How are you? This is polite, but it’s not necessarily a serious inquiry about the other person’s well-being. Who are ya?” seems a popular chant or taunt with English football fans, both on and off the stands. Is it a fair assessment that it means to diminish the opposition as unknown and insignificant? A rhetorical question, generally in the form of an insulting chant, accompanied by finger-pointing; meant as abuse to a single person or team performing in front of a crowd, by indicating that they are unknown and insignificant. What information you want to know (for example, do you see it as a passing conversation, or do you want a more in-depth dialogue with specific details?)

But none of them really ask, how are you? When those questions get asked in a greeting, we don’t really expect a lengthy conversation about how you’re doing. Similar to the casual greetings we discussed, we’ll often start a professional conversation with a simple hi or hello. The question “ where have you been hiding ” invites conversation. It is a way of saying, “ How have you been? ” Here is an example dialogue:It’s not an invitation to talk about your day, how you’re feeling, or what’s happening at work right now. All right. I’ve been working a lot lately. How about you?” English Greetings: Group 3 What’s up? / What’s new? / What are you up to?* And you’ll l earn a common structure of English greetings – most of the time, we don’t stop with a simple hello.

While not as common as hi or hey, you may occasionally hear “yo.” It is typically only used with individuals who know each other well and is more common These are all common ways of saying “hello” in a casual, friendly way, and quite often, these are immediately followed by a question such as… And is it polite or respectful to say “Hey, how’s it going” even with people you don’t know very well, like your neighbors? It’s often confused with the question “How are you?” but it isn’t a question at all. How do you do is a statement. A greeting. It’s an alternative to “I’m pleased to meet you.” Imagine you unexpectedly see a coworker at the grocery store. Here’s what that conversation might sound like:

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To be particularly respectful, you can also include the person’s last name, for example: “ Good morning, Ms Jones .” If you know someone well, you can also use their first name. Let’s transition to situations in which we may need more formal or business professional language in English. Some common examples include How do you do is a bit old-fashioned and not often used. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever used it.

Let’s start with casual greetings to use most of the time, whether you’re greeting a friend, a coworker on the elevator, a neighbor you’ve never spoken to, or a complete stranger on an early morning walk. When responding to these greetings, the expectation is that you use simple answers or simply respond with a similar greeting. For example There are many ways to ask this fundamental question, but how you phrase it can imply different things. For example: Good to see you. / It’s been ages! (since I’ve seen you.) / Where have you been hiding? / What have you been up to? Your Coworker. Everything’s fine. Just busy with the kids, of course. So how are you? It’s been a tough few weeks at work with the looming deadline, hasn’t it?Why it works: It shows that you care about them as a person, even if that doesn’t lead to an in-depth conversation about their life. Why it works: It’s polite, shows interest in their general well-being, and gets to the point (there’s a lot you don’t know, and you want the highlights).