I had the same question once. ti , te , tu all mean 'you'. you have to consider the context of the usage of the word. This was my answer. Hope it helps.

Each of these words has an analogous counterpart in English grammar

tú (with accent mark) This is a subject pronoun and refers to the subject of the sentence. It corresponds to the English "you" (second person, singular fam). In most cases, the subject pronoun is optional in Spanish and usually not used.

(Tú) eres muy inteligente - You are very intelligent.

tu (without accent mark) This is a possessive adjective and is used to demonstrate possession, ownership or relationship of a noun. It corresponds to the English possessive adjective, "your."

te This is an indirect object pronoun (in the case of your example above, but also shares the same form as direct object pronoun) and is used to name the object of a sentence. In this case:

Te gusta jugar baloncesto - Basketball is pleasing to you (you like basketball).

ti This is what is called a disjunctional or prepositional pronoun. That is to say that it is the pronominal form that you will find following a preposition. In your example above, "a ti" is a restatement of the indirect object pronoun, and it is added in order give emphasis or clarity to the statement.

Hopefully, this has helped to answer your question, but if you have more questions regarding the use of various pronouns, I would recommend that you have a look at some of the relevant reference articles or try doing a google search for the grammar terms provided above.

updated Mar 12, 2011

posted by bill24

3

votes

¨Feliz cumpleaños a ti" for example.

"to you"

updated Apr 15, 2015

posted by pacofinkler

2

votes

In American jails, (or at least Californian jails) there is a ritual practiced each evening, whereby an appointed leader ('shot callers') of each rival ethnic group will address their fellow inmates addressing concerns that might arise during the day. Warnings, if necessary,are issued and inmates are reminded by their respective leaders to maintain a high level of respect for each other and their environment.

The 'woods' ( aka woodpile), or whites, have their say, the Paisanos have theirs, as do the Mexican Americans . The 'meeting' is concluded with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in English and Spanish.

At the closing of this ritual all the Mexican Americans shout out ¡a ti! and/or ¡eso!

I'm not sure if the Mexican Americans know what they are saying

updated Nov 1, 2016

edited by SoyoEstoy

posted by SoyoEstoy

It's likely the OP was referring to the vernacular. You nailed it! A+++ - cempasuchil, Nov 1, 2016

2

votes

You could say te toca a ti as well. It means its your turn

:D

updated Apr 15, 2015

posted by Prinskorv

:) - FELIZ77, Apr 15, 2015