Greeting someone in Spanish

Today’s lesson will cover some basics of meeting someone. In English, we typically greet people by saying, ‘Hello, how are you?’ and other common expressions such as ‘Have a good day’

In Spanish, there are two words for the word ‘you’ : usted and tú Tú is the familiar form. You would use the familiar form when you are speaking to close friends and members of your family. The polite form ‘usted’ is generally used with people you do not know.

Basic Greeting- a close friend or family member

Bob: Buenos días, Carla (boo-e-nohs dee-ahs) Good day, CarlaCarla: Buenos días, Bob Good day, BobBob: ¿Cómo estás? (koh-moh e-stah) How are you? Note: Remember that the ‘e’ in the pronunciation help is pronounced like the ‘e’ in ‘medical’!Carla: Bien gracias. ¿Y tú? (bee-en grah-syahs ee too) Well, thank you. And you?Bob: Bien, gracias. Well, thank you. Other important expressions:

Good afternoon –Buenos Tardes
Good night—Buenos noches
Goodbye—Adiós
Until we meet again- Hasta la vista
So long—Hasta Luego
Until tomorrow—Hasta Manana
Therefore—Por eso
Perhaps—Tal vez
If you are greeting someone you do not know, you would use the formal form of the word ‘you’ . So, instead of the ‘Cómo estás’, you would say ‘Cómo está usted? Notice that the verb conjugated as ‘estás’ changes to ‘está’. Notice also that the subject pronouns corresponding to he, she, it and they are usually omitted in Spanish since the ending of the verb indicates the subject pronoun quite clearly.

The verb ‘Estar’, meaning ‘To Be’, is an irregular verb. It can also be used to express location. Here are all the forms of this very important verb. Whenever you say where a thing or person is, you should use the verb ‘estar’.

I am –estoy

You are (familiar)—estás

You are (formal), He is, She is, It is—está

We are—estamos

You are (plural, familiar)—estáis

You are (plural, formal), They are—están

Repeat the forms of this verb and memorize them. This is a very important verb that is used frequently in Spanish.

Perriann Rodriguez
http://www.learnESPANOLfree.com