In this video lesson below, I cover two very common standard greetings in English, “how are you?” and “how are you doing?” and then teach you how you should respond to these greetings.
There are many different standard greetings in English. One of the most common is “How are you?” or “How are you doing?” A variation of ‘how are you doing,’ which sounds a bit more formal, is ‘how do you do?’
Another common variation is “How’s it going?” or “How are things going?”
In fact, there are many possible ways of saying this, but the one thing you must understand is that these are all idiomatic greetings.
Many people do not realize that our common greetings are idioms!
So, this should change the way you look at lists of the most common idioms, as “how are you” is much more common than, for example, “a blessing in disguise.”
So, when an English speaker says “how are you” they are not actually being literal. They are not really expecting a literal answer. The phrase is just a type of greeting.
It is, in fact, a bit taboo to answer literally, at least if the answer is negative.
So, you shouldn’t give an honest answer unless you are talking to a close friend.
For example, if someone says “how are you” and you answer, “Oh, I’m just terrible, I’m having a horrible day,” you will almost certainly make the other person very uncomfortable.
You see, when ‘how are you’ is used as a casual greeting, it is not meant to initiate a long conversation about your life, your day, or how you feel! Instead, it is a standard formulaic greeting with a few standard and formulaic responses.
This concept of formulaic greetings with formulaic responses is important to all languages, none less so in English.
So, how do we answer “how are you?”
We say, fine or good. Or, I’m fine or I’m good.
This can be extended to “I’m doing fine, and you?”
The other person will then use a standard response in return.
You can also say, great instead of fine:
“I’m doing great. And you?”
Also, if you don’t wish to be so enthusiastic, you can say: “I’m doing ok, and you?”
You can also include a thank you, although this too is simply a standard response.
Say, fine, thanks or good, thanks.
Although I’m American, I shouldn’t leave out the very common British greeting “You alright” or just “Alright?”
To that, just say, “yeah, great, thanks. And you?”
Now, this can also mean ‘are you being served’ in a bar or restaurant so you might hear this when you sit down at a bar: “you alright?”
So, to that, you just say, yes, please, I would like (and then you order whatever you want to order) or, you can say, “yes, I’m being served, thanks,” whatever is appropriate.
Of course, ‘are you alright’ can be a real question so much will depend on tone and circumstance.
Other Possible Responses to ‘How Are You?’
“How are you?”
“I’m fine, and you?”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great. How are you?”
“How are you?”
“Fine, thanks.”
“How are you doing?”
“Good, thanks, and you?”
Any variation on the general idea here is fine as long as you stick to the basic formula of responding positively and briefly.
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