Hey, how are you? Not Much. That answer doesn’t actually make sense.
‘Not much’ is a great answer to the question, ‘what’s up?’ but not to ‘how are you?’ Today we’re going to go over 6 different
ways to answer ‘how are you?’ A typical conversation starter and greeting
in American English. We’ll go over a range of answers to reflect that life
is going well for you, or terribly. I’m Rachel and I’ve been teaching the
American accent and English listening skills to non-native speakers for over 15 years.
Check out Rachelsenglish.com to learn more. The first thing you need to know
about the question “How are you?” is that sometimes it’s just a
greeting. It’s like saying hi, and the person is not actually
wanting to know how you are doing. If you run into a friend on the street and
they say, How are you? They want to know. They want you to answer. But if you’re
starting a meeting at work for example, and someone says “how are you?” they probably
don’t want to start a conversation about how you are unless the meeting is not happening for
several minutes. They are just using it as a greeting. And the answer you want to give in these
situations is “Good, how are you?” They will then say “Good” or “fine” and the greeting is over.
Then you move on to other things, for example: Hey Rachel, how are you? Good, how are you? Good. Did you get the updated
agenda for the meeting? Yep, got it. I’m ready to go. So that is an example of ‘how are
you’ being used as a greeting. Let’s say you’re at work and someone
says How are you? Like this: Hey Rachel, how are you? In this case, the person looks like they’re in a
hurry, this is a greeting. This person does not want to actually have a conversation about
how you are. But let’s say you’re at work, and it’s a more casual situation, like, you’re
passing someone in the hallway that you spend quite a bit of time with, and that person doesn’t
look like they’re rushing. Then it’s appropriate to assume it’s not just a greeting, they actually
want to know how you are. For example: Hey Rachel, how are you? Great, it is such a relief to be heading into
the weekend with the Johnson project done! Heading into is a phrasal verb that
means going into something. For example, “I was heading into the kitchen when I saw a
mouse run across the floor.” But we also use it for time, when we’re at the beginning
of a chunk of time like heading into the weekend or I could say “I’m heading into
the summer with no vacation plans.” Yeah, totally. You put in so
much overtime for that. I did. That was a tight deadline. A deadline is the date at which you
have to have something done. A tight deadline is one where you’re not sure if you have enough time to complete the task.
Tight deadlines are stressful! Let’s recap. If it’s just a greeting and someone says “How are you?” Then just
answer: Good, how are you? If it’s more of a conversation starter,
then you can answer how you’re doing. The most neutral quick answers are ‘good’
and ‘fine’. But maybe you want to say more about how you’re doing. Things are going
well for you. Then you can say ‘great’. And say a bit about why you’re doing so well.
Let’s see that conversation again. Hey Rachel, how are you? Great, it is such a relief to be heading into
the weekend with the Johnson project done! Yeah, totally. You put in so
much overtime for that. I did. That was a tight deadline. So, how are you? Put your answer in
the video comments right now. Let’s look at the range of answers
you can give to ‘how are you?’: Great – things are going very well
for you, you’re in a good mood. Good or Fine – neutral, you’re having a
regular kind of day. You’ll probably follow this up with something positive, but you’re
a little less enthusiastic about it than if you said ‘great’. Let’s look at a sample
conversation where the answer is ‘good’ Oh hey! How are you? Good! We just got back from
visiting my parents in Florida. Oh, Where in Florida? My parents are in Gainesville, which
is where I grew up. So I still have a bunch of childhood friends there and it’s
just great to see them and catch up. Catch up is a phrasal verb, it has lots
of meanings. But here it means to find out what’s been going on in someone’s
life since you’ve last seen them. Oh, that’s really nice. And Florida. Talk
about a nice place to visit in February! No doubt! If you want to be more comfortable
in English conversation, right now go to Rachelsenglish.com/free.
There you can get my free course, TheTop 3 ways to Master the American accent.
It’s going to teach you how to hear English differently so your listening skills
improve along with your understandability. RachelsEnglish.com/free and I will put
that link in the video description. So we’ve got great. We’ve got ‘good’ or ‘fine’.
Another neutral way to answer without giving much information is something like I’m doing alright.
And remember, if you don’t feel like sharing anything you can always just ask the question
back without saying anything more. For example: Hey! How are you? I’m doing okay, just gearing up
for the holidays. How are you? How are you? The word r, it reduces.
Think of it as just an er ending on the end of the word how. How
are, how are, how are you? How are you? We’re good. Keeping busy – Brian is
in soccer and John is the coach. Oh fun! Does he enjoy coaching? It’s a bunch of 7-year-olds, so sometimes
I think he feels like he’s herding cats, but overall I think he’s enjoying it. Herding cats. This is not the same as hurting
cats even though it’s pronounced the same. Herding cats. This is an idiom that means
trying to organize or manage people or groups of people that are very difficult to organize
or manage, like a bunch of 7-year-olds. Herding cats. Yes! That makes sense. What about when things aren’t going well?
You could respond with “only okay”. Hey. How are you? Only okay. John has been traveling
a lot for work a lot this month, and honestly I think we’re all just
a little run down because of it. Run down is a phrasal verb
that means low on energy, starting to feel exhausted, and maybe
even getting a little bit sick. Sorry to hear that. You know what? I’m
baking bread today. Why I don’t I bring it over with a pot of soup? That way you
don’t need to worry about dinner. Oh, you don’t need to do that. It’s no extra work for me.
I’m already making for dinner and I know I’ll have extra. Let me do this
for you. I’ll stop by around 5. Wow, okay, thanks! That would be great! Or, even worse than ‘only okay’,
we have ‘not very good. Hey, how are you?
Hi. Honestly, not very good.
Last week I was laid off. We use the word fired when someone is let
go from their job for poor performance or for doing something wrong. But we
usually use ‘laid off’ when it wasn’t the person’s fault but the company was
downsizing or something like that. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Yeah, it’s a huge bummer, my
whole team was let go. Oh no. So. Not doing great today. That’s hard. I’m really sorry. Thanks. I’m just taking a
few days just to lay low, and then I’ll start looking
for work next week. Good luck. What if life is just terrible? You’re in a
really bad mood, life seems really hard? Hey, how are you? I’m doing terribly. Our contractor is ghosting us
and the kitchen is sitting there unfinished. If someone is ghosting you, this means
they’ve stopped communicating with you. They’re not replying to any of your
messages but they never told you that they were going to stop communicating
with you. They’ve just ghosted you. Oh gosh. And, a client at work doesn’t like any of
the creative that I’ve sent over, so I have to start over for that. It’s back to the drawing
board after two weeks of working full-tilt. Back to the drawing board means she’s saving
nothing from what’s she’s already done to work on this project, she has to start over
from the beginning with totally new ideas. If you’re working full tilt on something, that means you’re putting in every bit of
energy you have on that one thing. All of your focus is going to get that done
because you’re working full tilt. I can’t believe they didn’t
like it. I thought it was so fresh and new. Can you reuse any of the ideas? No. they want a completely different
direction, so I am starting from scratch Just like back to the drawing board,
starting from scratch means you’re not using any of your previous ideas or
work, you’re completely starting over. I’m sorry. Thanks. I just really need a vacation. The question ‘how are you?” is
actually asking for an adverb, because it’s short for ‘how are you doing?’.
If you’re answering how you’re doing, you’re describing DOING, a verb, so that’s
an adverb. How are you doing? Terribly. But you can change it to an adjective
by describing yourself, a noun, by starting with I am or I’m,. I’m terrible. I’m
doing terribly, or more simply, I’m terrible. Now, we’ve gone over great, good or fine, doing alright, only okay, not
very good, and terribly. You can use any adjective or adverb to describe
yourself: I’m doing well. I’m fantastic! I’m over the moon, my daughter just had a baby! Or,
I’m struggling, I’m horrible. I’m bummed. Over time, as you notice the phrase ‘how
are you’ and the responses in conversation, movies, and TV, you’ll start to build
your awareness: Is this person actually starting a conversation about how I
am, or is this just a greeting? Let’s review our 6 conversations,
how to respond to How are you? Hey Rachel, how are you? Great. Hey, how are you? Only okay. Hey, how are you? I’m doing okay. Oh hey, how are you? Good! Hey, how are you? Honestly, not very good. Hey, how are you? I’m doing terribly. Hey Rachel, how are you? Great, it is such a relief to be heading into
the weekend with the Johnson project done! Yeah, totally. You put in so
much overtime for that. I did. That was a tight deadline. Hey. How are you? Only okay. John has been traveling
a lot for work a lot this month, and honestly I think we’re all just
a little run down because of it. Sorry to hear that. You know what? I’m
baking bread today. Why I don’t I bring it over with a pot of soup? That way you
don’t need to worry about dinner. Oh, you don’t need to do that. It’s no extra work for me. It’s what
I’m already making for dinner and I know I’ll have extra. Let me do this
for you. I’ll stop by around 5. Wow, okay, thanks! That would be great! Hey! How are you? I’m doing okay, just gearing up
for the holidays. How are you? We’re good. Keeping busy – Brian is
in soccer and John is the coach. Oh fun! Does he enjoy coaching? It’s a bunch of 7-year-olds, so sometimes
I think he feels like he’s herding cats, but overall I think he’s enjoying it. Oh hey! How are you? Good! We just got back from
visiting my parents in Florida. Oh, Where in Florida? My parents are in Gainesville, which
is where I grew up. So I still have a bunch of childhood friends there and it’s
just great to see them and catch up. Oh, that’s really nice. And Florida. Talk
about a nice place to visit in February! No doubt! Hey, how are you? Hi. Honestly, not very good.
Last week I was laid off. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Yeah, it’s a huge bummer, my
whole team was let go. Oh no. So, Not doing great today. That’s hard. I’m really sorry. Thanks. I’m just taking a
few days just to lay low, and then I’ll start looking
for work next week. Good luck. Hey, how are you? I’m doing terribly. Our contractor is ghosting us
and the kitchen is sitting there unfinished. Oh gosh. And, a client at work doesn’t like any of
the creative that I’ve sent over, so I have to start over for that. It’s back to the drawing
board after two weeks of working full-tilt. I can’t believe they didn’t
like it. I thought it was so fresh and new. Can you reuse any of the ideas? No. they want a completely different
direction, so I am starting from scratch I’m sorry. Thanks. I just really need a vacation. I hope you’re now much more confident answering
‘how are you?” In English. Keep your learning going now with this video, and don’t forget
to subscribe with notifications on. I love being your English teacher. That’s it, and
thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.
