How to respond to greetings in English? What to answer to what.

25 Fri

We offer some thoughts on this matter.
"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 around 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 it is “cool” to use such a greeting. And many already lack this coolness, and they distort it in different ways - “Wassup?”, “Wazzup?”, “Sup?” If this trend continues, there is hope that it will soon be reduced to "P?", and then completely disappear.

At its core, this is the question "What's going on with you?" or “What are you doing lately?”, but in use it is a greeting. Like the old English greeting, which is still used in a very formal setting - "How do you do?" But a tradition has already developed there, and this question is answered with the same greeting question - “How do you do?”

In the case of "What's up?" there is no such tradition. Americans offer different options. You can just respond with "Hello!" or "Hi!" or "Hey!", that is, a hello to a hello, but it won't 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 forbidden.

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Let's get acquainted with new living expressions!

Most likely, your English teacher has already taught you that the question “how are you?” you should answer “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” And you are so sure of these three phrases that you don’t even think about how they sound from the outside, and you will pronounce them when

However, this expression can be heard extremely rarely from a native speaker. Because in real life it sounds a bit "bookish" and not very natural. In addition, what to answer if everything is NOT fine with you? What words are suitable in such a situation?

Subtitles:

Charlotte: Hi. (Hello).

Ben: Hey. Good to see you. (Hello! Good to see you).

Charlotte: You too. How've you been recently? (And I love you. How are you?)

Ben: Pretty good. I just joined the football team. I'm excited! How about you? How's your new semester going? (Everything is very good. I was accepted to the football team. I am delighted! How are you? How is the new semester?)

Charlotte: Not so good. My classes are much harder this year. (Not so good. My subjects are much harder now than last year).

Ben: Don't worry, it's only the beginning of a semester. I am sure you'll catch up soon. (Don't worry, it's only the beginning of the semester. I'm sure you'll catch up soon).

Charlotte: Thanks. I will. (Thanks I'll try).

COMMENT：Usually people answer such questions in a positive way, but if you have any problems, it is not necessary to say that everything is fine (“I am fine.”) Especially if you are talking with family members or close friends, do not be afraid share what is happening in your life right now.

Subtitles:

Charlotte: How are you? (How are you?)

Ben: I've been better. (I've been better).

Charlotte: What's wrong? (What's wrong?)

Ben: I hurt my knee during the football practice yesterday. (I injured my knee at soccer practice yesterday).

Charlotte: Oh, no. Is it still hurting now? (Oh no. Does it still hurt?)

Ben: Yes, I'm afraid I won't be able to play for the next game. (Yes, I'm afraid I won't be able to play in the next match).

Charlotte: I'm so sorry. I hope you will get better soon. (I'm so sorry. I hope you get better soon).

Ben: Thanks. (Thank you).

Other options for the questionhow are you?” (How affairs? ) :

How is it going?
What's up?
What's happening?

Full list of answers to the question "how are you?», “ how is it going?” (How are you?):

Great.
Not bad. Not bad.
fine, thanks. Excellent thank you.
pretty good. Everything is fine.
Great! How are you doing? Amazing. And how are you doing?
I'm hanging in there. I hold on (this is about difficult circumstances)
I've been better. I've been better.
“It's going well.” (This one only works for "How's it going", but not for "How are you?") Everything is going well. (But you can only answer the question “How’s it going” in this way, you cannot answer the question “How are you?”).

Full list of answers to the question "What‘ s up?” (what's new?):

Nothing much. Nothing special.
Not a lot. Everything is old.
Oh, just the usual. Nothing new (everything is normal).
Oh gosh, all kinds of stuff! God, so much has happened!

When not to answer:

One more thing to know: all of these questions can be used to just say "Hello". In this case, you do not need to talk about yourself. It's better to just answer with any other greeting.

(How are you? How are you?) - a question that is usually asked at a meeting and greeting. There can be a great many answers to it, as in Russian. Which answer to choose depends on the relationship between the speakers and on each specific situation. However, there is a classic formal answer that every beginner to learn English from scratch should know: “ I'm fine thank you" (thank you I'm fine)

Pronunciation of the question "How are you?"

Listen to how this question sounds from the lips of a native speaker:

Using transcription, repeat these sentences after Steve. Be sure to copy his intonation and rhythm of speech.

And now watch a short video, in the second part of which you can also reproduce the phrases yourself using subtitles.

Possible answers to the question "How are you?"

I'm fine, thank you. How about you?
fine, thanks. And you?
Thanks, okay, how are you? This is a formal answer to the question of an unfamiliar or generally unfamiliar person - just a tribute to politeness. The same question asked in response already indicates your politeness.
Great!- Wonderful! An enthusiastic answer, you may want to continue the conversation and be more specific about what's going on in your life.
not bad- not bad
Very well, thanks- very good thanks
pretty good- pretty good.

The difference between "How are you?" and "How do you do?"

« How do you do?" - How are you?
Sometimes there is confusion between these two questions, so pay your special attention to the fact that " How do you do?” is not really a question, it is another way of greeting a person whom you see for the first time in your life. The correct response is either to say the same thing in response, that is, to say " How do you do? or say something like: Nice to meet you or hello. This greeting is used in a formal situation, most often by the British.
- this is a question, but keep in mind that you should not immediately rush to tell the whole truth about your life, no one expects this, formally it is enough to answer "I'm fine thanks. And you?”

Exercises on the topic "How are you?"

Complete the following greeting dialogues with appropriate phrases:

Sarah: Hello, Jack! ...................... Jack: Hey, Sarah! ............................... How about you? Sarah: I"m..................... thank you.

Jack: Hey Sarah! fine, thanks. How about you?

Sarah: I"m fine, thank you." title="">Answer (click)

Mark: Hey, Jane. ................... Jane: Nice to meet you too. How..........? Mark: Very well, thank you. And............? Jane: I"m........too. Jane: Nice to meet you too. How are you?

Mark: Very well, thank you. And you?

Jane: I"m well too." title="">Answer (Click) Dr Watson: Hello, are .......Mr Morrison? Mr Morrison: Yes, ................. Dr Watson: My name is Dr Watson. Mr Morrison: Oh yes. How do............? Dr Watson: .................?

Greetings in English is a very simple topic when taught at school, but quite tricky when it comes to communicating with foreigners, especially abroad, where you often have to say hello to strangers.

Many people have doubts about how to answer questions that are inseparable from greetings like “How are you?”, “How are you doing?”, “What’s up?” It turns out that, for example, Americans respond to the question “How are you doing?” they can briefly say how they are doing (“Good!”), or they can answer with the same question. So how is it right?

Greetings in English and questions like “How are you?”

Right and so, and so, depending on the situation.

Greetings in English usually consist of two parts:

The greeting itself, for example: Hello.
A question like “How are you?”, for example: How are you?

In most cases, a question like “How are you?” - this is just a politeness formula, a formal answer is expected from you, not a detailed one. Although it all depends on the context. If you greet a colleague who walks by with a stack of papers and a puzzled expression on his face, then he definitely does not expect news from you, and if in a relaxed atmosphere with a friend who has not been seen for a couple of months, then you can chat.

In addition, it often happens that the question “How are you?” - it's not at all not a question but a greeting, and in response you just need to say hello. This is the case when the phrase “How are doing” is answered with “How are you doing” (in this case, the phrase usually sounds like a statement, not a question).

Here are some greetings.

hello– neutral “hello” or “hello”. Appropriate in any situation, so you can say hello to a friend, boss, doctor, president. Also "hello" is "hello" in .
Hi- a more friendly option, "hello." So you can say hello to friends, relatives, strangers, but it is not suitable for a strict official setting.
hey- a very informal "hello", something like our "great!" Note that hey can be both an attention-grabbing “hey” call and a greeting.
Greetings related to the time of day. A neutral way of greeting, so you can say to a colleague, and a friend, and in a formal setting.
- good morning- Good morning.
- good afternoon- Good afternoon.
- good evening- Good evening.
- note that good night- this is not a night greeting, but a good night wish.

Now let's take the "Hi" greeting and add the "How are you?"

Hi! How are you? - "How are you?"

A universal question that is suitable for any setting, formal and informal. When answering this question, it is customary to add “thank you” or “thanks” (this is not always done) before or after the answer and then also be interested in how the interlocutor is doing:

Very well, thank you. How are you? is a very formal way to answer this question.
I'm fine, thank you! How are you?
Not bad, and you?
Good! Thanks! And you? (the answer “good” here is not quite grammatically correct, but that's what they say).
Thanks, I'm ok. And you?
Great! Thanks! How are you?

Hi! How is it going? / How are you doing? – “How are you doing?”, “How are you?”

When answering this question, you do not need to get hung up on the fact that it contains the verb in, and be sure to try to answer with the verb in this form as well. You can answer in exactly the same way as the question “How are you?”:

Thanks, good. And you?
Fine, how are you?
etc.

Hi! What's up? - "What's new?"

A very popular greeting option, especially among young people. How to respond to "What's up?". If this is a question, you can do this:

Nothing much.
Not too much.
nothing new.
nothing.
same old.
Same old, same old.

They all mean about the same thing: nothing special.

But in most cases, “What’s up?” is not a question to be answered, but simply a greeting.

When you don't need to say how you're doing

All of the above questions can be used not as questions to be answered, but simply as greetings. This is especially true for "What's up". In most cases, when you are told “Hey, what’s up?” - this is not a question, but just a greeting, as if you were simply told “Hey” or “Hi”.

The dialogue might look like this:

Colleagues walk past each other in the corridor, both in a hurry.

- Hey, what's up.

- What's up / Hi / How are you doing.

And they fled.

Another variant.

You have entered the store. The seller, pushing a trolley with goods in front of him, waved his hand and, smiling, greeted:

– Hi, how are you doing,- and rolled on, not waiting for an answer.

– How are you doing, You answered and went about your business.

Here's how you can tell a question from a greeting:

The man who said hello was walking somewhere past, said hello just for the sake of decency and went on without waiting for an answer.
They called out an unintelligible “How you doin” to you, waving a hand in greeting.
Intonation as in an affirmative sentence, not an interrogative one. In the examples, I deliberately did not put question marks at the end of the sentences.

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