¡Hola!

¡Hola! Welcome to the first section of the course! As you might expect, this section is all about introductions.

When you are introducing yourself – or even when you are introducing one person to another person – there are some standard phrases that we typically use.  First, you usually give your name or the name of the person you are introducing.  Then, you usually indicate in some way that you are pleased to meet the other person.

With greetings and goodbyes in Spanish, the conversation will vary somewhat depending upon the relationship you have or will have with the person you are meeting.  This relationship ranges from being very familiar to very formal.  For example, if you are introducing yourself to someone your own age or with whom you would be considered a peer, to children, or to friends of friends, you would likely use a more informal greeting.  If you are greeting someone with more of a social distance, such as an authority figure (professor, doctor, boss, an elder, or a potential employer), you would use a more formal greeting.

As you learn the phrases for introductions and goodbyes, you might find that there are words or grammatical points you don’t understand. Don’t worry that you don’t know why ¿Cómo se llama? and ¿Cómo te llamas? are different– for the time being, just focus on learning the phrases and patterns. Most importantly, make sure you listen to the audio clips and repeat them aloud.