Lesson 1: "How Are You?" What Americans Really Mean

Описание: "How Are You?" What Americans Really Mean

Hi, I’m Jill, and this lesson is for American English, the way people speak in the United States.

This sentence is very common: How are you?

In American English, “How are you?” is usually not a real question. Most of the time, it is just a greeting. It means hi, hello, I see you, I am being polite.

How are you? What do you say?

Good.

Repeat after me.

I’m good.
Good, thank you.
I’m fine, thanks.

Very polite. Very American.

Repeat after me.

Pretty good.
Not bad.
I’m okay.

Your voice matters. Say it naturally.

Repeat after me.

I’m tired.
I’m busy.
I’m good, just tired.

One sentence is enough.

What not to say

If someone says, “How are you?” and you say, “Well, I’m fine, but my brother is mad at me and my car is…,” it can feel uncomfortable. Not wrong ... just too much for a simple hello.

At the store, you see a friend.

“How are you?”
“I’m good, thanks. How are you?”

At work.

“How are you?”
“Pretty good. How about you?”

Repeat after me.

How are you?
I’m good, thanks.
How are you?

Repeat after me.

How are you?
I’m good, thanks.
How are you?

In American English, short answers are normal. You do not need to say many sentences to sound like you know English.

In the next lesson, I’ll teach you what to say after we say, “Hi, how are you?”

I’ll see you in the next lesson.