<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:She is very pretty tonightWould it be correct to say?Ella es muy bonita este noche <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect. You would use está because she looks pretty tonight. Since this comment is about a temporary state (her appearance on this night), you use está.Ella está muy bonita este noche.We use es when referring to enduring characteristic and está when referring to temporary characteristics.That fashion model? Ella es muy bonita. Fashion models are generally pretty - it is their job! <h2>Examples: </h2>Es:El carro&nbsp;es&nbsp;rojo. (The car is red)El hombre es Mexicano. (The man is Mexican)El juego de fútbol&nbsp;es&nbsp;en el estadio. (The soccer game&nbsp;is&nbsp;in the Stadium.) Está:La niña&nbsp;está&nbsp;triste. (The girl is sad) El día&nbsp;está&nbsp;soleado. (The day is sunny)La sopa&nbsp;está&nbsp;caliente. (The soup is hot)﻿

Learn about when and where to use es or está

Is This Correct? Es or Está

<h2>Guten Tag</h2>This is the standard German greeting appropriate for formal and information situations. You can always use it. It literally means 'Good Day.' <h2>Hallo</h2>Obviously very similar to the English 'Hello,' but Germans usually use this for answering the telephone rather than in person settings. You would probably want to use one of the other greetings mentioned here for any in person meetings. <h2>Wie geht’s?</h2>This means 'How is it going?' A very common and general greeting, but one probably more suited to less formal settings.Wie geht es Ihnen? uses the formal 'you' and would be the most formal way of asking this question when interacting with people you don't know. Wie geht es dir? uses the less formal dir to be used with people you are familiar with.But note that Germans actually expect an answer to the question. You ask this and you will get a substantial answer how it is indeed going. You can use this the way it is commonly used in English. If you don't response or ask the other person Wie geht's without giving an answer yourself, you might come across as rude. <h2>Alles klar?</h2>Everything alright? However, this question is more a common greeting in German than in English.In English a question would used to express concern for the person you are talking to - perhaps because they appear upset. In German, the questions doesn't have this sort of implication.Alles Klar can also be used as an answer to Wie geht's and the other forms of 'How is it going?' mentioned here. <h2>Wie läuft’s</h2>Another way to ask how is it going in more informal settings.You also can be more specific about what you are asking about.Wie läuft’s die Arbeit? (How is work going?) Wie läuft’s es in Dresden? (How are things going in Dresden?) <h2>Conclusion</h2>Now you have a few new ways to ask people how is it going when you meet them. You've learned which greetings are appropriate depending on the formality or the settings and who you are talking.Just remember, Germans are often a very straight forward people. If you asks question, you will probably get a real answer to the question you asked. Auf Wiedersehen!

Discover a few different ways to greet people in German so you can sound more natural.

Other Ways to Say - Hello in German (Guten Tag)

<h2>¿Como estas?</h2>This is the standard greeting you learn in school. It's a general greeting you can use for formal and informal occasions.When in doubt you can always use this as the default. However, if this is the only greeting you use, the people you interact with regularly might start to feel you are bit word - or that you aren't progressing in your Spanish.Now ¿Como estas?, using the second person singular used with tu indicates familiarity and would be considered less formal.¿Como esta? would be more formal since esta is conjugation for usted that is used in more formal settings. <h2>¿Como te vac</h2>This means 'How's it going.' You would use this mostly in informal situations. Literally, it means how is it going for you.The 'it' is missing in the sentence. However, since the missing subject is it, the sentence uses va - the third person singular (he/she/it) of the verb ir (to go).Notice how it is te not tu. The te references 'you' as an object, not a personal pronoun. We are not saying ¿Como tu vas?, which means how are you going. <h2>¿Que pasa?</h2>This is roughly equivalent to 'What's happening' in English. You would use this mostly in informal settings. This is common greeting among friends.Literally, it means 'What has passed' or 'What has happened.' <h2>¿Que onda?</h2>This is equivalent to 'What's up.' This is an even more informal greeting used by people who know each other.Onda literally means 'wave.' However, it's also used to mean 'vibe.' So, in a more literally sense, this question is kind of asking 'What's the vibe?' <h2>¿Que tal?</h2>Is an informal way of asking 'How are you?' It is considered mildly formal.It would also be considered more formal in Latin American countries than in Spain, where it is a common greeting among friends. Tal usually means such a thing or like that thing.You can also use Como tal ask about something specific like ¿Qué tal tu día? (How is your day) ¿Qué tal tu familia? (How is your family?) <h2>¿Que cuentas?</h2>Quite literally 'What can you tell me?' This would also be equivalent to 'What's new?'This is another informal greeting, commonly used when meeting someone you haven't seen in awhile. You would also use this when greeting people your age or younger.Again, this use the second person singular used with the pronoun tu, indicating a certain familiarity. <h2>Conclusion</h2>So know you know a few different ways to ask people how they are doing when you meeting them. You can sound a little it more like a native speaker and not drive everyone crazy by always using ¿Como estas?

Find out some way to ask how are you when you greet people so you can sound like a native.

Other Ways to Say - How Are You in Spanish (¿Cómo estás?)

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:I miss you.Would it be correct to say?Je te manque. <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect.It is perfectly reasonable to think this. With most of French, the subject/verb word order matches English. I (je) miss (manque). However, for this particular phrase, the person or thing missed is in the position of the subject and the person doing the missing is in the position of direct object. The correct way to say this is.Tu me manques.Notice, the verb manquer agrees with the person missed. Since it is 'you' we use the second person singular conjugation.In a certain sense, you could translate the sentence as 'you are being missed by me.'There is no obvious reason this phrase differs from the word order in most French sentences. It is just the way it is. C'est la vie! <h2>Examples:</h2>Je leur manque. (They miss me)Ils nous manquent. (You miss them. Notice, in this case, we use nous for you.)Tu nous manques.&nbsp;(We miss you)

Learn the correct way to say you miss someone. 

Is This Correct? Manquer

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:I can speak English.Would it be correct to say?Ich kann Englisch sprechen. <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect.Well, it is technically correct. It is a grammatically correct sentence and anyone could understand you. However, this is not the proper way to say you speak a language. If you said Ich kann Deutsch sprechen, people would think 'No, actually you cant.'The proper way to say this - Ich kann (language). Why? No special reason. This short cut has become the common way to say. If you think of speaking a language as a skill, I guess it no different than saying you can swim or cycle or read. 'Englishing' is just a skill you can perform. <h2>Examples:</h2>Ich kann Spanisch. (I can speak Spanish)Ich kann Russisch. (I can speak Russia)Ich kann Französische. (I can speak French)

Learn the correct way to say you speak a language.

Is This Correct? Kann Sprechen

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:You like the dog.Would it be correct to say?Te gustas el perro. <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect.You may think gustas is correct because this is the second person singular (which is what English uses). However, in Spanish, gustar needs to conjugated to agree with the thing liked.Te gusta el perro.The correct way to say this is to use the third person singular (he/she/it) because gustar needs to agree with el perro (the dog).It is the Te at the beginning that signifies it is 'you' who is doing the liking. So we use the me/te/les direct object words to indicate who is doing the liking. <h2>Examples:</h2>Les gustan los gatos or A ellas les gustan los gatos. (They like the cats).Me gusta el hotel. (I like the hotel)Te gusta la comida. (You like the food)

Learn the proper way to say you like something

Is This Correct? Gustan

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:I am going to visit my grandmother.Would it be correct to say?Je vais visiter ma grand-mere. <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect. You need to use rendre visit à. Literally, this means to pay a visit.Je vais rendre visit à ma grand-mère.You are going to pay a visit to your grandmother.You use visiter à to indicate you are visiting a place.Je vais visiter La France. (I am going to visit France) <h2>Examples: </h2>Rendre Visiter:J'ai rendu visite à mon père. (I visited my father)Je vais rendre visite à mon prof. (I am going to visit my teacher)Je voudrais rendre visite à ma soeur. (I would like to visit my sister) Visiter:J'ai visité Londres l'année dernière. (I visited London last year) Je vais visiter le musée. (I am going to visit the museum)Je voudrais visiter Los Angeles. (I would like to visit Los Angeles) À&nbsp;bientôt!

Find out the correct way to say you are visiting someone.

Is it Correct? Visiter

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:I am feeling hot.Would it be correct to say?Ich bin heiß. <h2>Answer</h2>No That is incorrect. In German, you would want to use mir ist. Use mir ist when you are referring to a temporary state you are in - like something you are feeling right now.Mir ist heiß. (I am feeling hot at this moment)You would use ich bin when referring to a trait or fact about your yourself. Thank of ich bin when you are saying you are a certain type of person.However, Ich bin heiß is grammatically correct.It is not the right way to say you are feeling hot. But it is the right way to say you are 'hot' sexy person. <h2>Examples: </h2>Mir ist:Mir ist kalt. (I am cold)Mir ist schlecht. (I am feeling sick)Mir geht's gut. (I'm good or I'm fine) Ich bin:Ich bin kalt. (I am a cold, uncaring person)Ich bin Lehrer. (I am a teacher)Ich bin gut. (I am a good person) Auf Wiedersehen!﻿

Is This Correct? Ich bin heiß

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:The professor speaks to his students.Would it be correct to say?Le prof dit à ses étudiants. <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect. In this case, you need to use parler (to speak), rather than dire (to say or tell).Le prof parle à ses étudiants.In order to use dire, the professor would have to say something to his students.If you heard the sentence in the question, you would wonder 'told his students what?'Le prof a dit à ses étudiants de commencer l’examen. (The teacher told his students to start the exam) <h2>Examples: </h2>Parler:Je veux&nbsp;parler&nbsp;avec elle. (I want to speak with her)Tu dois&nbsp;parler&nbsp;à Tom. (You must speak with Tom)Je refuse de te&nbsp;parler ! (I refuse to speak with you!) Dire:Je vais te le&nbsp;dire. (I am going to tell you that) Elle dit 'ciao' à Georges et à Daniel. (She said 'ciao' to George and Daniel)Je lui ai&nbsp;dit&nbsp;la vérité. (I told her the truth) Au revoir!

Learn when and where to use dire and parler.

Is This Correct? Dire/Parler

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:I take a photoWould it be correct to say?Ich mache ein Photo. <h2>Answer</h2>Yes! That is correct. In German, you wan to say 'I make a photo.' That means you are taking a photograph.You would not say 'Ich nehme ein Photo' which is the direct English translation. A German speak would understand you, but this is not the correct way to say it.You would use 'Ich nehme ein Photo' if you selecting a photo from a stack of photos. You are selecting this photo and taking it away. <h2>Examples: </h2>Mache Photo:Taking a photo. Making a photograph. Nehmen ein Photo:Selecting a photo from a collection of physical photographs. *Shuffling through photos* 'Hmm, I'll take that one!' Auf Wiedersehen!﻿

Learn the correct way to say 'I am taking a photo'

Is This Correct? Nehmen Photo

<h2>Question</h2>If you wanted to say:Now I realize the errors of my ways.Would it be correct to say?Ahora realizo del error de mis formas. <h2>Answer</h2>No! That is incorrect. Realizo can be a false friend. If you want to say you understand or have become aware of something, you actually say:Ahora me doy cuenta del error de mis formas.Literally me doy cuenta means something like 'to give myself an account' of something.Notice me is not the subject, but a reflexive pronoun ('myself'). The subject (Yo) is missing. Doy is the first person singular of dar ('to give'), meaning 'I give.'However, realizo is not completely a false friend. There is another sense in English where realizo would be an appropriate translation. When you want to say you have realized something in the sense of fulfilling a goal or bring something into being.You could use realizo to say you have realized your dreams:Mucha gente me animó a&nbsp;realizar&nbsp;mis ambiciones. (Many people encourage me to fulfill my ambitions.) <h2>Examples: </h2>Me doy cuenta:Me doy cuenta&nbsp;de por qué lo hago. (I realize why I do it.)Me doy cuenta&nbsp;que el secreto del éxito es la pasión. (I realize the secret of success is passion.)Me doy cuenta&nbsp;de que tal vez esto contiene una solución. (I realize that maybe these contained a solution.) Realizar:Fulfilled: Él&nbsp;realizó&nbsp;todas sus promesas. (He fulfilled all his promises). Performed: Realizó&nbsp;el trabajo sin ninguna dificultad. (She performed the work without any difficulty.)Made: El realizó&nbsp;un cambio estructural. (He made a structural change)Carried Out: Ella&nbsp;realizó&nbsp;una búsqueda sistemática. (She made a systemic search.)

Learn about correct and incorrect ways to use realizo and how to say you realize something

Is This Correct? Realizo

<h2>Ich mag das</h2>This is the most common way you learn to say you like something. It literally means 'I like that.' Mag is the first person singular conjugation of mögen (to like).A word about möchte. This is subjunctive of mögen. Ich möchten das = I would like that. You don't use this express you like something. You use it to express you want something. <h2>Gefallen mir</h2>This means that something please you. Die Schuhe gefallen mir means the 'The shoes please me.'Notice that gefallen is the plural conjugation in order to agree with Die Schuhe (the shoes).The sentence uses mir (dative) because person pleased by the shoes (me) is the indirect object. The shoes are pleasing to me - indirect object.<h2>Schmeckt mir</h2>This is only used when you are talking about liking food. It means that some food tastes good to you. Das Brot schmeckt mir. The bread tastes good to me.Again the sentence uses mir because the person it tastes good to is indirect object that requires the dative mir.<h2>Finden...Gut</h2>This means to find something good. Wir finden das Haus gut. We find the house good = We like the house.The literal translation would sound awkward in English in many cases. However, in German, this sentence sounds more natural.<h2>Haben...Gerne</h2>You use it to express liking something. Gerne is one of the cases where you can't easily understand how the use is word with grammatical English equivalents.Technically, gerne is an adverb that modifies the verb it is next to, adding the sense of liking. Er hört gern Musik. He likes to listen to music. Here, gern is 'modifying' the verb hört, adding the sense of liking. So 'verb gerne' = liking the activity of the verb. You also use the ich habe...gerne construction when talking about people rather things. Ich habe Sie gerne. I like her. There really isn't a good way to understand this with English grammar. It is just the German way of saying this.<h2>Conclusion</h2>So you have discovered a few different ways to say you like stuff. You don't have spend your German speaking life just saying 'Ich mag...' And you got a bit of a grammar lesson as well. I hope you magst this article.Auf Wiedersehen

You want to say that like things, but you can't go around always saying 'Ich mag das.' Find four other ways you can express that you like something.

Other Ways to Say - I Like That In Geman (Ich mag das)

<h2>Tengo Hambre</h2>"Tengo Hambre" is the standard way to express that you are hungry. Literally, it means "I have hunger."This is one of the ways Spanish differs from English. While we use "I am..." in English, Spanish can often use the term "I have." Note, the personal pronoun "Yo" (I) is not required. We don't need to say "Yo tengo hambre." We can tell someone is making first person state - "I have..." - because the conjugation of "tener" ends with "-go."<h2>Me muero de hambre</h2>Literally, "I am dying of hunger." You can use this just as you would in English - an exaggeration to express you are really hungry.Again, notice that we don't need the personal pronoun "yo" because we can tell this is a first person conjugation from the "-ro" ending.However, also note this verb is "morirse", the reflexive form or "morir" (to die). While we don't need the "yo", we do need the "me" reflexive pronoun because this is a reflexive verb. So why are using the reflexive form? The reflexive "morirse" is considered more informal than "morir." Since this is a slang exaggeration, we want the reflexive form. <h2>﻿Estoy Hambriento</h2>This means "I'm famished." It's another way to say you are really hungry. Notice, we are using estoy instead of soy. This is because hunger is a temporary state. We use estoy when talking about temporary states.<h2>Me Rugen Las Tripas</h2>This means "My stomach is growling." Use this just as you would in English.Rugen means roar or bellow. Notice how this verb is in the third person plural because it agrees with the subject - Las Tripas (intestines) - even though Las Tripas doesn't come at the beginning of the sentence.Me is not reflexive, but functions as a direct object - "at me".Literally, the phrase means "The intestines are roaring at me."<h2>Me comería una vaca entera</h2>This means "I could eat a whole cow." The way we use this is pretty self explanatory as well. You want to eat A LOT.We use comeria which is the first person form comerse that means 'could' (again, without yo). With comerse, the reflexive me is required.Comerse also requires that we specify a specific quantity that we are eating. In this case, we are eating one entire cow. You could not use comerse to say you could eat cows in general.Hasta luego!

Find out about other ways to express that you are hungry and discover when to use each one. 

Other Ways to Say - I am Hungry in Spanish (Tengo Hambre)

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