¿Cómo les va?

In lesson 12.3 Mauricio asks, "¿Cómo les va?" The use of les implies that he is asking the question of more than one person. So why does he not ask, "¿Cómo les van"? Or should I be translating this sentence as "How does IT go with all of you? Now that I think it through, it is no different than "¿Cómo te va?", or how does IT go with you (singular.) Hopefully I answered my own question correctly.

Absolutely. "¿Cómo van las cosas?" would work. "¿Cómo les van las cosas?" - I'm not sure about that one.

I think "¿Cómo les va?" means "How are you all doing?". This is not your typical use of the verb 'ir'. Maybe in this context 'ir' is behaving like 'gustar' in a reverse construction sort of way.

Gracias a todos. Dan

I thought about this a little more and I recalled I had posted something about verbs having reflexive and non-reflexive forms. Since a reflexive verb is one where the subject and object are the same, I think here we have a reflexive use of the verb 'ir'. Consequently, a more accurate translation of "¿Cómo les va?" is "How is it going for you all?". The subject of the question is 'it' and the indirect object is "you all". So, that explains why the first person singular is used to conjugate 'ir'. On second thought, maybe 'ir' is not reflexive since there is no object in this sentence, just an indirect object. Then, maybe it is indeed a reflexive use. (Sorry about sounding like Hamlet.) It is funny how all paths lead to indirect object pronouns.

Hola a todos, The conjugation of ir, "va" is third person singular not first person. Am I missing something here? Seems like this is similar to using gustar as Robert said, but I'm not sure. Either way, somehow it just makes sense to me and I never really thought about it. I learned this way back and just accepted the translation. Interesting discussion amigos. Saludos, Ricardo

I have been thinking about the same thing. At the start of our beginning Spanish Class in the Senior Center, we greet each other with "Buenos dias, Como esta and we always repeat the same thing. The instructor just want us to use present tense and the more common verbs, but not "ir", to go. Without thinking I just said "¿Como te va?" Later on I started wandering about "te va". How is it going with you? I guess that's the translation. I guess the "te" would be the indirect object and the "it' goes with the verb "va". The instructor did not elaborate but started conjugating the verb "ir" in the present, preterite, past imperfect and even the future tense. The people at my class just stared at her. I was content.

For the advanced grammarians out there. I am okay until "lo que pasa". What is the subject, the verb and where does the tres amigos fit in the sentence. No sólo eso: también aprenderás lo que pasa con Mario, mi mamá, y yo. And that´s not all: you will also learn what happens with Mario, my mom, and I.

Oops - saying that 'va' is first person singular was a typo...I meant to say third person singular. I feel like I should go back and edit it.

¿Is it possible to say "Como me va"? How is it going with me? . I am just playing here. I am not sure about anything.

Sure. Why not?

in lesson 1.11 know it, you have the money. How do you know wheather the you is polite , ustedes or regular tu

Usted tiene el dinero. You have the money. This is the formal "you". Tu tienes el dinero is the informal "you". Even without the subject pronoun, you can tell by how the verb is conjugated.

Larry: you sometimes don't. That is one of the recurring issues that I had when I first started that really frustrated me. If you encounter the Spanish statement, "Usted tiene el dinero." you know to translate that as "You (polite form) have the money. But when they give you the English and you are supposed to translate into Spanish, you have no idea if it is polite or familiar. I actually think it might have been an impediment to my learning when I would get one of these "wrong" and not know why. I would think I was just not getting the lesson. Now I understand. In fact, sometimes I will answer a question using the familiar even when I happen to remember from the lesson that the sentence was in the usted form. I do this just to be contrary, thinking to myself, "if they do not specify polite, I can answer either way". Then I count myself right. Hang in there, you will get it.

I did not think about that. Dan is right. My instructor said that use the more polite or formal one until the other person start warming up with you and start using "tu" In fact I get corrected all the time at my work when I use "tu"

Don't you just love how helpful Spanish speaking people are when they see you are trying hard to learn their language? They always seem to do it in a kind and helpful way, not condescending at all. Speaking of which, I always hear that the French can be very condescending to foreigners who don't speak their language well. Does anyone have any direct experience with that, positive or negative?

I HATE it when people speak French poorly - either via mistakes or a bad accent. And I'm not even a native speaker. That said, I'm not sure "condescending" is the right word to describe the reaction. If you've seen the movie "The Monuments Men", Matt Damon is speaking "French" to Cate Blanchett (playing the part of a French woman) and she finally turns to him and says, "Please stop talking French." She absolutely ripped the words out of my mouth... ;-)

I did see that movie and loved it. The book was good as well, and makes one appreciate how hard those people worked to save so much irreplaceable art. I remember Cate Blanchett's line, but not having your sensibilities I think I missed the point. I will have to watch it again. Speaking of Cate Blanchett, I recently stumbled upon an old movie where Russell Crowe played Robin Hood and she played Marian. It started at the end of the crusades and ended when Robin became an outlaw. A very interesting story.

Dan, 2010 is not an "old" movie! I had to google it to remember it. Good movie. Agreed, we are all deeply indebted to those who sacrificed so much to save those priceless works of art. I'm glad this movie drew attention to them - I was completely unaware of what they did prior to seeing it.