Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

(lily) #1
In the sentences with conocer and presentar, note the use of personal a before the
name,¿conoce usted a+ name?, te presento a+ name.

 25.1.1.1 (p. 116)
If you have already met the person you are being introduced to, you can use the phrase
Ya nos conocemos‘we have already met’.

The standard greetings in an introduction are:

Informal:
Hola. Hello.
¿Qué tal? Hi, how are you?
Slightly formal:
Mucho/tanto gusto.
Pleasedor nice to meet you.
Encantado/a.
How do you do or Pleased to meet you.
Formal:

¿Cómo está usted?
How are you?
Mucho gusto en conocerlo(le)/la.
Pleasedor nice to meet you.
El gusto es mío.
The pleasure is mine.
Encantado/a de conocerlo(le)/la.
How do you do or Pleased to meet you.
In introductions, younger people and equals will often use the familiar¿qué tal? or
¿hola? instead of more formal forms like mucho/tanto gusto or encantado/a.

Latin Americans, overall, are more likely to use expressions which convey more
formality or courtesy, like mucho/tanto gusto, encantado/a de conocerlo/la.

Note that the word encantado/a will change for masculine (-o) or feminine (-a),
depending on whether the person saying the greeting is a male or a female. Note
also that the masculine pronoun lo in encantado de conocerlo will become le,
encantado de conocerle, in many parts of Spain, especially in the centre.

 2.1 (p. 11); 8.2.1 (p. 36)


29.5 Taking leave


Common leave taking expressions are:
Hasta luego.
Goodbye, see you.

Taking leave 29.5

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