"and other similar questions. How to respond to “How are you?”, “What’s up?” and other similar questions How to answer the question what s up
"What"s up?" is a fashionable form of greeting, especially among young people. It is very popular in the USA, and from there it has spread throughout the world. The Americans themselves do not really know what to say in response, because there are no established rules and traditions yet. But at the same time, it is considered that using such a greeting is “cool.” And many people already lack this coolness, and they distort it in different ways - “Wassup?”, “Wazzup?”, “Sup?” If this trend continues, there is the hope that soon it will be reduced to "P?" and then disappear completely.
At its core, it's a question of "What's going on with you?" or “What have you been up to lately?”, and sometimes it is used like that, saying: “Hi, guys! What's up?!” But it is also used as a greeting, especially in the USA. Like the old English greeting, which is still used in a very formal setting - “How do you do?” But there has already been a tradition, and this question is answered with the same question-greeting - “How do you do?”
In the case of "What"s up?" there is no such tradition. Americans offer different options. You can simply answer "Hello!", or "Hi!", or "Hey!", that is, a greeting for a greeting, but this will not look "cool".
You can answer "Nothing much." If a guy answers a girl's greeting, you can say "Not much, until you came around." You can say "Everything is down, and what about you?" Short version - "Not much. You?"
Some answer literally (like, humor, like, they thought the question was about what’s up there) - “The sky.” or "The ceiling." Another option from this series is “I don”t know. I"ve never been there." or "I don"t know, don"t have time to look up."
Judging by the above, personal creativity in response to such a greeting is by no means prohibited.
Today we will talk about different ways to ask "How are you?" in English. The English language has a large number of such phrases. Today we will study the most frequently used of them.
How to ask “How are you?” in English
How are you? How are you The most used, common phrase in English.
How are you doing? How are you doing?
How is it going? How are you doing? Used with people you already know quite well.
What's going on? What's going on? This means what's going on in your life right now. Also used in situations when you are surprised by what's happening at the moment and ask: What's going on in here? - What's going on here?
What's happening? What's going on? Similar to the phrase “What;s going on?”
How have you been? How are you doing? This question implies how you were doing before we communicated.
What have you been up to? What did you do? In the question, we ask what the person was doing while we didn’t see him. To be up to (phrasal verb) - to undertake, intend.
Are you well? Are you okay?
What's up? How are you? Informal expression. Used among close friends.
What's new? What's new?
How are you feeling? How do you feel? This question is not always appropriate. Most often it is asked to a person who has experienced something or who may have health problems.
How's life? How's life?
Now let's look at the different answers to this question.
We answer the question “How are you?” in English
Fine, thanks. And you? Great, thanks. And you? Usually, people ask “How are you?” out of politeness, so most often you will see such a short answer.
Very well, thanks. Very good thanks.
Pretty good. Pretty good (not bad).
Ok. Fine.
Great! Great!
Not bad. Not bad.
So-so. So-so.
I"ve been better. It could have been better.
Not so good. Not very good.
I"m hanging in there. I'm holding on. Conversational form. It means that things are going badly, but I'm holding on.
How's life? How's life?
How"s it hanging? How are you? Found in spoken English.
And finally, let's look at the answers to questions such as: what's going on? what's happening? what's new?
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We offer some thoughts on this matter.
"What's up?" is a fashionable form of greeting, especially among young people. Very popular in the USA, and from there it spread throughout the world. The Americans themselves don’t really know what to say in response, because there are no established rules and traditions yet. But at the same time, it is considered “cool” to use such a greeting. And many people already lack this coolness, and they distort it in different ways - “Wassup?”, “Wazzup?”, “Sup?” If this trend continues, the hope is that it will soon be reduced to "P?" and then disappear altogether.
At its core, it's a question of "What's going on with you?" or “What have you been up to lately?”, but in use it is a greeting. Similar to the old English greeting that is still used in very formal settings - “How do you do?” But a tradition has already developed there, and this question is answered with the same question-greeting - “How do you do?”
In the case of “What’s up?” there is no such tradition. Americans offer different options. You can simply respond with “Hello!”, or “Hi!”, or “Hey!”, that is, a greeting for a greeting, but this will not look “cool”.
You can answer “Nothing much.” If a guy responds to a girl's greeting, you can say "Not much, until you came around." You can say “Everything is donw, and what about you?” The short version is “Not much.” You?"
Some answer literally (like, humor, like, they thought the question was about what’s up there) - “The sky.” or "The ceiling." More options from this series - “I don’t know. I've never been there." or “I don’t know, don’t have time to look up.”
Judging by the above, personal creativity in response to such a greeting is by no means prohibited.
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Have you noticed that all conversations among English speakers begin with the phrases “How are you?”, “What’s up?”, “How’s it going?” and so on. However, not everyone knows how to answer these questions correctly. In this article you will find enough information and learn how to easily, almost automatically, select the necessary words and expressions to answer the basic greeting phrases and questions of your interlocutor.
How to answer How are you?
Here you have a lot of options, it all depends on the current state of affairs, since this question translates to “How are you (you)?” or “How are you?” Therefore, answer exactly how things are going for you. And in English it might look like this:
Fine. Great.
The simplest and most direct answer. If you limit yourself to just this word, the interlocutor may decide that you are not going to continue the conversation with him. Basically, now you understand how to respond to show that you are not in the mood to talk to a certain person.
Not bad. Not bad.
This answer already sounds more welcoming than “fine”.
Fine, thanks. Excellent thank you.
This is a formal answer. This way you can respond to someone you don't know. For example, a waiter in a restaurant.
Very well, thanks. Very good thanks.
A person who loves all sorts of grammatical norms and rules will most likely answer this way. From a technical point of view, the question “How...?” (How...?) you need to answer with an adverb. However, many English speakers, simply put, don't care. Those who are accustomed to following everything that is written in textbooks insist on using grammatically correct constructions.
Pretty good. Pretty good.
If you don’t really care about grammar, you can answer “Good” or “Pretty good.” This is a more common and much more natural answer. That is exactly what most ordinary people say.
Great! How are you doing? Amazing! And how are you?
This is such a rather enthusiastic and joyful answer. If you want to continue the conversation, it is better to always ask counter questions to your interlocutor.
I'm hanging in there.
So-so (neither bad nor good). 
This is a good way to respond if you've had a hard day.
I've been better. It could have been better.
A: How are you? How are you?
B: I've been better . It could have been better.
A: What's wrong? What's wrong? (What's happened?)
B: I just found out that I’m being laid off. I just found out that I was fired.
How to answer a question How's it going?
This question is similar to “How are you?” The meaning is the same - “How are things going?” All the answers discussed above are also suitable for “How’s it going?”
And here is another answer to the question “How’s it going?”, which is no longer suitable for “How are you?”.
It's going well. Everything is fine. (Literally: going well).
This is a friendly and correct response that is suitable for colleagues, clients and acquaintances whom you have not seen for a while.
How to answer What's up?
This is probably one of the most difficult questions for those learning English, because many people are interested in how to answer it correctly.
It is similar to the question “What’s happening in your life?” (What's going on in your life?). But no one forces you to answer honestly. If you don't want to have a long conversation, you can use one of the standard answers:
Nothing much . Nothing special.
This is the most common option. You can supplement it with some interesting details that happen (if any). For example, " Nothing much. Just getting ready for Tom's graduation"(Nothing special, just getting ready for Tom's graduation).
Not a lot.
This is another very common answer. The meaning is the same, but it's a little fresher than "Nothing much" because it's used a little less often.
Nothing. Nothing.
As short and specific as possible. Answering this way can make you seem rude or angry.
Oh, just the usual. Everything is as usual.
Answer this way if you do the same thing every day, and nothing, in principle, changes.
Just the same old same old. Everything is the same, everything is the same.
This expression means that you do the same thing every day, and you are a little tired of it.
Oh gosh, all kinds of stuff! Yes, a lot of everything!
You've been very busy and something interesting has happened in your life recently.
How to answer a question What's happening?
This question means the same thing as What’s up?, so the answers to it can be used the same as those discussed above.
Now you know many possible answers to basic welcome questions in English. You can use any of them according to the situation. Don't forget that you can improvise and come up with your own answers, because no one likes "robots" who communicate according to a rote pattern. Nobody forces you to speak using only a certain set of words. We are all human and talk as we please.
But still take into account grammatical rules and norms in certain situations, do not overdo it with naturalness. In everyday friendly conversations, all the rules are sometimes forgotten, so don’t be surprised when you hear another new phrase or word. Just try to grasp the general concept, and then everything will work itself out.
