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Everyday Greetings Special Greetings Shaking Hands What to say Formal to informal Everyday Greetings "Good morning." "Good afternoon." "Good evening." "Goodbye." "Good night." Special Greetings "Happy Christmas." or "Merry Christmas." 00.01 - 1st January "Happy New Year!" "Happy Easter." or etc.... "Good Luck!" or etc... "Congratulations!" or "Well done!" "Get well soon." Shaking Hands 12 ways to say "hello" 1) "Hey there" : This is casual, friendly, and familiar. It could be used between good friends or romantic partners in spoken English, text messages, voice mail messages or emails. 2) "What's going on?" : This is casual and could be used between friends or acquaintances in an informal situation like a party. 3) "Hey! What's up?" : This is casual and could be used between friends, colleagues, siblings, etc. 4) "Good morning" or "good afternoon" : These greetings are generally more formal and are often used in restaurants, hotels, shops or at work between colleagues. 5) "How are you doing today?" : This is formal and might be used between a professional and a client or customer or between colleagues or a boss and his or her workers. 6) "Hey! There she is" : This is usually used in situations when you know the person well and it implies that you have been expecting to see the person or that you are very happy to see the person. Emphasis with pronunciation is placed on "there." 7) "How's everything?" : This is simply another way of saying "how are you." It is usually used casually. 8) "How are things?" : This is very similar to "how is everything?" and is perhaps more casual than "how is everything?" 9) "Good to see you," "great to see you," "nice to see you" : These could all be used informally or casually between business colleagues, friends, or family members. These phrases are often used when you haven't seen the person in a while. 10) "What's happening" or "What's happenin'?" : This is mostly used by young people (college age or younger). They might use the phrase to greet their friends when they arrive at a party or when they see each other in class. 11) "How's it going?" : This is casual, especially when you shorten it as in "How's it goin'?" 12) "Good evening": This is formal and is often used in upscale (expensive) hotels or restaurants to greet guests. 9 ways to say "goodbye" 1) "See you later" or "see ya later" : This becomes more casual when you use "ya" instead of "you." 2) "See you soon" or "see ya soon" : This is similar to the example above. It can be used to indicate that you want to or plan to meet with the person again soon. 3) "Take care" : This could be formal or casual, but is usually used with people you know or care about. You might use this in an email or written letter. 4) "Take it easy" : This is not used now, in 2013, as much as it was used in the 1980's and 1990's. However, it is casual and means "take care." 5) "Gotta go!" This is used in casual situations when you want to escape the conversation quickly and you don't want to go through a longer or more sentimental goodbye. 6) "Talk to you soon" : This is used more often in writing emails or on the phone than in daily spoken interactions. It is usually casual. 7) "See you next time" : This is used when you know you will be returning to a specific place and you will see the person when you come back. 8) "Catch ya later" : This is used very casually between friends or acquaintances. 9) "Have a good one" : This means, "have a nice day" and is used casually, but it could be used between strangers, friends, colleages, or family members. 1. Who are you? A. What’s your name?B. My name is Qureshi. What’s yours?A. Mine is Asif.B. Where do you live?A. I live in Lopburi, and you?B. I live in Saraburi.A. It’s nice to meet you.B. It’s nice to meet you too.2. Going to the parkA. Where are you going?B. I am going to the park.A. What will you do there?B. I will play football.A. Who will you play with?B. My friends.A. May I play too?B. Yes, you may.3. School timeA. What time do you go to school?B. I go at 7am.A. How do you get to school?B. I get to school by bus.A. What grade are you in?B. The 6th grade.A. Do you have fun at school?B. Yes, I do.4. HomeworkA. What are you doing?B. I’m doing my homework.A. Which class is it for?B. It’s for Math class.A. Is it hard?B. No, it’s not.A. Will you help me with mine?B. Yes, I will.5. My birthdayA. When is your birthday?B. My birthday is on August the 14th.A. Mine is on May the 3rd.B. Do you have a party on that day?A. Yes, I do. Do you?B. Yes, we have lots of fun.A. What do you do?B. We play games and eat cake.6. What to do?A. What do you want to do?B. I don’t know.A. We could play tennis.B. No, it’s too hot.A. We could play basketball.B. No, it’s too hot for that too.A. Do you want to go swimming?B. That’s a cool idea.7. Funny storyA. Why are you laughing?B. Because I heard a funny story.A. Who told you a funny story?B. Eric did.A. When did he tell it to you?B. A few minutes ago.A. Will you tell it to me?B. Yes, I will tell you.8. In the darkA. Oh! The electricity is off!B. I can’t see anything.A. Me either.B. What should we do?A. We need a flashlight.B. Where is it?A. I think it’s in the kitchen drawer.B. Yes, here it is.9. Lost backpackA. Have you seen my backpack?B. No. Why do you ask?A. Because I can’t find it.B. Did you look in your closet?A. Yes, It wasn’t there.B. Did you look under your bed?A. No, not yet.B. I bet that’s where it is.10. PopcornA. Are you ready to watch the movie?B. No, not yet.A. Why not?B. Because something is missing.A. What’s missing?B. Popcorn!A. I can watch a movie without popcorn.B. Well, I can’t.It’s important that you feel confident when greeting someone because they will quickly form a first impression of you that may be hard to change later on. If you greet someone with confidence they will feel more comfortable with you and will form a positive first impression. If you stumble around and aren’t sure of what you’re doing, they may misjudge your true level of English and speak to you differently than you’d like. In order for you to gain confidence and control during conversations here is a list of greetings that you can use. General greetings (Formal) These greetings can be used in any formal situation, such as a business meeting or meeting someone’s parents, and they can also be used in informal situations as well. Hello How are you? or How’re you? How are you doing? or How ya doin’? This is different than “What are you doing.” “How are you doing?” means “How are you?” whereas “What are you doing?” is asking what action you are currently doing. How is everything? How’s everything going? General greetings (Informal) These greetings can be used in any informal situation. To show extra enthusiasm you can add “Hey” to the beginning of these greetings. (Hey) What’s up (man/dude/bro/their name)? (Hey) Good to see you. (Hey) How are things (with you)? (Hey) How’s it going? The pronunciation can be shortened to “goin’.” A typical response to this question is “It’s going good.” How’s life been treating you? What’s cracking? The pronunciation is often shortened to “crackin’.” This is highly informal and should only be used with people around your age. Its similar in use to “What’s up?” What’s good? What’s happening? The pronunciation is often shortened to “happenin’.” Greeting a person you haven’t seen for a long time (Formal) It has been a long time. It’s been too long. What have you been up to all these years? It’s always a pleasure to see you. How long has it been? What’s new? Greeting a person you haven’t seen for a long time (Informal) Long time no see. This is the most common. Where have you been hiding? This is a playful way of greeting someone. It’s been ages (since I’ve seen you). How’ve you been? Now that you have this list of greetings at your disposal, go out in to the world and start practicing them. Make sure you use them with confidence so that you make a good first impression. Try to use a different greeting every time you have English class or meet with your English speaking friends. What is your favorite way of greeting someone? |