"For you, my pet..." - Our animal friends

I have... = Sp. Tengo... / Fr. J'ai... / It. Ho...

Do you have... ? = Sp. ¿Tiene... ? / Fr. Avez-vous... ? / It. Ha... ?

English	Spanish	French	Italian
a cat	un gato	un chat	un gatto
a girl cat	una gata	une chatte	una gatta
a dog	un perro	un chien	un cane
a girl dog	una perra	une chienne	una cagna
a bird	un pájaro	un oiseau	un ucello
a parrot	un papagayo	un perroquet	un papagallo
a horse	un caballo	un cheval	un cavallo
a mouse	un ratón	un souris	un topo
a hamster	un hámster	un hamster	un criceto

It's name is... = Sp. Se llama... / Fr. Il s'appelle... / It. Si chiama...

I have a cat. His name is Sparky. = Sp. Tengo un gato. Se llama Sparky. / Fr. J'ai un chat. Il s'appelle Sparky. / It. Ho un gatto. Si chiama Sparky.
Notes:
Lat. canis = dog, like canine
Late Lat. cattus = cat, like... cat
Fr. perroquet might remind you of parakeet
Late Lat. caballus = horse, like cavalier, a horseman
Fr. chevalier (horseman), from cheval (horse), is the source of chivalry
An Italian mouse, un topo, might be taupe colored

"What would you like to drink?" - Beverages

I would like... = Sp. Quisiera... / Fr. Je voudrais... / It. Vorrei...
To drink = Sp. beber / Fr. boire / It. bere
I would like ... to drink = Sp. Quisiera beber... / Fr. Je voudrais boire... / It. Vorrei bere...
(Be sure to observe the difference in word order.)

English	Spanish	French	Italian
a coffee	un café	un café	un caffè
tea	un té	un thé	un tè
red wine	un vino tinto	un vin rouge	un vino rosso
white wine	un vino blanco	un vin blanc	un vino bianco
a whiskey	un güisqui	un whisky	un whisky
a beer	una cerveza	une bière	una birra
(mineral) water	una agua (mineral)	une eau (minérale)	un'acqua (minerale)

Note: Believe it or not, French eau is from Lat. acqua, just like the other words for "water." To remember, think of eau de toilette - water for your toilette. Sorry for the image.

"Goodbye."

We're now at the end of "Your first 50 words in Spanish, French and Italian." You may need to look things over again to get the information down, but you should have an idea how to communicate at least a few basic ideas, not to mention understanding a little bit about how these languages work. And so it is now time to say "Goodbye." Or, as they say in Italian and French, "Till we meet again."

Here we go:

French Au revoir (ohr vwahr) means till the (au) re/again (re-) seeing (voir)

Italian Arrivederla (ah-ree-vay-dare-lah) means till (a-) re/again (ri-) seeing (veder-) you (la)

Spanish Adios means to (a-) God (dios)

Now, then, we can say goodbyes, and many happy returns. We hope you'll drop by multilingua.info again to learn more as we post more.

Au revoir, Arrivederla and Adios

"Pleased to meet you."

This one's easier in Romance than in English! Here it is:

French enchanté (ahn-chahn-tay) = "enchanted." Because it's an adjective, it agrees for masculine and feminine. If you're a female, enchantée has an extra "e". It's pronounced the same.

Spanish encantado (ayn-kahn-tah-tho) = "enchanted." For females, the "o" becomes "a" for encantada.

Italian piacere (pyah-chay-ray) = "pleasing." There's no adjective agreement to make.

So, here they are again... Pleased to meet you, says John:

Fr. Enchanté, Sp. Encantado, It. Piacere

and says Jill:

Fr. Enchantée, Sp. Encantada, It. Piacere

"What's your name?"

"What's your name?" is actually phrased, "How do you call yourself?" The good news is, we know all the words. The bad news is, the order is a bit messed up. Remember the components of the phrases you have learned, then look at the Pidgin English after to see how to think through the phrase in each language.

It. Come si chiama Lei? = "How yourself call you?"

Sp. Cómo se llama Usted? = "How yourself call you?"

Fr. Comment vous appelez-vous? = "How yourself call you?"

So, if you want to ask someone's name, ask, "How yourself call you?" and you'll be fine.

"You call yourself..."

The first thing we need to remember for this one is that in Spanish and Italian they don't say you, they give titles. So we're not actually saying "You call yourself..." but "His grace/His highness calls himself..." In French, they say "You (guys) call yourselves..." It's not a big deal - you merely need to learn the words - but the words for yourself are going to look a little funny because of the way the grammar works. Here's the template for how this one's structured:

"I am called" becomes "You are called."

It. Io mi chiamo becomes Lei si chiama (lay see kyah-mah).

Sp. Yo me llamo becomes Usted se llama (oo-stayth say yah-mah).

Fr. Je m'appelle becomes Vous vous appelez (voo voo-z-app-lay).

"I call myself..."

We know how to say, "I call." To say what you're called, you say "I call me" or "I call myself." Here's how it works:

It. (io) chiamo becomes (io) mi chiamo (mee kyah-mo) - "I me call..."

Sp. (yo) llamo becomes (yo) me llamo (may yah-mo) - "I me call..."

Fr. j'appelle becomes je m'appelle (zhuh m-ah-pell) - "I me call..."

So, "My name is Peter" or "I am called Peter" =

It. Io mi chiamo Pietro.

Sp. Yo me llamo Pedro.

Fr. Je m'appelle Pierre.

(you) call

This one uses the same verbs as the last item, and since they're regular verbs, changing them is easy:

It. chiamo (I call) becomes Lei chiama (lay kyah-mah) (you call).

Sp. llamo (I call) becomes Usted llama (oo-stayth yah-mah) (you call).

Fr. j'appelle (I call) becomes vous appelez (voo-zapp-lay) (you call).

You'll notice the French is a little messed up (one "l" instead of two). Don't worry about that for now.

(I) call

This next bit is going to be a little confusing at first. Don't worry. It all comes together by the end of the lesson.

The first question you may be asking yourself is why "I call" is so important. Here's why. In the Romance languages, they don't say "My name is..." They say, "I am called..." or, more literally, "I call myself..." The good news here is that the verbs for "call," like the verbs for "speak," are regular verbs from the Latin -are family.

When you call out to someone really loud, you may make a clamor. Clamo is Latin for "I call." Here's what the Italians and Spanish did to it:

Lat. clamo becomes It. chiamo (kyah-mo) - the "l" sound becomes a "y".

Spanish takes it one step further:

Lat. clamo becomes It. llamo (yah-mo) - not only does "l" become "y," but the "c" is just plain gone. This is just another place (like nocte/noche, octo/ocho, multo/mucho) where Spanish has trouble with two consonants being together.

On to the French... which is a different verb. The Lat. appello meant "I call to..." or "I name" (like an "appellation," and the "appellate" court, to which one is called). Just as the "o" in parabolo became "e" in "Je parle," the "o" in appello becomes "e" and...

Lat. appello becomes Fr. J'appelle (zh-ah-pell) - the "je" runs into the vowel of appelle, incidentally.

So, here it is again, a little shorter:

clamo becomes chiamo and llamo, while appello becomes appelle

"I would like some tea, please."

This is a possible answer to the previous item. Again, we're just going to put the pieces together:

Spanish Yo quisiera un té, por favor (yo kee-see-air-uh oon tay, por fah-vor) = "I would like a tea, please."

French Je voudrais un thé, s'il vous plaît (zhuh voo-dray uhn tay, see voo play) = "I would like a tea, please."

Italian Io vorrei un tè, per favore (ee-oh vor-ray oon tay, pair fah-vo-ray) = "I would like a tea, please."

"You would like some coffee?"

We're going to stick with the straightforward question a while longer. So, let's put it together:

Spanish ¿Usted quiere un café? (oo-stayth kee-ay-ray oon kah-fay) = "You want a coffee?"

French Vous voulez un café? (voo voo-lay uhn kah-fay) = "You want a coffee?"

Italian Lei vorrebbe un caffè? (lay vor-ray-bay oon kah-fay) = "You would like a coffee?"

please

This one's purely idiomatic. In Spanish and Italian you ask for a favor:

Italian per favore (pair fah-vo-ray) = "as a favor..." or "please."

Spanish por favor (por fah-vor) = "as a favor" or "please."

In French, things are more roundabout:

French S'il vous plaît (see voo play) = "If it pleases you" = "please." Don't even try to decipher it at this stage.

The words for "please" take some getting used to. But in a foreign country, you get used to them quickly because you have to ask for things a lot.

coffee

Go to the café for a cup of...

French (un) café (uhn kah-fay) = (a) coffee.

Spanish un café (oon kah-fay) = (a) coffee.

Italian un caffè (oon kah-fay) = (a) coffee.

tea

Here's a good easy one. Ready?

Spanish (un) té (oon tay) = (a) tea.

Italian (un) tè (oon tay) = (a) tea.

French (un) thé (uhn tay) = (a) tea.

Remember to say the French "uhn" through your nose. Note that "a tea" = "a cup of tea."

(you) would like

Another batch of tricky words:

Italian (Lei) vorrebbe (lay vor-ray-bay) means "You would like."

French Vous voulez (voo voo-dree-ay) means "You want."

Spanish (Usted) quiere (oo-stayth kee-ay-ray) means "You want."

Note that I've scaled down the formality for French and Spanish by a notch. Note also that otherwise we're following the template of "(I) would like." Aside from the "volunteer/quest" links, I'm not going to offer a lot of help on these. If you go deeper into these languages, there's a lot to be revealed by what's going on with both the words and the way they're being used, but it's way too soon to get into it here.

(I) would like

If you have the volition, you'll volunteer to do something:

Italian (io) vorrei (ee-oh vor-ray) means "I would like."

French je voudrais (zhuh voo-dray) means "I would like."

If you really want something, you might go on a quest for it:

Spanish yo quisiera (yo kee-see-air-uh) means "I would like."

No long story for these - it would be too long. But don't worry. You'll see them again through the next few items and they should sink in.

No

This one's pretty easy...

Spanish no (no) = Italian no (noh) = French non (nohn)

And now, if you're totally lost, you can ask someone if they speak English. If they say oui, sí or sì (Yes, we see...), you can breathe a sigh of relief and plunge in. And if they say no, no or non, at least you'll know it's time to look elsewhere.

In the next lessons, a little more vocabulary and grammar, so that gradually that "Do you speak English?" question will be less necessary.

Yes

Here's your mnemonic: "Yes, we see." Ready?

Yes... (French) oui (we)... (Spanish) sí (see)... (Italian) sì (see)?

Pretty easy, huh?

"Do you speak English?"

There are different ways of asking questions, but why not keep it simple? For now, let's just add a question mark, and a rise in tone at the end of the sentence. It's not always the most common way to ask, but it will work:

Spanish ¿Usted habla inglés? = Italian Lei parla inglese? = French Vous parlez français? = "You speak English?"

Like the English, the phrasings may be a little stilted. But they'll get the job done.

"You speak English."

Now we're back to an easy one. Just put the words in order.

Spanish Usted habla inglés. (oo-stayth ah-blah een-glace)

Italian Lei parla inglese. (lay par-lah een-glay-zay)

French Vous parlez anglais. (voo par-lay ahn-glay)

(you) speak

We've seen from the "am doing" and "are doing" entries that the "I" and "you" forms of verbs are different (usually). We already know the "I" forms of "speak." Here are the "you" forms.

Spanish (Usted) habla (oo-stayth ah-blah)

Italian (Lei) parla (lay par-lah)

French vous parlez (voo par-lay - yes, "ez" is pronounced "ay")

I've put the endings in italics.

For the curious... now you can use lots of verbs in the Romance languages. All you need to know is the "to" or infinitive form (like "to do" or "to speak"). Here's how this works: 80% of verbs in the Romance languages work like "to speak." In Latin, they were the "-are" verbs. In the Romance languages... look at the table.

	Spanish	Italian	French
if the dictionary form ends with	-ar	-are	-er
(example)	hablar	parlare	parler
the "I" form ends	-o	-o	-e
(example)	hablo	parlo	parle
the "you" form ends	-a	-a	-ez
(example)	habla	parla	parlez

"I speak English."

You've got "I," you've got "speak," you've got "English." Let's put them together:

Spanish Yo hablo inglés = Italian Io parlo inglese = French Je parle anglais = I speak English.

(I) speak

As we've seen, in the Romance languages there are different forms of the verb for "I" and "you". And "we" and "he" and "they," though we haven't gotten into it. So far, we've only seen verbs with irregular forms. "To speak" is the first verb we'll learn that follows a consistent pattern - called a conjugation. What's more, "to speak" is from the most common pattern, or conjugation, so once you've learned about it, there will be tons of other verbs you can use. We'll talk about that with item 32, "(you) speak," when you've learned both forms that this course teaches.

Now, here's our verb for to speak. Think of going into a parlor to have a chat, then look at:

Italian (io) parlo (ee-oh par-lo) = "I speak."

French je parle (zhuh parl) = "I speak."

Spanish (yo) hablo (yo ah-blow) = "I speak."

What happened to the Spanish? I'm afraid it's a different verb. And there are no good cognates in English, that don't involve etymology. You'll have to learn this on your own, unless you're prepared for the whole story...

For the curious... Latin had several different words for "to speak." Loquere (like "loquacious") is the one the Latin textbooks teach. But the Romance languages latched on to two. These were:

1) parabolo, meaning "I tell a parable." The middle got chopped out, for Italian parlo and French parle.

2) fabulo, meaning "I tell a fable." Chop out the middle and you get "fablo". But for some obtuse reason (really, there are good reasons following sound change laws), where Latin words start with "f", Spanish often changes it to "h". So, there you have hablo.

For the really curious... there are a few other examples of Latin "f" changing to Spanish "h" that are worth mentioning. Note, also, that "li" often changes to "j". (Got a headache yet?) Lt. folia (leaf, like foliage) becomes Sp. hoja. Lt. filius (son, like filial) becomes Sp. hijo. Lt. facto (fact) becomes Sp. hecho (note that the "ct" changed to "ch," just like in nocte/noche and octo/ocho).

English, language of Anglo-Saxons

The Romance versions of "English" approximate the word, but not necessarily very well. But if you keep in mind "English" and "Anglo" it shouldn't be too rough going.

Spanish inglés (een-glace)

Italian inglese (een-glay-zay)

French anglais (ahn-glay)

We're going to be using this off and on in the next few items, so don't work too hard memorizing. It'll sink in.

Lesson 6, Item 28 answer

English	Spanish	French	Italian
Good day. How are you?	Buenos días. ¿Cómo está Usted?	Bonjour. Comment allez-vous?	Buongiorno. Come sta Lei?
I am doing very well, thank you. And how are you?	Yo estoy muy bien, gracias. ¿Y cómo está Usted?	Je vais très bien, merci. Et comment allez-vous?	Io sto molto bene, grazie. E come sta Lei?
Very well, thanks.	Muy bien, gracias.	Très bien, merci.	Molto bene, grazie.

"And how are you doing?"

Here's another easy one. All we have to do is add "and" to the front of item 18 from lesson 3. Ready?

Spanish ¿Y cómo está Usted? = "And how are You?"

Italian E come sta Lei? = "And how do You stand?"

French Et comment allez-vous? = "And how are you going?"

This is the last item for lesson 6 in our sequence. We ended lesson 5 with a little conversation. You're now prepared to expand on it. This time, the work is up to you. Take a minute to make the conversation go like this:

Good day. How are you?
I am doing very well, thank you? And how are you?
Very well, thanks.

(Check your work here)

"I am doing very well, thanks."

The last item was a bit of a challenge, at least if you stuck around for the "For the curious..." part. So we're going to take it easy in the next two, building on what we already know. Our first phrase is "I am doing very well, thanks." Here we go:

Spanish Yo estoy muy bien, gracias = "I am very well, thanks."

Italian Io sto molto bene, grazie = "I stand very well, thanks."

French Je vais très bien, merci = "I am going very well, thanks."

All the words are arranged according to the keywords I've given, and in the right order. Piece of cake.

(I) am doing

This is the counterpart to the "are doing" bit in "How are you doing?" That means, among other things, that it doesn't really mean "am doing" in any of these languages, but that's the best way to think of it. Go back to lesson 4, word 16 if this doesn't sound familiar.

Here's the good news: All of these are at least first person singular, i.e. the "I" form of the verb. Here we go:

Spanish (yo) estoy (yo eh-stoy) means "I am". It goes with Usted está ("you are").

Italian (io) sto (ee-oh stow) means "I stand." It goes with Lei sta ("you stand").

French (je) vais (zhuh vay) means "I go." It goes with Vous allez ("you go").

I take it connections between Spanish estoy/está and Italian sto/sta aren't that mysterious.

For the curious, here's the French... Well, the good news is you're getting a tricky verb out of the way early. The Spanish and Italian versions of "to go" are just as bad; you just aren't learning them yet. But since French uses "to go" to talk about how you're doing, we have to learn about it now. If you want, you can try for rote learning. Here's the full story (and it will apply if you go beyond "Your first 50 words..." and learn "to go" in Spanish and Italian, too).

In the earliest days of Latin, they had three ways (actually more, but play along) to say "to go". These were

1. ire, which meant, of all things, "to go." It's where we get exit (go out, or rather, out go)

2. vadere, "to go forth". It's where we get invade (go forth into something)

3. ambulare, "to walk". You use a perambulator or pram to walk around with the baby. An ambulance is a moving hospital (contracted from the French hôpital ambulant - walking hospital, or field hospital)

Eventually, these three verbs fused into one verb. Here's the way it worked out in the three languages. Note that in this course, you only need to learn the two forms of the French aller that I've put in bold. I've indicated which verb each part came from as follows: ire = (i); vadere = (v); ambulare = (a)

English	Italian	Spanish	French
to go	andare (a)	ir (i)	aller (a)
(I) go	voy (v)	vado (v)	vais (v)
(you-s) go	vas (v)	vai (v)	vas (v)
(he) goes	va (v)	va (v)	va (v)
(we) go	vamos (v)	andiamo (a)	allons (a)
(you-p) go	váis (v)	andate (a)	allez (a)
(they) go	van (v)	vanno (v)	vont (v)
(you-f) go	(Usted) va	(Lei) va	(vous) allez

So, there's the rundown on how three verbs became one. Like I say, you only need to know the two French forms right now. The rest is for later. But I wanted you to have a chance to see how vais and allez could be so different, yet be the same verb.

In this course, we are only learning the "I" and "you-f" (formal) forms of verbs. If you go beyond "Your first 50 words..." you'll wind up learning the others, but these are the only forms necessary for the situations I'm teaching you to handle for now. Stay tuned, of course, for new items to pop up at multilingua.info that will take you further.

I... yo, it's me!

Spanish for "I" is yo (yo) - just think, "Yo, it's me!"

Italian for "I" is io (ee-oh) - not that different.

French for "I" is je (zhuh). Try it: "Je, it's me!" Okay, it's stupid. But it might be enough to help you remember.

Note that while Usted and Lei are capitalized, none of the words for "I" are.

For the curious, the Latin for "I" is ego. You can see that the Spanish and Italians just say it too fast: ego (ay-go) becomes eo (ay-oh) then Italian io (ee-oh), then Spanish yo.

Here's what happened to French: ego (ay-go) becomes eo (ay-oh), gets pronounced ay-yo, then ay-jo before becoming Old French jo (joe). This clear and distinct syllable was difficult to mumble, so in early modern French it became "je" (zhuh).

"And you?"

Here's another easy one. You know "and" and you know "you". Put them together:

Spanish Y Usted (ee oo-stayth)

Italian E Lei (ay lay)

French Et vous? (ay voo)

I wouldn't have bothered with this, except that you now can have a short conversation. Ready?

English	Spanish	Italian	French
Good day. How are you?	Buenos días. ¿Cómo está Usted?	Buongiorno. Come sta Lei?	Bonjour. Comment allez-vous?
Well, thanks. And you?	Bien, gracias. ¿Y Usted?	Bene, grazie. E Lei?	Bien, merci. Et vous?
Very well, thanks.	Muy bien, gracias.	Molto bene, grazie.	Très bien, merci.

Granted, you're not quite ready to deliver that Nobel Prize acceptance speech just yet, but at least you can be civil to those you pass on the street. And soon you'll even be able to offer them a cup of coffee. But first, a few grammar bits are coming up.

And - Etc...

You already know the Latin word for "and". It's the et in etc. (et cetera - and other things) and et al. (et alia - and other people). Here's what the Romance languages did to it:

French for "and" is et, pronounced "ay" (never, ever "ette").

The Italians followed one step further and got rid of the "t" altogether:

Italian for "and" is e, pronounced "ay".

Spanish for "and" is y, pronounced "ee" - still a single vowel sound, but a different one, so it's not the French wrecking the pattern for once.

Summary: Lat. et gives French et, Italian e and Spanish y

"Very well, thanks."

"Very well, thanks."

Here's your refresher course for the last few words. No question about word order or anything.

Spanish Muy bien, gracias is "Very well, thanks."

Italian Molto bene, grazie is "Very well, thanks."

French Très bien, merci is "Very well, thanks."

Repeat each a few times and get ready for two more easy ones.

Thanks - I'm very grateful

After the "very" fiasco, you'll be glad to know that this one's easy. If you're "grateful," you might also me "gracious". The Latin word for "thanks" (in the plural, even) is gratias. Here are the Spanish and Italian mispronunciations:

Italian for "thanks" is grazie (grah-tsee-ay). Grazie, I'm very gracious...

Spanish for "thanks" is gracias (grah-see-ahss). Gracias, I'm very gracious...

French for "thanks" is merci (mair-see)... You knew they'd mess us up! But just think, "Merci. Mercy, me, I'm grateful," and you'll be fine.

Very - multitudinally so

Latin for "lots" is multo, like "multitude." Shift a vowel for Italian "very":

Italian for "very" is molto (mole-toe). So if something is "multitudinally swell" in Italian, it's molto bene!

Spanish for "very" is muy (mwee). Run with the "mu - multi" connection. I'll put the whole story below for the curious. Anyway, if something is "multitudinally swell" in Spanish, it's ¡muy bien!

French for "very" is très (tray). Leave it to the French to throw sand in the gears again. This word is obviously unrelated. The straight scoop is below, but you're best off just learning it.

To learn our word for "very," I'd put it with the word for "well" and make our memory work a two-fer. Ready?

If things are "multitudinally swell" or simply going "very well," say Molto bene! ¡Muy bien! or Très bien!

The scoop of muy and très... if you really want to know...

We've already seen Latin multo and Italian molto. Here's the deal: Spanish really couldn't cope with a consonant right before the letter "t". We've already seen how "nocte" (night) became "noche" and mentioned that "octo" (eight) became "ocho". Guess what? Latin multo became... that's right... mucho. This is the Spanish for for "much" or "lots". However, a second, short form developed, meaning "very," and that is "muy".

The next question is, "Where on earth did the French get très?" This answer is for information only; save for the value of the story, it will offer little memory value. The Latin for "across" or "beyond" was trans. When you transfer your money, it is carried from one bank across to another. When you transmit a radio signal, you send it across the airwaves, beyond the radio tower. And when transubstantiation occurs in the Catholic Communion ritual, the substances of bread and wine go across and beyond the boundaries limiting ordinary matter to become the body and blood of Christ. No offense to either believers or non-believers in transubstantiation. I just want you to know that "trans," while in ordinary words like transmission, trans-national and transgressive (to step across [a line]), is no big deal, it really does go above and beyond. The French took it to the next level, first messing up the pronunciation (from trans to tras to très) and then stretching the meaning. If something is très bien, it is beyond merely bien, it is very well. For those taking a deep breath, don't say you weren't warned. And now, on to the next word.

Well - bonus is back

We already know that the Latin for "good" is bonus. Hang on to the b & n - the word for "well" is bene, as in benefit, benefactor and benediction (a thing well done, one who does well, a thing well said). In our first language, this one's pretty easy:

The Italian for "well" is bene (bay-nay).

Spanish and French are a little trickier, because, well, their Latin's just not as good as the Italians'. But once you know one...

The Spanish for "well" is bien (bee-enn). Got it? ¡Muy bien! (Oops! getting ahead of you...)

The French for "well" is bien (bee-ehn). Be sure to say the "en" part through your nose. Très bien. (There I go again.)

Here's a quick round-up, a phrase to repeat a few times so this will sink in:
For learning "well," it's a benefit to think Italian bene, Spanish bien and - here it is again - French bien.

You can shorten it to "Well, bene, bien, bien" once you've got the hang of it.

"How are you doing?"

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.

Having muddled the waters enough to make you sort things out so you'll remember, now I'll give the short version:

Spanish ¿Cómo está Usted? = "How are You doing?" ("How are you?")

Italian Come sta Lei? = "How are you doing?" ("How stand You?")

French Comment allez-vous? = "How are you doing?" ("How are you (guys) going?")

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).

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.

You may have guessed that we're working up to asking how people are doing. But don't get ahead of me. We'll be there soon.

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.

Good evening

In French and Italian, evening starts some time around when you get off work and finishes around 8 or 9. In Spanish, it's all tarde.

In French and Italian, the evening comes "late" - from the Latin serus, meaning "late". In Italian, they took the feminine, probably contracting from "hora sera" (late hour). In French, they took the masculine, but mangled it, as usual.

Unlike "morning" and "evening," French and Spanish really do make good use of "Good evening." Here we go:

Italian sera gives Buonasera (bwoh-na-say-rah).

French soir gives Bonsoir (bohn-swahr).

Spanish tarde continues to give Buenas tardes.

Incidentally, yes, soirée does mean "all evening," just like matinée means "all morning." A soirée is a party that fills up the whole evening, as opposed to either the dinner hour or the post-dinner hour.

And, if you were really wondering, tardus is Latin for "slow" (like a fire retardant slows the spread of flames) or "behind schedule". We're going to refrain from speculation about why the Spanish would so designate the time between lunch and dinner.

Good afternoon

The words for afternoon in Sp/Fr/It are each different, but each have a logic of their own.

In Spanish, the afternoon is the "late" time of the day - tarde (just like the "tardy slip" you get if you're late to class in school). It's feminine and, for the greeting it is of course plural:

Spanish tarde gives Buenas tardes (bweh-nahss tar-thase - pronounce the "th" as in "the").

The "late" time that is the tarde lasts until 8 or 9 p.m., when Buenas noches takes over.

In French, the afternoon is the time after noon but before evening. Makes sense. And here's the breakdown: The French word for noon is midi - midday (mi- = half + di = day - like Lat. dies and Sp. día). The word for after is après. Put them together and you get:

French après-midi becomes Bon après-midi (bohn ah-pray mee-dee).

By the way, Bonjour is more common, just as we're more likely to say "Hello" or "Good day" than "Good afternoon" in English.

In Italian, things are trickier. You know how we say "2 p.m."? That "p.m." stands for the Latin phrase "post meridio" - after noon. Now, imagine you're Italian and you're saying "post meridio" really fast. You just might get:

Italian pomeriggio gives Buon pomeriggio (bwohn poh-may-ree-joe). Buongiorno is probably more common.

If it's morning, say "Good day"...

In the Romance languages, morning runs until around noon, just like English. But you wouldn't know it from the greetings. People just say, "Good day." Here, then, the words for morning, but with a suggested greeting you already know. The words, by the way, come from the Latin mane - morning - and matutinus - of the morning.

French and Italian liked the adjective form; Spanish preferred the noun. Ready?

mane becomes Spanish mañana (ma-nya-na).

matutinus becomes Italian mattina (mat-teenah).

matutinus becomes French matin (mah-taihn - the second syllable has an "a" like cat but pronounced nasally).

But "Good morning" is Buenos días, Buongiorno, Bonjour in the order Sp./It./Fr.

Incidentally, the Spanish and Italian words are feminine (like "night"). The French is masculine (like "day"). But there is a feminine French form meaning "all morning long" - matinée. It used to be that watching the early show was a good way to fill up your morning. When they moved the early shows to the afternoon they kept the name.

Good night

In the Romance languages, "Good night" tends to imply that someone is off to bed, at least as soon as they get home. We'll talk about what you usually say instead with the next couple word items. But since we already know the words, we're going to do this one first.

Note that it works pretty much like "Good day": good + night in Fr. and It., good(s) nights in Sp.

French bonne nuit... stays Bonne nuit (bun nwee) - this one doesn't smoosh together.

Italian buona notte becomes Buonanotte (bwohna-noh-teh).

Spanish "Good night" is Buenas noches.

Incidentally, you should now see why I taught you masculine and feminine and singular and plural right from the beginning - even the greetings are just goofy syllables before you know about them, but once you've learned about them the greetings will make sense and will give you good patterns for keeping the grammar straight in turn.

Greetings...

In the Romance languages, the standard approach to a formal greeting is the formula "Good..." followed by the time of day. One of the tricky aspects that we'll see is how they distinguish the times of day.

The phrase, "Good day" we'll get you through up until five or six o'clock, even if there are other appropriate salutations available. So, let's learn this most versatile greeting.

In French and Italian, this is pretty easy stuff - slap together "good" and "day" and you're home free. Like this:

French bon jour becomes Bonjour (bohn-zhoor).

Italian buon giorno becomes Buongiorno (bwohn-jornoh).

Those generous Spaniards, on the other hand, aren't content with one "good day" - they wish you many:

Spanish for "Good day" is Buenos diás.

So... Bonjour, Buongiorno - good day... and Buenos días - yes, many good days to you.

goods nights...

Goods news! Good nights works just like good days - plural form of the nouns and adjectives. In Spanish and French, it's pretty easy:

Spanish buena noche becomes buenas noches (bwehnoss no-chase).

French bonne nuit becomes bonnes nuits (bun nwee - no change in pronunciation, again).

Italian gives us one tricky point. We've already learned that at the end of Italian nouns and adjectives, "o" turns to "i" (giorno becomes giorni), and we've seen that "e" turns to "i" (notte becomes notti). However, "a" turns to... "e". The reasons involve how the Italians chose to a) mispronounce and b) misuse Latin. What you need to know for the plural, though, is this:

-X ->	-Y
-o ->	-i
-e ->	-i
-a ->	-e

Therefore, we take buona notte and change the "a"s to "e"s and the "e"s to "i"s and we get:
Italian buone notti

Whew!

good days - or is it goods days?

Adjectives don't just agree with masculine or feminine. They also agree for singular or plural. That means in French and Spanish you add an "s":

In Spanish, you start with "bueno" and "día". Add an "s" to each and you get:

Spanish buen día becomes buenos días (bweh-nohss dee-ahss).
Where'd the "o" in "buenos" come from? Remember, if an adjective ending in "o" comes before a noun, you drop the "o". But, when you make it plural, i.e. "buenos," it doesn't end in "o". It ends in "s". Tricky. I know. Just say "buen día" and "buenos días" a few times and you'll remember the rule, even if it doesn't make any sense.

French bon jour becomes bons jours.
Don't pronounce either "s". Just say "bohn zhoor". Easy, huh?

In Italian, you start with "buono" and "giorno". Change the "o"s to "i"s and:
Italian buon giorno becomes buoni giorni (bwoh-nee jor-nee).
Like Spanish, you start with "buono" because it's not in front of a noun yet and you only drop the "o" if it is definitively what's going to come before the noun.

nights - nocturnes? or nocturne?

Good news for Spanish and French. Like before, just add an "s". Like before, don't pronounce it in French.

Spanish noche becomes noches, pronounced "no-chase".

French nuit becomes nuits, pronounced "nwee".

Italian words ending in "e" end in "i" in the plural. So...

Italian notte becomes notti, pronounced "noh-tee".

days - day with an "s" - or not

Good news for French and Spanish. To make something plural, just add an "s":

Spanish día becomes días, pronounced "dee-ahss".

French jour becomes jours, pronounced "zhoor".
What about the "s"? Not pronounced. Say jours just like jour. You didn't think "just add an s" was that easy, did you?

In Italian, it's all mucked up. Here's the short scoop for so far: If it ends in "o" in Italian, the plural ends in "i".

Italian giorno becomes giorni, pronounced "jor-nee".

good night - bonus nocturnal!

Just to remind you, the Romance word for night comes from nocte, like nocturnal.

A funny thing about these words for "night" - they're what we call "feminine." What does that mean? Well, it means, for starters, that they're not masculine words, which "day" is. Now, why is "day" masculine and "night" feminine? Historical linguists can tell you, but the answer is long and complicated.

The important thing to know is that masculine and feminine are grammar words. You could just as well say "day" and "night" words and the system would work, because what's really at stake is not the gender of the word, but the endings you tack on adjectives that modify it.

So far, we know the "day" form of good - it's bon, buono, bueno. And we know you take off the "o" in Spanish and Italian if it's in front of a noun. So, the "día" is "bueno," since "bueno" comes after in the sentence. But, it's a "buen día," because "buen" comes right before the noun. This is how it works for masculine or "day" words.

For "night," or feminine words, the "o" in Spanish and Italian changes to "a":

Spanish buena noche; pronounce it "bweh-nah no-chay".

Italian buona notte; pronounce it "bwoh-nah noh-tay".

In French, you usually add an "e" if the adjective ends in a consonant. For bon, you also have to double the "n" (or it would sound like "bone"; it's supposed to sound like "bunn"), which gives you:

French bonne nuit; pronounce it "bunn(uh) nwee".

Whew! That was a lot of grammar! But trust me, it doesn't have to be hard. For now, just learn the expressions, and when you need to learn the rules, they'll make sense because you've been following them already!

Here, then, is what you need to know. Read through the other stuff once or twice and then put it on the back burner.

bon jour, buon giorno, buen día
bonne nuit, buona notte, buena noche

good day - bonus books!

So far you already know "good" and "day." To say something's a "good day," it would seem like you'd just put them together. Well, sort of.

French bon jour is a good day; pronounce it "bohn zhoor".

In Italian they say buon giorno; pronounce it "bwone jor-no". Where'd the "o" on buono go? The same place as the "o" on the end of "bueno" in

Spanish buen día; pronounce it "bwehn dee-uh".

Because buono and bueno where in front of nouns, the "o" dropped. We'll talk more about this when we talk about "good night". For now, you just need to know:

bon jour, buon giorno, buen día

good - bonus!

If you do good work - or do well on a video game - you're supposed to get a bonus.

Chop off the end and you get:

French bon.
Pronounce it "bohn," like you're saying "bone" but have a head cold.

Add a "u" in the middle, "o" on the end, and you get:

Italian buono.
Pronounce it "bwoh-no".

"o" becomes "e" and you've got:

Spanish bueno.
Pronounce it "bweh-no".

Working through the puzzle is a little tricky, so just say:
bonus, bon, buono, bueno - it's a good thing!

night - nocturnal

The Romance word for "night" is nocte, like "nocturnal". It changes according to a fairly predictable pattern. We're going to throw in a few bonus words here to show you.

Start with nocte (night), octo (eight), lacte (milk), facto (fact) (these are objective forms in Latin) and you get:

Spanish noche (no-chay), ocho, leche, hecho

Italian notte (note-tay), otto, latte, fatto

French nuit (nwee), huit, lait, fait

The "oct" in "nocturnal" becomes "och" in Spanish, "ott" in Italian and "uit" in French. As you can see in the list, there are other patterns. We're not going to learn them all now, but if you remember one-fourth of this entry, you'll know enough to remember:

English night, Spanish noche, Italian notte, French nuit.

day - diary and journal

Spanish día is like diary, a book you write in daily.
Pronounce it "dee-uh".

French jour is like journal, a paper that comes daily.
Pronounce it "zhoor" (almost like the last syllable of "measure").

Italian giorno sounds almost like journal without the "l".
Pronounce it "jor-noh".

Remember: día as in diary, jour and giorno like journal.

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