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

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

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

Either way is correct, depending on the situation.

Greetings in English usually consist of two parts:

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

In most cases, a question like “How are you?” - this is just a polite formula; you are expected to give a formal answer, not a detailed one. Although it all depends on the context. If you say hello to a colleague who passes by with a stack of papers and a puzzled expression on his face, then he is definitely not expecting news from you, but if in a relaxed atmosphere with a friend whom you have not seen for a couple of months, then you can chat.

In addition, it often happens that the question “How are you?” - this is 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 the greeting options.

• Hello– neutral “hello” or “hello”. Appropriate in any situation, you can say hello to a friend, boss, doctor, president. Also “hello” is “hello” in .
• Hi– a more friendly option, “hello.” This way you can say hello to friends, relatives, and strangers, but it is not suitable for a strict official setting.
• Hey- a completely informal “hello”, something like our “great!” Please note that hey can be either an attention-getting shout or a greeting.
• Greetings associated with the time of day. A neutral way of greeting, this can be said to a colleague, a friend, and in an official 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?” part.

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

A universal question that is suitable for any setting, formal or 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 ask 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 entirely 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 don’t need to focus on the fact that it contains a verb in , and try to answer with a verb in this form as well. You can answer in 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.

All this means about the same thing: nothing special.

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

When you don't need to say how you are 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 simply 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 are in a hurry.

- Hey, what's up.

– What’s up / Hi / How are you doing.

And they ran away.

Another variant.

You entered the store. The seller, pushing a cart with goods in front of him, waved his hand and, smiling, said hello:

– Hi, how are you doing,– and drove on, without waiting for an answer.

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

Here's how to distinguish a question from a greeting:

• The person who said hello was walking past somewhere, said hello just for the sake of decency and moved on without waiting for an answer.
• They shouted an unintelligible “How you doin” to you, waving their hand in greeting.
• The intonation is 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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Most likely, your English teacher has already taught you that the answer to the question “how are you?” you should answer “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” And you are so confident in these three phrases that you don’t even think about how you sound from the outside, and you will pronounce them when

However, it is extremely rare to hear this expression from a native speaker. Because in real life it sounds a little “bookish” and not very natural. Besides, what to answer if everything is NOT fine with you? What words are appropriate in such a situation?

Subtitles:

Charlotte: Hi. (Hello).

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

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

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 into 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 they were 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 just the beginning of the semester. I'm sure you'll catch up soon).

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

COMMENT：People usually answer these questions in a positive way, but if you have some problems, don't necessarily say that everything is fine (“I am fine.”) Especially if you are talking to family members or close friends, don’t be afraid , share what is happening in your life 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 yesterday at soccer practice).

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 question “how are you?” (How affairs? ) :

1. How is it going?
2. What's up?
3. What's happening?

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

1. Great.
2. Not bad. Not bad.
3. Fine, thanks. Excellent thank you.
4. Pretty good. Everything is fine.
5. Great! How are you doing? Amazing. And how are you doing?
6. I'm hanging in there. I’m holding on (this is about difficult circumstances)
7. I've been better. I've been better.
8. “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?”).

Complete list of answers to the question “What‘ s up? (what's new?):

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

When you don't need to answer:

Another thing to know is that all of these questions can be used to simply say “Hello.” In this case, there is no need to talk about yourself. It's better to just respond with any other greeting.

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.

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.

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 who study 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.

25 Fri

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 greeting question - “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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"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?” 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 very formal settings - “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.