Modern Spanish Grammar: A Practical Guide

Asking people how they are 29.3Mi madre le manda/envía recuerdos/saludos.My mother sends her regards.29.3Asking people how they areTo ask someone how he or she is, Spanish normally uses the following expressions:Informal:Formal:¿Cómo estás?How are you?¿Qué tal?How are you?, How are things?¿Qué hay? (especially Spain)How are things? ¿Cómo está usted?How are you?22 (p. 103); 12.1 (p. 48)Alongside these expressions, especially in Latin America you will often hear formslike ¿cómo te va? (informal), and ¿cómo le va? (formal), ‘how are things?’, ‘how isit going?’Most people will reply to the greetings above with the standard (Muy) bien, gracias,¿y tú/usted? ‘(Very) well, thank you, and you?’ But sometimes you may hear thingslike regular, ‘so-so’, or, in Spain, the very informal tirando, (from tirar, ‘to get by’),‘not too bad’ or ‘we’re getting by’. This verb is a taboo word in some Latin Americancountries and so it should be avoided.To ask how someone else is, use:Informal:Formal:¿Cómo está tu familia?How is your family?¿Cómo están tus hijos?How are your children?¿Cómo está su marido?¿Cómo están sus padres?How is your husband?How are your parents?155