Home My account Help Logout

Dictionary Culture Thesaurus Study Centre Pronunciation Exam Practice Grammar Video Library

Grammar Guide Communication Guide Intermediate Practice Advanced Practice Scores

1 Formality in spoken and 8 Hello
written English
2 Agreeing 8.1 in spoken English
3 Disagreeing
hi
4 Apologizing
5 Opinions used as a friendly greeting when you meet someone, or start a telephone conversation with
6 Requests someone:
7 Suggestions Hi, everybody. Welcome to our new home!
Hi, Gwen – did you have a nice weekend?
8 Hello
9 Goodbye hello
10 Thank you
used when you meet someone, or when you start a telephone conversation with someone:
Hello. Could I speak to someone in customer service, please?
Hello, Mrs Jones. How are you?
ⓘ In everyday English, most people usually say hi because it sounds more friendly. Hello is used
especially when talking to people you do not know well.

hey informal especially AmE

used as a friendly greeting when you see someone you know well and you want to start talking to
them:
Hey, Scott! Good to see you!

good morning/afternoon/evening

used when meeting someone at a particular time of day:

Morning everyone. Sorry I’m late.
Good morning, class!
Good afternoon, Mr Smith.
ⓘ Good morning etc sounds rather formal. In everyday English, people usually just say
Morning! etc, without saying ‘good’.

How are you?

used when you are greeting someone, especially when starting a conversation with them:
‘Hi Helen. How are you?’ ‘I’m fine. And you?’

How are you doing?/How’s it going?/How are things? informal

used when you are greeting someone, especially when starting a conversation with them:
‘Hi, Helen. How are you doing?’ ‘I’m good, thanks. How about you?’
How’s it going, Tom? I haven’t seen you for a long time!

What’s up?/What’s happening? informal

used when you are greeting someone, especially when starting a conversation with them:
Hey Joey. What’s up, buddy?
Hi, Ray. What’s happening? How are they treating you these days?
ⓘ These phrases sound very informal.

How do you do? formal

used when you meet someone for the first time, especially after you have just been told their
name:
‘John, I’d like you to meet our new project manager, Nisha Patel.’ ‘How do you do?’
 ⓘ How do you do sounds very formal. These days people often just say hi when meeting
someone for the first time.

pleased/good/nice to meet you

used when you meet someone for the first time and have just been told their name:
‘Richard, this is my brother Ronnie.’ ‘Nice to meet you, Ronnie.’
‘My name is Lena Curtis.’ ‘Pleased to meet you. I’m David Bennet.’

Pearson Longman | Terms | Privacy | Cookie Policy | © Pearson Education Ltd. 2018