Learn the key pattern to ask about well-being
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| First, do you remember how Mark asks, |
| "How are you?" |
| ¿Cómo estás? |
| First is cómo, "how." Cómo (enunciated). Cómo. |
| Next is estás, "[you] are." Estás (enunciated). Estás. |
| Note, estás is a shortened form of tú estás, “you are.” In Spanish, tú, “you,” is usually omitted, as it’s understood from context. |
| Estás is from the verb, estar, meaning "to be." Estár. |
| All together, it's ¿Cómo estás? "How are [you]?" ¿Cómo estás? |
| Note the rising intonation to mark that it’s a question. ¿Cómo estás? |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Jorge says, |
| "Fine, thank you." |
| Jorge Soto Aguilar: Bien, gracias. |
| "Fine, thank you." Bien, gracias. |
| First is bien, "fine." Bien (enunciated). Bien. |
| Here, bien is the shortened form of Yo estoy bien. “I’m fine.” Yo estoy bien. |
| Yo estoy is omitted, as it is understood from context. |
| Estoy is from the verb, estar, meaning "to be." Estár. |
| Next is, gracias, meaning "thank you." Gracias (enunciated). Gracias. |
| All together, it’s Bien, gracias. "Fine, thank you." Bien, gracias. |
| The question ¿Cómo estás? can be used in informal situations. |
| However, for formal situations, use the following pattern. |
| ¿Cómo está usted? "How are you?" ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Simply replace estás, the informal version of "you are," with está usted, the formal version of "you are." |
| First is the word, está, literally "is," but translates as "are," as in "you are" for formal situations. Está (enunciated). Está. |
| Está is from the verb, estar, meaning "to be" in Spanish. Estár. |
| Next is the word usted, the formal word for "you." Usted (enunciated). Usted. |
| All together, it’s ¿Cómo está usted? "How are you?" ¿Cómo está usted? |
| Note that when asking about one’s well being in formal situations, the word for "you," usted, is included. |
| Imagine you’re Sonia Hernández, Mark’s Spanish teacher. Ask about Mark’s well-being using formal Spanish. |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| "How are you?" |
| ¿Cómo está usted? |
| For the response, both of the following are okay: |
| Bien, gracias. |
| Estoy bien, gracias. |
| In Spanish, there are two verbs that translate as “to be:” ser and estár. When talking about well being, use estar. |
| So when responding to ¿Cómo estás? “How are you?” |
| Always use the verb estar, as in estoy bien. “I’m fine.” |
Comments
Hide