Modern Spanish Grammar

A Practical Guide

Christopher Pountain, Juan Kattan-Ibarra, Christopher J. Pountain, Juan Kattán-Ibarra

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781134482542
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide is an innovative reference guide to Spanish, combining traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume.The Grammar is divided into two parts. The shorter section covers traditional grammatical categories such as word order, nouns, verbs and adjectives. The larger section is carefully organized around language functions and notions such as: giving and seeking information putting actions into context
* expressing likes, dislikes and preferences comparing objects and actions.All grammar points and functions are richly illustrated and information is provided on register and relevant cultural background. Written by experienced teachers and academics, the Grammar has a strong emphasis on contemporary usage. Particular attention is paid to indexing and cross-referencing across the two sections. This is the ideal reference grammar for learners of Spanish at all levels, from elementary to advanced. It will prove invaluable to those with little experience of formal grammar, as no prior knowledge of grammatical terminology is assumed and a glossary of terms is provided. The book will also be useful to teachers seeking back-up to functional syllabuses, and to designers of Spanish courses.

Part B

Functions

I

Social contact and communication strategies

29
Making social contacts

This chapter contains the most useful expressions used by Spanish speakers to establish social contacts, such as when greeting or introducing people, taking leave, using the phone or writing letters. Many of these are set phrases, others are constructions which vary according to context. Reference is made to register when appropriate, so that you will know for instance whether a certain expression is formal or informal, or whether it tends to be used in the spoken or written language. The expressions listed are for the most part those used by the majority of Spanish speakers, in Spain and elsewhere, but occasional mention is made too of Latin American usage.

29.1 Greeting someone

The standard most common greetings are:

Buenos días.

Good morning.

Buenas tardes.

Good afternoon (early afternoon), good evening. (before night falls)

Buenas noches.

Good evening.

¡Hola!

Hello!, Hi!

¿Qué tal?

Hi!, How are you?

¿Qué hay? (especially Spain)

Hi!, How are things?

¿Qué es de tu vida?

How’s life?

Adiós.

Hello! (when passing by, esp. L. Am.)

The first three greetings are neutral, and can be used in formal and familiar address. Hola, ‘hello’, can be familiar, e.g. ¡hola!, ‘hi!’, formal, e.g. hola, ¿cómo está usted?, ‘hello, how are you?’, or neutral, e.g. hola, buenos días, ‘hello, good morning’. ¿Qué tal? and ¿Qué hay? (esp. Spain), ‘Hi!’, on their own, are familiar greetings, although they can become formal if followed by a formal greeting, for example ¿Qué tal, don Miguel, cómo está usted? Adiós, normally meaning ‘goodbye’, is also used as a greeting, formal or familiar, when passing by. ¿Qué es de tu vida? is a familiar greeting.

In most Latin American countries hola is considered an informal greeting, just like ¿qué tal? ¿Qué hay? is unknown in many Latin American countries as a form of greeting. Instead, you may hear ¿qué hubo?, how are things?, in countries like Mexico, Colombia and Chile. In Chile, this is pronounced as [kjuβo]. In the River Plate countries (Argentina and Uruguay) buenos días becomes buen día.

Note that in formal encounters people normally shake hands when greeting each other. People also do so occasionally in informal situations, especially when they have not seen each other for some time. Hand-shaking is also customary in introductions, except among the young (see 29.4). It is also common when saying good-bye (see 29.5), especially if you will not be seeing the other person for some time.

Friends and even acquaintances will often kiss on the cheek or both cheeks, depending on the country, when saying hello or goodbye, especially if they have not met or will not be meeting for some time. This is customary among women or among men and women, but it is rarely seen among men, particularly in Latin America, except when there is a family relationship.

29.2 Conveying greetings

29.2.1

To pass on greetings to a third person, use:

Informal/formal:

Recuerdos/saludos a Federico.

Regards to Federico.

Informal:

Dale recuerdos/saludos a María Luisa.

Give María Luisa my regards.

Dale recuerdos/saludos de mi parte.

Give him/her my regards.

Formal:

Dele recuerdos/saludos (de mi parte) a su marido.

Please give your husband my regards.

16.1.1.6 (p. 62)

29.2.2

To pass on someone else’s greetings, use the following:

Informal:

Alfredo te manda/envía recuerdos/saludos.

Alfredo sends his regards.

Formal:

Mi madr...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Glossary
• Part A Structures
• Part B Functions
• Appendix: Table of common irregular verbs
• Bibliography
• Index of words and topics