Usage of personal pronouns ТЫ and ВЫ
The English pronoun YOU can be translated into Russian as either ТЫ or ВЫ. The word ТЫ is simply a singular version of YOU, and the word ВЫ is the plural version of YOU. For example:
Ты преподаватель. | You are a teacher. |
Вы преподаватели. | You are teachers. |
There is an interesting quality about the plural ВЫ in Russian. It is quite often used in place of the singular ТЫ, as in:
Вы преподаватель. | You are a teacher. |
In such cases ВЫ is just a polite form of address to a senior, a stranger, or anyone in formal situations. If you use ТЫ in such situations you risk to sound a bit off.
Other sites that teach Russian pronouns: Personal Pronouns