Where should we start learning a new language? Well, some people would start off with the personal pronouns ; others would start learning how to introduce oneself… ok, all those things are necessary to be learnt at the beginning. But I’d rather start learning even simpler things.
Like, for instance:
SÍ (yes)
NO (no ; not)
HOLA (hello)
ADIÓS (goodbye)
Most of you already knew these four words and maybe, you’re now thinking that I’m treating you silly. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know how to say hello in Hungarian or in Thai, so I can make no exception with Spanish. It’s just methodical and, also, it helps me to push things along and start talking of something essential:
GREETINGS
Hola is a wonderful word because there are no rules in which we might not use it. You can say hola whenever you meet a person.But, obviously, we have plenty of other expression to say hello to someone. For example:
¿QUÉ HAY? (informal speech). It doesn’t have any literal meaning, it’s just a common
expression to greet someone in a casual way.
¡! Note that we use two question marks when we write a question.
- We have this symbol ? to close a question, as you do in English and in many others
languages.
- BUT, we also have another symbol ¿ and we use it where the question itself starts. In fact, in English there is something similar. Think about it for a moment. When you make a question, you turn the natural SVO order , so you don’t say How you are?, the correct way is How are you?. Yes, English interrogative sentence order (VSO) is like our ¿ in Spanish. We use language resources (¿ symbol, VSO order, etc…) to open questions.
To type ¿ on an English keyboard press Shift + Alt + / together.
E.g. Es su perro (It’s his/her dog) --------> ¿Es su perro? (Is it his/her dog ?)
- We also have two exclamation marks: ¡Es su perro¡ (It’s his/her dog!)
To type ¡ on an English keyboard press Alt + 1 together
If you don’t use ¡ or ¿ ,don’t worry, you’ll be completely understandable but try to use them.
On the other hand, their use in formal writing is mandatory.
What’s new? , how do you do?, how’s it going? , what’s up? or how are you? Can be
expressed as:
¿QUÉ TAL? has a similar meaning to that of “¿Qué hay?”. It’s an informal way to ask someone how he or she feels or just an a way to start a conversation and it’s very very used.
¿CÓMO TE VA? Is a bit less informal than the previous one.
¿CÓMO ANDAS? (literally means ”how do you walk?”) or ¿QUÉ TAL ANDAS? Is a bit less
informal than the previous ones but not very used (at least not in Spain).
¿CÓMO ESTÁS? (literally means “How are you?”) Can be used in either an informal conversation or in a formal one. It’s the most used expression to ask someone how‘s he doing, how are things going. It’s universally used and one of the first questions learnt by students of Spanish all around the world.
So, now you may wonder: “and how can I answer to these questions?”. No worry, it’s very easy.
The easiest way to answer is the following:
Estoy (I am) … , gracias (thank you).
E.g.
- Estoy BIEN, gracias (I’m fine, thank you)
- Estoy MUY bien, gracias (I’m very well, thank you)
- Estoy ESTUPENDAMENTE, gracias (I feel great)
- Estoy REGULAR (I’m so- so)
- NO estoy muy bien (I’m not very well)
- Estoy MAL (I feel bad)
- Estoy UN POCO mal (I feel a bit bad)
- Estoy muy mal (I feel very bad)
- Estoy FATAL (I feel awful)
In most situations, you would answer “Estoy bien, gracias” even if you don’t feel that good because we always pretend to be fine (even if you feel awful) but if you have enough confidence with the person you are talking to, you may tell him or her the truth and express how bad you feel. Probably, he or she would get worry about you:
¿Y ESO? (literally means “and that?”) can be translated as “How come?”
¿POR QUÉ? means “Why?”
¿EN SERIO? means “Are you serious?” or “Really?”
To get a longer explanation of someone’s bad feelings, you can ask:
¿QUÉ TE PASA? (literally, “What’s happening to you?”) is our “What’s wrong?”. “¿QUÉ PASA?” is a general way to ask what’s happening. You can also use the verbs ocurrir (“¿QUÉ TE OCURRE?”) and suceder (“¿QUÉ TE SUCEDE?”). The latter is not very used.
A- Hola, María ¿como estás?
B- Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
A- Bien también.
TAMBIÉN means “too”, “also” .
¿Y TÚ? means “and you?”
A- ¡Pablo! ¿Cómo te va?
B- Pues muy bien la verdad. ¿Y tú qué tal? ¿Todo bien?
A- Estupendamente.
B- Me alegro.
¿TODO BIEN? (literally means “All well?”) is our way to say “Is it all OK?”
ME ALEGRO means “Glad to hear it”
Now imagine that you are talking to a person that doesn’t feel very good and the next day you come across with him again. You want to know if he feels better and so, you ask:
¿ESTÁS MEJOR?, “Do you feel better?”
¿CÓMO ESTÁS HOY?, “How are you today?”
¿ESTÁS BIEN? , “Are you all right?”
¿CÓMO TE ENCUENTRAS? (literally, “How do you find youself?”) or ¿CÓMO TE SIENTES?. Both sentences mean “How do you feel?”. The answer you may receive can be:
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) MEJOR (I feel better)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) PEOR (I feel worse)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) BIEN (I feel good)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) MAL (I feel bad)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) mal OTRA VEZ (I feel bad again)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) IGUAL (I feel ¿equal?/like yesterday, like…)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) NORMAL (I feel normal)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) FATAL (I feel awful)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) ESTUPENDAMENTE (I feel great)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) UN POCO mal (I feel a bit bad)
- (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) BASTANTE/MUY mal/bien (I feel very bad/good)
- NO (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) muy bien/mal (I don’t feel very good/bad)
- NO (Estoy /Me encuentro/Me siento) TAN bien/mal (I don’t feel so good/bad)
A- Hola David, ¿Qué tal?
B- Regular
A- ¿Y eso?
B- Pues María, hoy está peor.
A- ¿En serio? Vaya, lo siento mucho.
Translation:
A- Hi David, how are you?
B- So-so.
A- Why?
B- María, she’s worse today.
A- Really? Oh, I’m very sorry.
Note: David, Pablo, María, Pedro… try to pronounce these names correctly. So please, don’t say “Deivid” or “Pablou” (as you would say if you apply them English pronunciation). The correct pronunciation of the Spanish vowels is essential if you want to sound a bit more Spanish.
You’re walking down the streets and then you come across with your old roommate. She’s been always pretty but she also had characteristic rings under her eyes that made her look always tired. But there are no more rings on her face and so, she looks even prettier and healthier than before. Then you say ¡QUÉ BIEN TE VEO!.
¡QUÉ BIEN TE VEO! (You look well!) / ¡QUÉ BIEN ESTÁS! / TE VEO MUY BIEN
¡QUÉ MAL TE VEO! / ¡QUÉ MAL ESTÁS! / TE VEO MUY MAL
A- ¡María! ¡Cuánto tiempo! ¿Qué es de tu vida?
B- Pues estudiando sin parar.
A- Como todos. Por cierto, ¡Qué bien te veo!
B- Gracias, eres muy amable.
¿QUÉ ES DE TU VIDA? (literally, What about your life?) has the same meaning as the following expression:
¿QUÉ TE CUENTAS (literally means “ What do you tell yourself?”) Is an useful resource to make small conversation with someone or , simply, to introduce a topic to talk about. It can be translated as “What’s up?”.
For instance:
A- ¡Hola! ¡Cuánto tiempo!
B- ¡Ey, Pedro! ¿Qué te cuentas?
A- Pues nada, andaba por aquí y…
Translation:
A- Hi! Long time no see!
B- Eh, Pedro! What’s up?
A- Nothing, I was just wandering around here and…
As you can see, when someone ask you “¿Qué te cuentas?”, what he or she really wants is you to tell him/her something about your current life. Don’t misunderstand the previous example, “¿Qué te cuentas?” is not “what are you doing here?” (in Spanish it would be: “¿Qué haces por aquí?” or “¿tú por aquí?”). Also, note that the above conversation was completely informal.
BUENOS DÍAS (literally, “Good days”), “Good morning”, a greeting used until noon.
You turn off the light and go out to see your friends. It’s very early in the morning, ten o’clock. On your way you come across with some elderly neighbours and then you say “Buenos días” and go on with your journey.
You can also use this expression to say goodbye. For example you buy some groceries and finally, you say “Buenos días” and walk off the shop.
BUENAS TARDES (literally, “Good afternoons”), “Good afternoon”. Use it until dusk.
BUENAS NOCHES (literally, “Good nights”), “Good night”. As in many other languages, we use this expression just before going to bed and specially between friends or relatives.
We don’t have any sentence to say “Good evening” in Spanish. We can say “Hola” or for instance, “BUENAS” to greet someone at night. On the contrary, you can’t say “Buenas” to say goodbye, it solely means Hello.
ADIÓS, standard word to say goodbye. You can use it whenever you want (in formal and
informal conversations). In fact, we tend to use other expressions rather than “Adiós”. For example:
NOS VEMOS (literally, “We see ourselves”), “See you”, very informal but very frequently used with acquaintances.
HASTA LUEGO, informal and very very used with either known and unknown people (but
remember, only in informal conversations).
HASTA PRONTO (literally, “Until soon”) means “See you soon”. You can use it with
acquaintances even in formal conversations.
HASTA OTRA (literally, “Until another”), also very used but a bit more formal.
CIAO, yep, is Italian. In fact, every time I hear someone say Ciao to say goodbye it turns out that he or she is a bit posh. I don’t like this expression and indeed, almost nobody use it so, I can’t understand why so many manuals to learn Spanish include this word as a way to say goodbye.
HASTA NUNCA (literally, “until never”), very rude, don’t use it unless you need to relieve your feelings and confess someone you don’t want to see him/her again. It’s like sayonara in Japanese. “Hasta nunca” means “Hopefully, I won’t see you again”.
Other expressions: Hasta mañana (See you tomorrow), Hasta ahora (“See you” -in a very short time-), Hasta la semana que viene (See you next week), Hasta la próxima, Hasta la vista (not very used, sorry Terminator), Que te vaya bien, Que tengas un buen día (have a nice day), Que te vaya bonito, etc…
The phone’s ringing. Oh my god, I can’t hold a simple conversation yet, what should I do? You close your eyes and pick up the phone: “Aló?” Oh my god, Oh-my-god!!! I can’t believe it!!! I did it!
Yeah, you may have said it right… unless you were in Spain. If you are in Spain and you pick up the phone, you should say “Hola” or “Sí” and not “Aló”. Like this:
A- ¿Sí? Dígame.
B- Hola, soy María ¿Está Pedro?
A- No, no está aquí ahora mismo. Lo siento.
If you are writing a letter or a sms or something similar, you always finish it with a valediction, right? In Spanish we have:
BESOS (kisses, in English)
SALUDOS (greetings, in English)
UN ABRAZO (a hug, in English)
RECUERDOS, means “regards”
OTHER BASIC WORDS
We’ve started this lesson with 4 basic words. But we have still not seen how to say “thank you” or “sorry”.GRACIAS (thank you, thanks)
MUCHAS GRACIAS (thank you very much, thanks a lot)
MUCHÍSIMAS GRACIAS (thank you very much indeed)
You are a girl and you’re walking towards a restaurant to have a brunch with your friend. Then, he pull a chair out for you to sit and you finally say, MUY AMABLE (It’s very kind of you). He could answer:
DE NADA (literally, “of nothing”), means you’re welcome.
NO HAY DE QUÉ also means you’re welcome.
PERDÓN (sorry), you can use this word whenever you want, in formal and informal situations. It’s universal.
PERDONE (sorry), from the verb “perdonar” (to forgive). It’s formal.
PERDONA (sorry), from the verb “perdonar” (to forgive). It’s informal.
You don’t know where the bathroom is so you decide to ask someone. You say PERDONE
trying to catch attention of a person but when he turns his face you see a young teenager and you feel a bit awkward treating him as an adult. It would have been better if you’ve simply said PERDONA.
LO SIENTO (excuse me)
LO SIENTO MUCHO (I’m very sorry). Yeah, you can use it when you want to offer someone your condolences.
DISCULPA (a bit more formal than PERDONA)
DISCULPE (a bit more formal than PERDONE)
And what about the plural forms?
PERDONAD DISCULPAD ; PERDONEN DISCULPEN
Hustle and bustle in the streets. You want to make room for yourself to go on with your way.
¡PASO! (pass)
¡PERDÓN! / ¡PERDONE! / ¡PERDONA!/ …
¡PERMISO! (literally, permission)
And then the people move aside and you can go on your way.
PERMISO is not only used to break through the crowd, but also to…
- Take the saltcellar if you are in a banquet.
- Leave the living room of your girlfriend’s parents whom you still don’t know very well.
- Reach your cell phone when someone’s you treat politely is in the way.
- Etc…
Do you understand the situation? It’s a formal and polite word. In fact, the unabridged expression is CON PERMISO (with permission).
POR FAVOR (literally, “for favour”), means “please”. This word is also used, as in English, to invite and offer something. For instance:
You are in a banquet and you don’t know if you can start eating or if you should wait for the people left. Then the chairman say POR FAVOR but you prefer to wait a bit more.
TE LO RUEGO (I beg you) is only used in special situations in which you are desperate.
INTRODUCTIONS
Time to meet someone for the first time. We know this is always a formal situation.A- Hola Pedro. Mira, te presento a Pablo. Pablo, Pedro . Pedro, Pablo.
Pablo - Hola, encantado de conocerte.
Pedro - Igualmente.
And they both shake hands.
ENCANTADO DE CONOCERTE or simply, ENCANTADO if you are a male.
ENCANTADA DE CONOCERTE or simply, ENCANTADA if you are a female.
Note that in Spanish most masculine words end in –o and most feminine words end in –a. In Spanish there are almost no neuter words.
You can also say ENCANTADO/A when you want to say goodbye to that person you’ve just
met.
UN PLACER (literally, “a pleasure”), It’s been a pleasure, the same meaning as ENCANTADO/A.
IGUALMENTE (literally, “equally”), is a very common word used to say the same thing another person has just said. It’s the equivalent form of “Me too” in English.
LO MISMO DIGO (literally, I say the same), another way to say IGUALMENTE.
A- Hola, ¿tú eres Isabel?
B- Sí, soy yo. ¿Y tú eres María, no?
A- Sí, encantada.
B- Igualmente. Me alegro de conocerte.
A- Lo mismo digo.And they kiss each other.
ME ALEGRO DE CONOCERTE (literally, I’m glad to meet you) It’s nice to meet you.
ME ALEGRO... is a very common expression( we’ve seen it before). You can say for example ME ALEGRO DE VERTE (it’s nice to see you”) when you meet a person for the first time in a very long time. There’s another expression to say the same thing: ¡CUÁNTO TIEMPO! (literally, How many time!) , Long time no see in English.
A- Hola David. Por cierto, ¿conoces a María?
David- La verdad es que no.
A- María, éste es David. David, ésta es María.
David- Encantado.
María- El gusto es mío.
And they both kiss each other (in the cheek, obviously! XD).
EL GUSTO ES MÍO (literally, the pleasure is mine) is an expression that can replace other ones such as IGUALMENTE or LO MISMO DIGO. But don’t get me wrong, only use it in situations like the above one.
Wrong use of the expression:
A- ¡Que te vaya bien! (Have a nice day!)
B- El gusto es mío. (My pleasure)
Yeah, it would be a bit weird. The correct expression would have been: IGUALMENTE or LO MISMO DIGO.
A- Hola, usted es María, ¿me equivoco?
B- No hijo no.
A- ¿Cómo se encuentras usted?
B- Mmm, un poco regular.
A- No se preocupe. Todo va a ir bien.
When you treat formally a person, you address him or her as “usted” or you simply say his/ her name. Usted is a personal pronoun that follows the same rules as the third person pronouns.
So, you can’t say for example, “Usted eres” but “Usted ES” as if you were talking of a third person.
¿CÓMO TE ENCUENTRAS (TÚ)? ------> ¿CÓMO SE ENCUENTRA (USTED)?
¿QUÉ TE PASA/OCURRE? ------> ¿QUÉ LE PASA/OCURRE?
¿(TÚ) ESTÁS BIEN? -------> ¿(USTED) ESTÁ BIEN?
¿CÓMO ESTÁS (TÚ)? -----> ¿CÓMO ESTÁ (USTED)?
¿CÓMO TE LLAMAS? -------> ¿CÓMO SE LLAMA?
¿CUÁL ES TU NOMBRE? ---------> ¿CUÁL ES SU NOMBRE?
¿(TÚ) QUIÉN ERES? -----------> ¿QUIÉN ES USTED?
A- Hola, mi nombre es Pablo. Encantado de conocerte.
B- Encantada. Yo me llamo María.
A- Ah, María, ¡qué nombre más raro!
It’s time to learn how to introduce oneself. Well, I suppose you are a person and as a human being you might have a name, haven’t you? Name in Spanish is NOMBRE.
MI NOMBRE ES (my name is)
TU NOMBRE ES (your name is)
SU NOMBRE ES (his/her name is)
A- ¿Cuál es tu nombre?
B- Mi nombre es María
A- ¿Y cuál es su nombre?
B- Su nombre es Pablo
In Spanish ,as in many other languages (but not in English), we almost always use a verb, “llamarse”, to say which our name is. MI NOMBRE ES is less frequently used, moreover, it’s slightly more formal.
ME LLAMO (my name is)
TE LLAMAS (your name is)
SE LLAMA (his/her name is)
A- ¿Cómo se llama usted?
B- Me llamo María. ¿Y tú como te llamas?
A- Yo me llamo Pablo. Encantado de conocerla.
B- Mucho gusto.
We can also introduce ourselves using just the verb “ser” (to be). In this case, we usually don’t drop the personal pronoun.
YO SOY (I am)
TÚ ERES (you are)
ÉL / ELLA ES (he/she is)
A- Hola. ¿Tú eres Pablo, no?
B- Sí, soy yo.
A- Ah, encantada. Yo soy María y necesito hablar contigo urgentemente.
Imagine that you are going to meet a good friend of yours. When you finally meet, your friend tells you that he is still waiting for other people you didn’t know. When they arrive your friend doesn’t introduce you. You decide to introduce yourself:
A- Hola, soy Pablo.
B- María.
And you kiss each other.
A- Pablo.
B- Pedro.
And you shake hands.
You can introduce yourself by just saying your name. This can take place in both formal and informal situations and it’s very frequent.
Note: Can you identify the question tags I’ve used in some examples?. In Spanish, question tags are incredibly easy.
You are María, aren’t you? -----------------> Eres María, ¿no?/¿me equivoco?
You haven’t any brothers, have you? --------------> No tienes hermanos, ¿no?/¿me equivoco?
He failed the exam, didn’t he? ------------> Suspendió el examen, ¿no?/¿me equivoco?
So remember, question tags in Spanish:
¿NO? (formal and informal) ¿ME EQUIVOCO? (formal)
Greetings in Spanish:
Introductions in Spanish:
In brief:
Do you have any questions?
Are there any mistakes in the lesson?
Had I forgotten of talking about something?
Is there a dead link?
Are there spelling mistakes? (remember, I’m learning English)
Do you have any suggestions?
If so, send me an e-mail to blogspot_007@hotmail.com or comment below.
¡Nos vemos!
