I'm confused about the you

Question

¿Tiene un bolígrafo?Do you have a pen? (formal you)From the sentence, I think it means he/she has a pen. Why would it become do you have a pen?

Accepted Answer

Hola Cathy
There are two forms of "you" in Spanish. One is an informal you: tú, and the other is a formal you: usted (the equivalent of those in the plural would be vosotros and ustedes)
When we use the formal you usted we need the verb conjugated as in in the 3rd person singular, i.e. he/she.
This is why you can see here "tiene", not "tienes" - And this is why we are adding the information "(formal you)". So:

¿Tienes [tú] un bolígrafo? - using the informal you
¿Tiene [usted] un bolígrafo? - using the formal you

I hope this clarifies it.
Saludos
Inma