Basic Spanish 1: ¡Buenos Días!
Say hello and name Q&A
Learning Content:
Communication: Say hello, Name Q&A, Saying Goodbye
Grammar: Personal pronouns, llamarse/apellidarse conjugation
¡Hola!
This is the most basic greeting in Spanish, so be aware that H is not pronounced!
¡Buenos días!
Good morning! Compared to Hola, it is more formal, and you can basically use it during the day.
¡Buenas tardes!
Good afternoon! It can be used about 14:00 in the afternoon to before dark.
¡Buenas noches!
Good evening! Note that “Good night!” before going to bed is “Que descanses bien”.
*These terms can be used both in meeting and saying goodbye
Grammar: Nominative pronouns, llamarse/apellidarse conjugations
| Pronouns | |
|---|---|
| yo | “I”, unlike in English, does not need to be capitalized |
| tú | “You” |
| usted | “You” is more formal than tú and is grammatically third person |
| él/ ella | “He” “She” |
| nosotros/nosotras | “We”, when “we” are all girls, use “nosotras” |
| vosotros/vosotras | “You”, when “you” are all girls, use “vosotras” |
| ustedes | “You” are more formal than vosotro/as and are grammatically third person |
| ellos/ ellas | “They” “They” |
| llamarse | “… name is…” |
|---|---|
| Yo | Me llamo |
| Tú | Te llamas |
| Él/ ella/ usted | Se llama |
| Nosotros/nosotras | Nos llamamos |
| Vosotros/vosotras | Os llamáis |
| Ellos/ ellas/ ustedes | Se llaman |
| apellidarse | “… last name is…” |
|---|---|
| Yo | Me apellido |
| Tú | Te apellidas |
| Él/ ella/ usted | Se apellida |
| Nosotros/nosotras | Nos apellidamos |
| Vosotros/vosotras | Os apellidáis |
| Ellos/ ellas/ ustedes | Se apellidan |
Conversation : Name Q&A, Nice to meet you/you, goodbye
Name Q&A
¿Cómo se llama usted? ( What’s your name, formal)
¿Cómo te llamas (tú)? (What’s your name)
Yo) me llamo Juan. (My name is Juan)
(Yo) soy Juan. (I’m Juan)
¿Cómo se apellida usted? (What is your last name, formal)
¿Cómo os apellidáis (vosotros)? (What’s your last name).)
(Yo) me apellido Lu. (My last name is Lu)
Nos apellidamos Rodríquez.
As we can judge the person by verbal conjugation, the subject is usually omitted.
However, the third person is not omitted when it may cause confusion.
Nice to meet you
- Mucho gusto.
- Encantado/ encantada de conocerte/le.
- Es un placer conocerte/le.
- Boys say EncantadO/ Girls say EncantadA
- The object is “you” with te/ is “you” with le
Say goodbye
- ¡Adiós! (Goodbye)
- Hasta luego/ pronto. (See you later)
- Hasta mañana. (See you tomorrow)
- Hasta la próxima semana. (See you next week)
- Chao/ chau. (Break, young term)
- Nos vemos. (Goodbye)
Next lesson: describing your mood, “estar” conjugations and usage, adjectives/noun gender & numbers