alegrarse de algo
to be glad or pleased about somethingalegrarse de que+ subjunctive
to be glad or pleased that...¡Felicidades! is the most common and general of the expressions used in this context.
Enhorabuena is very common in Peninsular Spanish but unknown in some Latin
American countries. Expressions with felicitar, ‘to congratulate’, are used by all
Spanish speakers, and will call for a change in the pronoun, depending on who we
are congratulating:¡Te felicito!
Congratulations! (fam., sg.)¡Os felicito!
Congratulations! (fam., pl.)¡Lo/s or le/s felicito!
Congratulations! (formal, m., sg./pl.)¡La/s felicito!
Congratulations! (formal, f., sg./pl.)Remember that in Latin American Spanish the os form corresponding to vosotros is
not used in colloquial language, and therefore los and las will be appropriate in formal
and familiar contexts.^8 (p. 34)
The two expressions with alegrarse ‘to be glad or pleased’, a reflexive verb, are
common in all forms of Spanish. Alegrarse de will be followed by a noun in this
context, while alegrarse de que will be followed by a subordinate clause containing
a subjunctive.Me alegro de tu éxito.
I’m glad or pleased about your success.Me alegro de que hayas tenido éxito.
I’m glad or pleased you were successful.Specific expressions used on special occasions are:¡Feliz cumpleaños! Happy birthday!
¡Feliz Navidad! Merry or Happy Christmas!
¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy New Year!23.6 (p. 109); 18.1.4 (p. 85); 63.2 (p. 360)
29.8 Using the phone
29.8.1 Answering the phone
Forms used for answering the phone are not the same in all countries. Here are the most
common equivalents of the English word ‘Hello?’Using the phone 29.8