Greetings and introductions

What you will practice

• Choose a greeting that fits the time of day.
• Use tú with one person you know and usted with an adult you do not know.
• Give your name and ask where someone is from.

Explanation

Time of day

Buenos días is the greeting for the morning, from the time you get up until around midday. Buenas tardes covers the afternoon, from about noon until it gets dark. Buenas noches is used in the evening, both when you arrive and when you say goodbye at night. Hola is friendly at any hour and does not belong to one part of the day. When you leave during the day, Adiós and Hasta luego are ordinary goodbyes.

tú and usted

tú is for one friend, a family member, a child, or a peer in an informal setting. usted is for an adult you do not know, and for shops, offices, and classrooms when you want to be polite. The verb changes with that choice. ¿Cómo te llamas? asks an informal partner for a name. ¿Cómo se llama usted? is formal. usted uses the same verb form as “he” or “she.” Plural you is ustedes, and the verb matches “they.”

Names and origin

Me llamo Ana gives your name. Mucho gusto means you are pleased to meet someone, and that phrase does not change with the speaker’s gender. ¿De dónde eres? asks where an informal partner is from. The formal question is ¿De dónde es usted? A short answer is Soy de México. Keep each pattern whole. Me llamo es Ana mixes two introductions and is not a Spanish sentence.

Examples

1. ¡Buenos días!Good morning!
2. ¿Cómo se llama usted?What is your name? (formal)
3. Me llamo Ana.My name is Ana.
4. ¿De dónde eres?Where are you from? (informal)
5. Mucho gusto.Pleased to meet you.

Common mistakes

• Buenas noches can greet someone who arrives in the evening. It is not only a goodbye.
• Do not mix the two addresses in one question. ¿Cómo te llamas usted? is not a Spanish question.