Basic greetings and introductions | Learn Spanish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Buenos días a todos.

   Good morning, everyone.

   Buenos

   good

   días

   days

   a todos

   everyone

   More detail

   Buenos modifies días and agrees with it in masculine plural: bueno → buenos. In this greeting, the phrase is conventionally used to say “good morning,” not simply to describe several good things. Compare buen día, “good day,” for a singular day. días is the plural of día, “day.” Although día ends in -a, it is masculine in Spanish, so the matching adjective is buenos, not buenas. Example: Buenos días, Ana. — “Good morning, Ana.” a todos addresses everyone in the group. The preposition a introduces the people being addressed, and todos is the masculine plural form of todo, “all/everyone.” In a group treated with masculine plural agreement, todos can address the whole group. Example: Hola a todos. — “Hello, everyone.” Together, Buenos días a todos. is a polite greeting meaning “Good morning, everyone.”

2. ¿Cómo estás?

   How are you?

   Cómo

   how

   estás

   you are

   More detail

   Cómo means “how” here and is the interrogative form used to ask about the manner or state of someone. The accent distinguishes interrogative cómo from como, which has other uses, such as “as” or “like.” In this question, it asks for the person’s state rather than for an action’s manner. estás is the second-person singular present form of estar, “to be.” The ending identifies the informal singular subject tú; Spanish normally leaves that subject pronoun unstated because the verb form supplies it. Estar is used here for a current state or condition. The accent in estás is part of this conjugated form and distinguishes it from estas, a different form meaning “these” in contexts where that word is used. Together, Cómo + estás literally asks “how are you?” The question addresses one person as tú and asks about that person’s current state. In this context, the natural reusable pattern is ¿Cómo estás? for asking one person informally how they are.

3. Estoy bien.

   I am fine.

   Estoy

   I am

   bien

   well; fine

   More detail

   Estoy is the first-person singular present form of estar, meaning “I am” here. Estar is commonly used for a current condition or state; ser is used for identity or more enduring characteristics. Example: Estoy cansado. — “I am tired.” Bien is an adverb meaning “well” and, with estar, commonly means “fine” or “well.” It does not change for the speaker’s gender or number. Example: Estamos bien. — “We are fine.” Together, Estoy bien. means “I am fine” or “I am well”: the speaker describes their current state. This is a short, neutral way to say that they are doing well.

4. Mucho gusto.

   Nice to meet you.

   Mucho gusto

   Nice to meet you

   More detail

   Mucho gusto is a fixed, polite Spanish formula used when meeting someone. In this sentence it means “Nice to meet you,” rather than describing a large amount of pleasure in an ordinary literal statement. Mucho means “much” or “a lot of.” Here it agrees with gusto, a masculine singular noun: mucho gusto. With other nouns, it changes form: mucha paciencia means “a lot of patience,” and muchos libros means “many books.” Gusto is a noun meaning “pleasure” in this formula. The same word can have other meanings in other contexts, such as “taste,” but that is not its meaning here. Together, Mucho gusto expresses pleasure at meeting the other person. It is a short, commonly reusable greeting, often said after introductions.

5. Que tengas un buen día.

   Have a nice day.

   Que tengas

   may you have

   buen

   nice; good

   día

   day

   More detail

   Que tengas combines que with tengas, the present subjunctive form of tener for tú. Here it introduces a good wish: “may you have.” The subject is the person being addressed, and the expression is a friendly way to wish someone something. Compare tener “to have” and tienes “you have” in an ordinary present-tense statement. Example: Que tengas suerte. — “Good luck” / “May you have luck.” buen is the shortened form of bueno used before a masculine singular noun. It means “good” or, in this well-wishing expression, “nice.” The noun determines the form: un buen día, but una buena tarde. This adjective agrees with día in masculine singular form; buen is not the form of the noun. día means “day.” Although it ends in -a, Spanish treats it as masculine: el día, un día. Its plural is días. Example: Hoy es un buen día. — “Today is a good day.” Together, Que tengas + un buen día expresses the wish “Have a nice day.” The article un introduces the singular noun phrase, while buen describes día; the complete utterance is a conventional friendly farewell or good wish.

6. De nada.

   You are welcome.

   De nada

   You're welcome

   More detail

   De nada is the standard Spanish response to gracias, meaning “you’re welcome.” It is a fixed polite expression, so learn it as a whole rather than translating each word mechanically. de is a preposition often meaning “of” or “from,” while nada means “nothing”; in this expression, the combined meaning is conventional. Example: Gracias. — De nada. = “Thank you.” — “You’re welcome.” Together, the utterance is a brief, friendly way to say that helping was no trouble. It fits the supplied meaning and is common in everyday conversation.