Greetings and introductions

Greetings and introductions are the first English most people use: saying hello, giving your name, asking how someone is and saying goodbye. Learning the usual question and its usual reply together makes it easy to start a conversation.

Key facts

  • Hello: ⟦Hello!⟧ ⟦Hi!⟧ ⟦Good morning!⟧ (before 12), ⟦Good afternoon!⟧ (until about 6), ⟦Good evening!⟧ (after that).
  • Names: ⟦What's your name?⟧ ⟦My name is Lerato.⟧ / ⟦I'm Lerato.⟧ ⟦Nice to meet you.⟧ ⟦Nice to meet you too.⟧
  • How are you: ⟦How are you?⟧ ⟦I'm fine, thank you. And you?⟧ ⟦I'm very well.⟧
  • About you: ⟦How old are you?⟧ ⟦I'm ten.⟧ ⟦Where are you from?⟧ ⟦I'm from Egypt.⟧ ⟦Where do you live?⟧ ⟦I live in Cairo.⟧
  • Introducing someone: ⟦This is my friend, Yusuf.⟧
  • Goodbye: ⟦Goodbye!⟧ ⟦Bye!⟧ ⟦See you tomorrow!⟧ ⟦See you later!⟧ ⟦Good night!⟧ (when going to bed).

Worked examples

Example 1

Choose the best reply: ⟦How are you?⟧

  1. ⟦How are you?⟧ asks how you feel.
  2. The usual reply is ⟦I'm fine, thank you.⟧ and it is polite to ask back: ⟦And you?⟧

Answer: ⟦I'm fine, thank you. And you?⟧

Example 2

Put the words in order: ⟦name / my / Hana / is⟧

  1. Start with the capital letter: ⟦My⟧, then ⟦name⟧.
  2. Then the verb ⟦is⟧ and the name.
  3. ⟦My name is Hana.⟧

Answer: ⟦My name is Hana.⟧

Example 3

It is ⟦7 p.m.⟧ You arrive at a friend's house. What do you say?

  1. ⟦7 p.m.⟧ is in the evening.
  2. So we say ⟦Good evening!⟧ (⟦Good night!⟧ is only for going to bed).

Answer: ⟦Good evening!⟧

Example 4

Someone says ⟦Nice to meet you.⟧ What do you say?

  1. We usually say the same words back and add ⟦too⟧.
  2. ⟦Nice to meet you too.⟧

Answer: ⟦Nice to meet you too.⟧