you write a real letter on paper and address a single person as вы, it should be capitalized.

In the other cases you may probably do without capitalization.

For example, when addressing an unknown person in LJ, you would not like to say ты, and capitalized Вы sounds overly formal.

If you capitalize it it'll look VERY formal.

I just wouldn't recommend you to do so. It really is too formal.

I would say it's a good idea to capitalize it, when you know the exact addressee of your letter and you sign it by your name. For instance, when I write a postcard to my school teacher, I do capitalize.

But I don't like capitalized "Вы" in standard letters to the customers from the businesses.

I strongly recommend that you capitalize вы if you're directly addressing someone you don't know personally or someone you know personally but address вы in everyday life.
Otherwise, it should never be capitalized. Including the stupid ads :)

Sore point for many Russian internet users.

I have been looking for the exact answer for a long time, but have found no rule that stands for mandatory capitalization of «вы» every time you address a single person. So I take personal and official correspondence as the exceptions to the more general rule ― do not capitalize words inside sentences.

formal style - capitalize
when you want to express your respect = capitalize
when you write to a person that older you much - capitalize

in other cases it is optional, and amongst your friends that will be interpreted as playing the fool/clown (clown around)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only