Translation issue
como esta is how are you in english, in english its 3 words in spanish its 2
4 Answers
Well, Spanish isn't a gibberish version or code version of English; it's its own language! Sometimes the rules are different, and often there are completely backwards and crazy ways of saying certain things. One thing about Spanish is that subject pronouns (I, you, we, they, etc.) can be omitted unless necessary for clarification or simply desired for emphasis. In this case, you can actually see three words in both languages if you decide you want the subject pronoun:
English: How are you?
Spanish: ¿Cómo está usted?
¿Cómo - How
está - are
usted? - you?
You have discovered something important about languages. That's the way they are. A la vuelta de la esquina is six words. It means the same thing as around the corner. (The meaning of you in Spanish is contained in the conjugation está.)
Why not think of it another way. What is the likelihood that any two languages (moreover with different roots) will match word for word? Were you expecting this to be the case with English and Spanish?
One of the reasons is that Spanish doesn't routinely use personal pronouns. I, you, he/she/it, we, or they. The indication of personal pronouns is part of the conjugation of the verb. Listo, no?
