Spanish has both a formal and informal way of addressing people. This makes asking the simple question "How are you?" slightly more complicated than in English. You need to know which "you" to use:

• tú the informal, which takes the second-person verb tense, or

• usted the formal, which takes the third-person verb tense, like "he", "she" or "it".

Tú is used among close friends, family, and people younger than you. Usted is used for strangers - or even acquaintances - and people older than you.

It is very important to know which level of formality to use. It can be very insulting to someone to address them incorrectly.

To learn more about tú, usted and similar words, check out the subject pronouns lesson.