your first 50 words in Spanish, French and Italian

lesson 4

Welcome to lesson 4. In this lesson, you're going to put together the elements of a basic question, "How are you doing?" It may not seem like much, but this will introduce you to questions, verbs and one of the trickier elements of the Romance languages, how to address people. Let's get started.

you

In the Romance languages, "you" is an extremely tricky word. That there exist multiple ways to say "you" in all three languages is only one problem. We're going to make it simple by sticking with a form that is appropriate for formal and semiformal associations.

There is no good memory device to link the words for "you" because they are not related to each other. However, knowing about the words and where they came from may help. First I'm going to give you our words. After that, I'll offer a little history that you can read or skip as you desire. If knowing how things work helps you remember, read it. If not, be sure to pay attention to subsequent phrases with the word "you" in them so that it sinks in.

you:

Spanish Usted (oo-stayth - th as in the)

Italian Lei (lay)

French vous (voo)

Here's the inside scoop:

Spanish Usted is said to be a contraction of Vuestra Merced - "Your Grace". It is not a pronoun so much as an honorific. When you are speaking formal Spanish, you don't say, "How are you?" but "How is his/her Lordship?" This may seem a bit too formal, but it's not: Because "Usted" gets so much use, it has lost whatever lofty pretenses it may have had. It's just a way of being respectful to someone you aren't on intimate terms with. The most important thing, then, is to know the word "Usted", and to recognize that you use the he/she form of the verb with it.

Italian Lei is just about like the Spanish "Usted". In the Romance languages, it's not just adjectives that agree with nouns. The pronouns that replace them also agree. So if you're talking about notte (night) which is feminine, you don't say "it," you say lei (she). The word for "highness" is altezza, which is also feminine. So, to keep it short, you say "She" (capital "s"), i.e. Lei. Tricky, I know. But if you start by thinking, "Her Highness" and shorten it to "Her," you'll have a story that is so annoyingly complicated that it will stick in your craw until you remember Lei on your own.

French vous actually does mean "you". But it's plural, i.e. "you guys." This one is easier to understand. Just imagine the king saying "We are not amused," and imagine responding, "I'll bet you guys aren't!" Conveniently, vous rhymes with you.

Wow! That's a lot of nonsense for three little words. But the more you know, the more you can learn - more to associate things with. And in addition to learning these three words, you've learned a few things that will come in handy in understanding the grammar to come.

We continue building toward a full sentence... a question, what's more...

are doing

We've already learned "you". Next we're going to learn "are doing". You can tell this is leading up to something big!

If you read the full entry for "you," you know that in Spanish we say, "Your grace" and in Italian we way "Lei," the right pronoun for "Your highness." Which means both of these work like "he" and "she" in sentences. The French word means "you guys" and has complications of its own.

All this we are going to ignore and give you this simple formula - "are doing." It doesn't actually mean that in any of the languages, but it's a place to start. Ready?

(you) are doing:

Spanish (Usted) está (ay-stah) - está means is.

Italian (Lei) sta (stah) - sta means stands or is.

French (vous) allez (ahl-lay) - allez means are going.

Next, a question word...

how? no comment

Ready for some fun etymology (word history)? Here it comes...

In Latin when you wanted to ask, "how", you usually said quo modo - in what way (mode)? Let's chop off the end: "quo mo". Now you see where we (probably) get:

Spanish cómo (koh-moh)

Italian come (koh-may) followed a similar path.

French comment (koh-mahn), comes from comme, which is almost exactly like It. come.

Though etymologically the most messed up, French offers the best memory clue:
May I have a comment on how you're doing?

Remember: For a comment on how things are, ask comment (Fr), cómo (Sp) or come (It).

And now, the full question:

It's the moment you've been waiting for... your first complete sentence!

And then it turns out to be a question.

We've got the pieces already, of course. Now, to put them in order. You'll be glad to know the "how" part is always at the beginning. After that...

Spanish ¿Cómo está Usted? (koh-moh ay-stah oo-stayth) is nice 'n' easy: How are you? (or, at worst, "How is Your Grace?")

Italian Come sta Lei? (koh-may stah lay) is "How are you?" - but really, "How stands She (i.e. Your Highness)?"

French Comment allez-vous is "How are going you (guys)?" That's a little trickier, but not too bad.

Note:

• There's an upside down question mark at the start of the Spanish.
• There's a hyphen between allez and vous in the French.
• The hokiness of Lei as "Your Highness" and "Usted" as "Your Grace" should have sunk in enough for you to remember they're third person. Henceforth, I'll just say "You" (but with the capital "y," especially to remind you that It. Lei = "You" is capitalized.

We've now made it through lesson 4. The number of words you've learned is still small, but you've absorbed a lot of grammar again. Stay tuned. Next we'll be answering the question, then expanding on that. But first, you know the drill. If you've worked straight through, it's time for a little break to let your new learning sink in. See you in a bit.

Are you all rested and ready now? Take a look at the main menu and work through the words for lesson 5. Or, if you want, you can check back on lesson 3.

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