{"id":623,"date":"2019-03-11T07:20:08","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T11:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/?p=623"},"modified":"2020-05-18T10:20:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T14:20:58","slug":"how-are-you-how-are-you-doing-two-common-greetings-with-subtle-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/how-are-you-how-are-you-doing-two-common-greetings-with-subtle-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHow are you?\u201d \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d Two Common Greetings With Subtle Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When and how you should use common English greetings from the grammar standpoint. Simple guide for our readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cHello\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>English speakers greet each other ubiquitously with the expression \u201chow are you?\u201d In certain, informal situations this may be replaced with the less conservative \u201chow are you doing?\u201d In both cases, 99 times out of 100, this means a simple \u201chello\u201d. And it is therefore important for non-native speakers to consider that these greetings almost never require a lengthy answer (in fact, the initial enquirer would usually make a quick retreat if you did!) Here is all you need to know about these seemingly similar greetings.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Grammatically speaking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To grammar pedants, the use of present perfect simple and present continuous\/progressive must be noted as relevant. \u201cHow are you?\u201d should therefore be seen as a enquiry into general health and status, while \u201chow are you doing?\u201d would be a request for an update on a task that is currently being undertaken. Not the same at all. In the case of \u201chow are you doing?\u201d the context will always reveal if the meaning is a general \u201chello\u201d or a request for information.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Formality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As touched upon, both greetings are generally acceptable in most situations, but the more formal \u201chow are you?\u201d should certainly be recommended in a situation where you do not know the person well, be that in person or in written communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n    \n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Response<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The most typical response to either \u201chow are you?\u201d or \u201chow are you doing?\u201d is a form of \u201cfine thanks, and you?\u201d Obviously in the case of \u201chow are you doing?\u201d in the context of \u201cplease can you give me an update?\u201d, then of course a more detailed response would be required. As always, context is key.<br><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Alternative responses in spoken English<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been better. How about you?\u201d \u2013 In the case of it not being your best day ever!<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLike a kid on Christmas morning!\u201d \u2013 If you are looking for something a little more enthusiastic and playful. Any variation on this them will work, just keep it clean!<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Alternative phrases to use in written communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was great seeing you\/speaking to you the other day\u201d \u2013 Make a friendly reference to the previous meeting to start things off in a nice, friendly manner.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI really liked you (Twitter about topic)\u201d \u2013 Nothing like a bit of ego massaging to kick things off, but make sure the rest of your message is relevant to the topic.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got a great idea I\u2019d love to run by you\u201d \u2013 Nothing like starting a message with something to make the reader want to keep on reading.<br><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHello <em>name<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Sometimes it\u2019s better to get straight to the point, especially when you receive countless emails every day. This approach can be really appreciated, but be careful not to sound too direct, so add polite words throughout and at the end of the message. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHope your day is going great\u201d \u2013 Nothing like a bit of enthusiasm to start proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When and how you should use common English greetings from the grammar standpoint. Simple guide for our readers. \u201cHello\u201d English speakers greet each other ubiquitously with the expression \u201chow are you?\u201d In certain, informal situations this may be replaced with the less conservative \u201chow are you doing?\u201d In both cases, 99 times out of 100, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,63],"tags":[15,495,493,494,14],"class_list":["post-623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","category-how-to","tag-grammar","tag-greetings","tag-how-are-you","tag-how-are-you-doing","tag-how-to"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.8 (Yoast SEO v24.8.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u201cHow are you?\u201d \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d Two Common Greetings With Subtle Differences - Linguix Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/how-are-you-how-are-you-doing-two-common-greetings-with-subtle-differences\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cHow are you?\u201d \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d Two Common Greetings With Subtle Differences\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When and how you should use common English greetings from the grammar standpoint. 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