Being polite in Spanish is just as simple as a you or You. When you are talking to someone your own age in English you have a different tone and approach than when you are speaking to someone of respect. In Spanish they make it easier to talk to different people of different respects and how you talk to them. When you talk to someone of respect or who is older then you when you are using the word you in spanish it will be “Usted”. If you are talking to someone that you know well then you dont have to be as formal with those people so you’ll use “tú” instead.

Here is a video of a teenager talking to a girl her own age and a woman of respect.
Click here for video 

https://vimeo.com/53471497  

Greeting someone in spanish is just as easy as doing it in english! All you really need to know is the difference between informal and formal greetings, and of course how to actually greet someone! The chart below will show you how to informally greet someone, such as a close friend, and how to respond when they ask you how you feel.
Notice the (S) and (Ud) in the second column. What do those two letters mean? The (s) shows that to greet someone informally, you would say 'Como estas,' instead of 'Como esta,' which is the shortened version of greeting someone with respect. The (Ud) is used when greeting someone of high respect, like your grandparents, or your parents. Ud. stands for 'usted.' Pretty simple, no? With practice, you'll get this down in no time! ¡Adios!

For extra practice, check out these flashcards!

Here is a video of a high school student greeting a new spanish classmate. Notice how most of the phrases above are used, throughout the entire video. 

Although you probably already know how to say the weather in english, learning it in spanish is a helpful skill as well! Even though its a bit difference from what you may be used to, it's quite easy, and is really useful! To start, you need to know the how to describe the differences in weather, which is again, really simple. Some of the words are even based off of english words! The first  chart below explains the basic phrases, commonly used when giving the weather en español. 

Notice how some things say 'bastante,' and 'parcialmente/mayormente.' Those are words that help describe the weather more accurately. You wouldn't want to tell someone it's just cold, when it's below freezing outside, would you? Knowing the various words and their meanings in spanish, is key if you want to speak fluently!  Now that you've learned how to describe the weather, let's move on to how to ask and give it!  Asking for the weather is not a hard concept to grasp. Since you've just learned the word 'tiempo,' which translates to 'weather,' in english, all you need to do is connect that knowledge with a few other words! Anyway, to ask for the weather, you would need to say, "¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?" which translates to 'What's the weather like?" Simple, right? 



Alternatively, you can also learn the seasons, if you're trying to learn how to describe the weather during a certain part of the year. The second chart below should help! With practice, you'll be telling the weather in no time! ¡Adios! 

Here's a video of a situation that could've been avoided by knowing the weather in spanish.

 

This lesson will help you learn the difference between tú and usted.


Amigo...

.¿como estás?

.¿como te llamas?

.¿y tú

 Respecto...

.¿como está? 

.¿como se llama?

.¿y usted   

Heres a video demonstrating how you use Tú and Usted
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0_RHCT1Z_PuS0xOYmNsLUoxLTQ

If you want to know the weather in Spanish, you must learn these simple facts.

-The types of weather
-The Prefixes used in the weather
-How to describe the weather

Types of Weather:

Bright = Sol
Hot = Calor
Cold = Frio
Windy = Viento
Cloudy = Nublado
Humid = Hùmedo
Rainy = Lloviendo
Snowy = Nevando

Prefixes: 

The types of weather use two different prefixes: Hace and Està.

Hace: Està:
-Sol -Nublado
-Calor -Hùmedo
-Frio -Lloviendo
-Viento -Nevando


Describing the Weather:

Temperature = Temperatura
Maximum = Màxima
Minimum = Mìnima
Degrees = grados
Mostly = Mayormente
Partly = Parcìalmente
Sunny = Soleado
Clear = Despejado
It's nice (bad) out = Hace buen (mal) tiempo.

Days of the Week: 

Monday = lunes
Tuesday = martes
Wednesday = mièrcoles
Thursday = jueves
Friday = viernes
Saturday = sàbado
Sunday = domingo

Remember: The days of the week are always lowercase.

​Explanation: 
In order to have a basic conversation in Spanish, you must know how to:
Greet someone
Ask them how they are
Ask them their name
Ask them where they live
Say goodbye


This is how to ASK any of these questions: 

 

****NOTICE: (tú) is in parentheses for the questions ¿Cómo the llamas? and ¿De dónde eres? This is because the word tú is a way of addressing a friend (or amigo) of yours. If you are to ask these same questions to someone who is not your friend and is to be respected, you would ask them like this:



Here are some responses to those questions:

¿Qué tal?


¿Cómo se llamas?



¿De dónde eres (tú)?



WAYS TO SAY GOODBYE:

 

******It is always polite to say "Nice to meet you" after meeting someone for the first time. It is also polite to reply to that by saying "Likewise." 

 
OTHER USEFUL TERMS:


Here is a game that can be helpful with this lesson. It is also good for greeting someone in Spanish.







Here is a continuation of the video for How to Greet Someone in Spanish. In this video, however, we are having a basic conversation with the tourist.



 

Explanation:
There are FOUR ways that you can greet someone in Spanish, and they are:




****NOTICE: There are TWO exclamation points being used in each greeting. One of them is BEFORE the greeting and one is AFTER the greeting. The exclamation point before the greeting is ALWAYS upside down. This rule applies to EVERY sentence or phrase that is exclamatory. This same rule also applies when adding a question mark to any question you may ask in Spanish. 

You must know when to use each greeting. For example, you would only use ¡Buenos días! when:
Greeting someone as you're arriving to work
Greeting someone as you're arriving to school
Greeting someone while you're eating breakfast
Greeting someone at any other time during the morning

You would only use ¡Buenas tardes! when:
Greeting someone when you're leaving school
Greeting someone while you're eating lunch
Greeting someone at any other time during the afternoon

You would only use ¡Buenas noches! when:
Greeting someone while you're eating dinner
Greeting someone after you've got home from work
Greeting someone at any other time during the evening

¡Hola! is a greeting that can be used at ANY time. 



Here is a game that can be helpful with this lesson. It is also good for basic conversations.







Here is a video of a tourist visiting America who is unable to speak English, and can only speak Spanish. In order to make this tourist feel welcome, it is necessary to know how to greet someone in Spanish.