Learn Spanish (Latin America): Buenas tardes, señora García.

Buenas tardes, señora García.

Good afternoon, Mrs. García.

Breakdown of Buenas tardes, señora García.

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Questions & Answers about Buenas tardes, señora García.

Why is it buenas and not buenos?

In Spanish, adjectives have to match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for afternoon, tarde, is feminine. Therefore, the adjective bueno (good) also has to become feminine, giving us buenas tardes.

Why is buenas tardes plural? We just say 'good afternoon' in English.

In Spanish, the standard daytime greetings—buenos días, buenas tardes, and buenas noches—are traditionally plural. It is just a cultural set phrase, though you might occasionally hear people say buena tarde in some Latin American countries as a quick, casual greeting.

Since I am calling her señora García, should I use tú or usted if I keep talking to her?

You should definitely use the formal usted. Addressing someone by their title (señora, señor, doctor) and their last name is a clear sign of respect and distance. This perfectly matches the formal usted register, while using tú would sound uncomfortably casual here.

Don't we normally need to put la before señora?