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What conjugation of a verb would you use when talking to an unidentified crowd?

Imagine Taco Bell's slogan, "Live más". If you were to translate that into Spanish, what verb conjugation of the infinitive "vivir" would it be actually? Would it be "you" as a plural? Or "they"? Just a question I've had.

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    Welcome to English Language and Usage Brenda! Here's some feedback for your first post: 1) All posts here are questions so you don't need to include "question" in the title. 2) Is this a question about "Live más" or about a more general phenomenon? 3) Is this a question about English or about Spanish? I will trust that it is about English, but the question starts to look like it belongs on a Spanish language site.
    – Unrelated
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 2:05
  • Also, to answer your question, the verb is imperative. Someone correct me, but the imperative can only take first- or second-person. (In Spanish there is third-person plural but only as a formal second-person.) I'd here an argument for saying this is plural, but I see no reason for it. Live is second-person singular or second-person plural, and in English there is no difference in conjugation.
    – Unrelated
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 2:11

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To move my comment to an answer,

Live, in "Live más", is in the imperative mood. The imperative mood in English can only take the first- or second-person. (In Spanish the imperative third-person is simply a formal or plural imperative-second person—it is still addressed to the second person, though conjugated for the third.)

The imperative first person is generally (always?) first-person plural: Let us live más. I will gladly take correction, but I can think of no case in which the imperative first-person plural that does not employ "let us" or "let's". If the verb is alone, it must be second-person.

Live más could then be imperative second-person singular or second-person plural. English does not distinguish these two conjugations.

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  • Let me alone???
    – deadrat
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 3:28
  • @deadrat I don't see your point... if you're providing a counter example of first-person plural, let me alone is not first person plural
    – Unrelated
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 5:36
  • True. My error. You have to be addressing yourself: "Come on; focus." But you can transpose this to third person as well: "Somebody let him in."
    – deadrat
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 7:15
  • @deadrat Okay, I see what you mean. I would argue, though, that both of those are still second person. In addressing yourself, you are talking to yourself: If you were to expand it you would say "Come on, you!" not "Come on, me!" So, physically first person but grammatically second person. I'm more on the fence about the third person, but would still venture that "Somebody let him in" is addressed to "somebody". Good thoughts though. Might make a question out of this.
    – Unrelated
    Commented Nov 25, 2015 at 15:51

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