Lesson 2: Greetings & Essentials

You can now read Spanish aloud. This lesson gives you the survival kit: greetings for every time of day, polite phrases, introductions, and the small words that oil every conversation — please, thank you, excuse me, yes, no. It also introduces a key decision you make dozens of times a day in Spanish: whether to use tú or usted, the informal and formal words for "you".

Core vocabulary: greetings and politeness

Use buenos días until about midday, buenas tardes until dark, and buenas noches both when you arrive in the evening and when you leave at night — it is a greeting *and* a farewell. Note the gender detail: *días* is masculine (buenos días) but *tardes* and *noches* are feminine (buenas). Spanish speakers also shake hands or kiss on one or both cheeks when greeting friends — watch what locals do and follow their lead.

Tú or usted? The social grammar of "you"

Spanish has two singular "you" forms. Tú is informal: friends, family, children, people your age, and (increasingly) colleagues. Usted is formal and respectful: older people, officials, teachers, waiters when you want to be polite, and anyone in a formal setting. Usted is written Ud. or Vd. and — this matters for later lessons — it uses the *él/ella* verb forms: *¿Cómo está usted?* (How are you, formal) vs *¿Cómo estás tú?* In Spain, tú is used very widely; in much of Latin America, especially Colombia and Costa Rica, usted is more common, even inside families. When in doubt with an adult stranger, start with usted — nobody is ever offended by politeness, and they will invite you to switch (*puedes tutearme* — you can use tú with me).

In Spain only, the plural of tú is vosotros (you all, informal). In all of Latin America, the only plural is ustedes, used for everyone. Lesson 4 gives you the vosotros verb forms; recognise them, and use ustedes if your focus is Latin America.

Introducing yourself

• Me llamo... — My name is... (literally "I call myself...")
• Soy de... — I am from...
• Vivo en... — I live in...
• ¿Y tú? / ¿Y usted? — And you?
• Encantado/a. — Delighted (to meet you). Men say *encantado*, women *encantada*.
• Mucho gusto. — Pleased to meet you. (works for everyone)
• Igualmente. — Likewise / Same here.

Example sentences

• Buenos días, señora. ¿Cómo está usted? — Good morning, madam. How are you?
• Hola, ¿qué tal? Yo muy bien, gracias. — Hi, how's it going? Very well, thanks.
• Me llamo Diego y soy de México. — My name is Diego and I'm from Mexico.
• ¿Cómo te llamas? — What's your name? (to a friend or child)
• Perdón, ¿habla usted inglés? — Excuse me, do you speak English? (formal)
• Lo siento, no entiendo. — I'm sorry, I don't understand.
• Hasta luego, ¡cuídate! — See you later, take care!
• Muchas gracias por tu ayuda. — Thank you very much for your help.

Dialogue: meeting a neighbour

Señora Ruiz: Buenos días. ¿Es usted el nuevo vecino? Tomás: Sí, buenos días. Me llamo Tomás Herrera. Encantado. Señora Ruiz: Mucho gusto. Yo soy Carmen Ruiz, del tercero. ¿De dónde es usted? Tomás: Soy de Irlanda, pero vivo aquí ahora. Señora Ruiz: ¡Bienvenido al edificio! Si necesita algo, estoy en el 3B. Tomás: Muy amable, gracias. Hasta luego. Señora Ruiz: Hasta luego, Tomás.

Comprehension questions: 1. Where do the two speakers live? 2. Where is Tomás from, and where does he live now? 3. What does Señora Ruiz offer at the end?

Answer key: 1. In the same building — Carmen is the neighbour from the third floor (3B). 2. He is from Ireland but lives there now. 3. She offers her help if he needs anything.

Pronunciation notes: this lesson's sounds

• qué tal runs together as "keh TAHL"; the phrase *¿qué tal?* is the most common informal greeting in Spain.
• usted is often shortened in speech to a quick "oos-TEHD"; the final d is soft, almost a whisper against the teeth.
• encantado: the c before a is a hard "k" — ehn-kahn-TAH-doh. Watch the four even syllables.

Common mistakes (wrong → right)

• ✗ Saying *¿Cómo estás usted?* (mixing the two systems) → ✓ ¿Cómo está usted? (formal) or ¿Cómo estás tú? (informal). Keep the pronoun and the verb in the same register.
• ✗ *Buenas días* → ✓ Buenos días — *día* is masculine despite ending in -a.
• ✗ Answering *gracias* with *nada* → ✓ De nada is the set phrase ("it's nothing").
• ✗ Using *adiós* to someone you will see in an hour → ✓ Hasta luego — *adiós* can sound final.

Exam Experience

Reading comprehension. Read the note and answer in English. *Hola, Marta: Soy tu nueva compañera de clase. Me llamo Lucía y soy de Sevilla, pero vivo en Madrid ahora. Estoy en tu clase de inglés. ¿Quieres estudiar conmigo mañana después de clase? Hasta pronto, Lucía.* 1. Who wrote the note and who is it for? (1 mark) 2. Where is the writer from, and where does she live now? (1 mark) 3. What does she propose, and for when? (2 marks) Answer key: 1. Lucía, the new classmate; for Marta. 2. From Seville; she lives in Madrid now. 3. Studying together tomorrow after class.

Multiple choice. Choose the correct answer. 1. At 9 pm you greet a friend's grandfather. You say: a) Buenos días b) Buenas noches c) Adiós. Answer: b — at night it is *buenas noches*, and respect suggests usted later. 2. A teacher says "Mucho gusto" and you reply: a) De nada b) Igualmente c) Perdón. Answer: b — *igualmente* = likewise. 3. Which is the formal question? a) ¿Cómo te llamas? b) ¿Qué tal? c) ¿Cómo se llama usted? Answer: c — *se llama* is the usted form.

Guided writing task. Write 35–45 words: a short self-introduction for a class exchange board — give your name, where you are from, where you live, and two things you like (use *me gusta...*), ending with a friendly farewell. Model answer: *¡Hola! Me llamo Sara y soy de Escocia. Vivo en un pueblo pequeño cerca de Edimburgo. Me gusta mucho la música y me gusta el fútbol también. Quiero practicar español con un amigo nuevo. ¡Hasta pronto!* Marking notes: content marks for all four pieces of information; language marks for correct *me llamo/soy/vivo* forms, gender agreement in *encantado/a* if used, and greetings suited to a written board (informal register acceptable here). Deduct for mixing tú and usted to the same reader.

Going further: the handshake phrases

Politeness in Spanish is a small set of portable formulas. Add these to your survival kit and you will sound gracious in any country:

Two finer points. First, titles matter: señor (Mr/sir), señora (Mrs/madam), señorita (Miss/young lady), don/doña + first name (a traditional respect form: *Don Pedro*). Second, farewells can be soft and future-looking: nos vemos (see you — lit. "we see each other"), que tengas un buen día (have a good day, to a friend), que tenga un buen día (same, formal). Notice how even farewells carry the tú/usted choice all the way to the last word. Practise this mini-exchange until it is automatic:

— Buenos días, señor Herrera. ¿Cómo le va? — Muy bien, gracias. Pase, por favor. — Muy amable. Con permiso... — ¡Faltaría más! (Don't mention it / Of course!)

Workshop: register on the street

Real life will test your tú/usted instincts constantly. Decide the register for these snapshots before reading on: (1) your best friend's little brother; (2) the police officer at a checkpoint; (3) your Spanish teacher, aged 28, on day one; (4) a market seller roughly your age in Mexico City; (5) your host grandmother in Seville. Natural answers: (1) tú — children always; (2) usted — authority, no discussion; (3) usted at first in most countries, tú quickly in Spain once invited; (4) usted is the safe, common choice in Mexico even between young adults meeting for the first time; (5) usted at first, and let her lead — in Spain she will almost certainly switch you to tú within minutes (*¡Háblame de tú!*). Notice the verb shadow that follows every choice: your greeting is never just *hola*. It continues *¿cómo estás?* or *¿cómo está?*, *¿de dónde eres?* or *¿de dónde es?* Register is a package deal — pronoun, verb and farewell all move together. Drill the package both ways until the switch is instant: Tú: ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? ¿Cómo te llamas? Nos vemos. Usted: Buenos días. ¿Cómo está usted? ¿Cómo se llama? Que tenga un buen día.