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Sample Lesson: Greetings - Basic Vocabulary
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Introduction
This Lesson will get you started in learning and memorizing basic vocabulary.
Tables a-b include vocabulary you should begin memorizing. Table a contains the
basic phrases for Greetings/Conversation. Learn them as phrases, and do not try to
decipher their structure too much at this point. Table b contains basic vocabulary
for different parts of speech. With these words you can already construct short
sentences which are perfectly grammatical, using everyday vocabulary. This Lesson and
the Tables will cover the following:
Greetings and Dialogues
Tables: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives
Let us now turn to a study of Greetings.
Greetings and Dialogue
We have already touched upon the topic of forms of address; namely, Spanish has two ways of addressing
a person as "you": tú and usted. The criteria for selecting one or the other include:
age difference between persons, socio/economic/educational level between the persons, and
family customs of respect. Refer to Table a for Greetings/Conversation vocabulary. A dialogue of greeting
includes the following segments:
- Greeting word/phrase: Hola. ¿Qué tal? Buenos días. Buenas tardes. Buenas noches
- Greeting response: Buenos días. Buenas tardes. Buenas noches.
- Ask name:¿Cómo se llama? ¿Cómo te llamas?
- Name response: Me llamo Pedro. Mi nombre es Pedro. Soy Pedro.
- Pleased to meet you phrase: Mucho gusto. Encantado.
- Response: Igualmente. El gusto es mío.
- Ask how person is: ¿Cómo está usted? ¿Cómo estás (tú)? ¿Qué hay? ¿Qué pasa?
- Response: Bien. Así así. Regular. Mal
- A farewell: Adiós. Hasta luego. Hasta pronto. Hasta mañana.
- Response: similar to (9) above
Look over the dialogue below as a sample.
Pablo is 24 years old - Don Arturo is 55 years old
- Pablo: Buenos días, Señor.
- Don Arturo: ¿Qué tal? ¿Cómo te llamas?
- Pablo: Me llamo Pablo, Señor, ¿y usted?
- Don Arturo: Me llamo Arturo Guzmán. Mucho gusto.
- Pablo: El gusto es mío. ¿Cómo está (usted) hoy?
- Don Arturo: Muy bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
- Pablo: Bastante bien. Hasta luego.
- Don Arturo: Hasta mañana.
You will note that two different forms of address are illustrated. In sentences (12, 16)
Don Arturo addresses the younger Pablo with a tú phrase - ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿y tú?
However, in sentences (13, 15) we see that Pablo addresses Don Arturo with usted.
Therefore, even when the people do not know each other, and are just introducing
themselves, it is very clear to each person whether he should use tú or usted.
Don Arturo, being a much older person than Pablo has the choice of addressing Pablo as tú
or usted. In some cultures, such as the Caribbean islands, people are less formal.
In others, such as some interior regions of Mexico, they are more formal.
You can construct similar dialogues changing around different phrases, as long as
the tú - usted uses are clearly understood.
Make an effort to memorize the information in the Tables. It will facilitate
your being able to use the Lessons to construct sentences. The articles are given
only for the nouns where the ending is not distinctively masculine/feminine.
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English
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- Good morning - Good day
- Good afternoon
- Good evening
- Hello
- How are you?
- How are you?
- Very well, thank you
- So-so
- Bad
- What is your name?
- What is your name?
- My name is Alicia.
- I am Pedro.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Delighted.
- The pleasure is mine.
- Good-bye.
- See you later - See you soon.
- See you tomorrow.
- Excuse me (getting attention).
- Excuse me (to pass by).
- I'm sorry.
- Please.
- You're welcomed.
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Buenos días
Buenas tardes
Buenas noches
Hola
¿Cómo está (usted)? (formal)
¿Cómo estás? (familiar)
Muy bien, gracias
Regular/Así así
Mal
¿Cómo se llama (usted)? (formal)
¿Cómo te llamas? (familiar)
Me llamo Alicia.
Soy Pedro.
Mucho gusto.
Encantado, -a (m/f)
El gusto es mío
Adiós.
Hasta luego - Hasta pronto.
Hasta mañana
Perdón
Con permiso
Lo siento - Discúlpeme
Por favor
De nada
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