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  • (upbeat music)

  • - Hello everyone and welcome back to English with Lucy.

  • Hey, how are you?

  • Yeah, I'm good thanks.

  • How are you?

  • Yeah, great, how are you?

  • Good, how are you?

  • How are you drives me insane.

  • It's so boring, it's so overused,

  • it's just this automatic filler phrase

  • that we use to acknowledge people nonchalantly.

  • It needs to go.

  • It sounds so insincere, how are you?

  • I'm not actually expecting an answer.

  • That's something I said in my

  • 50 Weird and Confusing Facts About Britain

  • and British Culture video.

  • How are you is a question

  • that we don't really expect an answer to.

  • So, in this video I'm gonna give you loads of alternatives

  • to how are you.

  • I've broken them down into three sections.

  • I'm gonna give you casual how are you alternatives

  • for friends and family, formal ones for work situations

  • and emails, and then also some fun ones

  • which you can choose if you use or not.

  • So this video is going to be perfect

  • for improving your vocabulary,

  • but if you want to improve your listening

  • and your pronunciation even further,

  • I highly recommend the study method

  • of combining reading actual books

  • with listening to audio books on Audible.

  • Let me explain this method.

  • Take a book that you have already read in English

  • or a book that you would like to read in English

  • I've got loads of recommendations for good books

  • for different levels of English

  • in the description box down below.

  • And read this chosen book while listening

  • to the audio version.

  • It's got to be at the same time.

  • Reading alone will not help you with your listening

  • or your pronunciations skills

  • and that's because English in not a phonetic language.

  • If you hear and listen to a word as you read it,

  • your brain will make a connection

  • and the next time you see that word,

  • you will know how it's pronounced

  • and the next time you hear that word,

  • you know will know how it's spelled.

  • By reading and listening tat the same time,

  • you're essentially training your brain

  • in loads of different disciplines.

  • It's such an effective method

  • and the best part is that you can get one free audiobook,

  • that's a 30-day free trial

  • if you click on the link in the description box

  • and sign up to Audible.

  • Then you can download one of my audiobook recommendations.

  • Give it a try, it really, really works.

  • Right, let's get started with the lesson.

  • So, let's start with casual alternatives to how are you.

  • How are you, oh, I hate it so much.

  • Number on is, how are you doing?

  • How are you doing?

  • And you would reply to this by saying,

  • I'm going well, thanks.

  • You might hear some people respond with,

  • I'm doing good, but that's actually grammatically incorrect.

  • When responding to a how are you style question,

  • you do well or you are good.

  • If I say I'm doing good, it could mean

  • I am doing charity work or doing something positive.

  • Number two, how have you been?

  • How have you been?

  • This is a very warm and friendly one.

  • I really like it.

  • Yeah, I've been great, thanks.

  • Or, I've not been so good, actually.

  • Three, this one's slightly more American,

  • what's going on?

  • Hey, what's going on?

  • A very common answer to this is nothing much,

  • no much at all.

  • Number four, what's new, or even, what's new with you?

  • This is more asking for updates

  • or if anyone's been doing anything interesting

  • in their life since you last saw them.

  • You could say this to someone that you've seen recently

  • and you just want a short update.

  • Number five, I wonder if you've heard this one before,

  • it's what's up?

  • Hey, what's up?

  • Traditionally very American,

  • but now used much more in Britain.

  • Number six is a very British one, it's what are you up to?

  • Now this comes from to be up to mischief.

  • which means you're doing something mischievous.

  • It's a very friendly and endearing question.

  • What are you up to?

  • It implies mischief, but in a friendly way.

  • So if I say what have you been up to,

  • or what are you up to?

  • I'm kind of saying, what mischievous things

  • have you been doing?

  • What trouble have you been making?

  • It's very friendly.

  • It's also something I say to my dog

  • if he looks suspicious.

  • What have you been up to?

  • What mischief have you been causing?

  • That's a really, really good one.

  • If you're gonna take one thing away from this lesson,

  • make it that.

  • Number seven, how are things going?

  • This is very general.

  • Things, I mean, it couldn't be more general than that.

  • It's a great one to use if you can't quite remember

  • what someone's been doing for work

  • or in their personal life, so how are things going?

  • It's a very non-specific.

  • Number eight, how are you feeling?

  • How are you feeling?

  • Yeah, I'm feeling great.

  • Or, I'm not feeling so good.

  • This implies that you know something about their health.

  • Maybe they were ill a short time ago.

  • Maybe they're overcoming an illness.

  • Adds a layer of familiarity because you're implying

  • that you know something wasn't good before and so you're

  • wondering how they're feeling now.

  • It could also be used if you know the person is nervous.

  • Maybe it's before a big meeting or a speech.

  • How are you feeling?

  • Are you feeling all right?

  • 10, I would say this is slightly more American than British.

  • How's it going?

  • Hey, how's it going?

  • We do use it a bit now.

  • You would say, yeah, it's going great.

  • Yeah, everything's good.

  • Number 11, very similar, how is everything?

  • Very general.

  • Maybe implies that you know that everything

  • hasn't been so great or there's been a problem

  • in their life.

  • The most general of all, number 12, is how's things?

  • How's things?

  • I remember boys at school texting me asking me how's things?

  • I just remember thinking that's such a cop out

  • because now I have to create a conversation.

  • I'd just reply like, yes, things are good.

  • How are your things?

  • Number 13, a very casual one, this is great if you

  • haven't seen someone in a while, how's life?

  • How's life treating you?

  • You can say either/or.

  • Number 14, this is very warm and friendly,

  • how's your day been, or how's your day going?

  • Now, in American, this is used more in customer service

  • positions, they always want you to have a great day.

  • I just remember going to America being surprised

  • at how many people wanted me to have a great day.

  • After everything it was, have a great day,

  • you have a great day.

  • It was like, okay, I will try and have a great day,

  • thank you.

  • No one's ever told me to a great day so many times before.

  • But in British culture, we mean it more when we say it

  • because we say it with less frequency.

  • And number 15, I must say I'm not a huge fan of this one.

  • This is all right, or are you all right?

  • This again is another one we don't really expect

  • an answer from, it's just hey, how are you?

  • Yeah, I'm fine, you all right?

  • It's very casual.

  • Right, let's move on to formal ways to say how are you.

  • A very formal way is, how do you do?

  • Hello, how do you do?

  • And you would normally say this when you're greeting someone

  • or meeting someone that you don't know so well.

  • How do you do, how do you do?

  • Normally said while shaking a hand

  • and we don't necessarily expect a response

  • in the UK from this one.

  • We would normally just repeat, how do you do.

  • The next one is, are you well?

  • And posh British people just love to use the word well.

  • Are you well?

  • I'm well, I hope you're well.

  • Is he well?

  • Are they well?

  • Are we well?

  • Honestly, they use it so much.

  • When I go to the occasion of posh event,

  • I have a lot of internal laughter by the amount to times

  • that well is said.

  • Are you well?

  • Is your family well?

  • These are all fairly formal ways of asking, how are you?

  • Number three, now this one is almost too posh for me.

  • It's, how do you fare?

  • How are you faring?

  • I must say I haven't heard this said in a long time,

  • but if you want to seem uber, uber posh, be my guest,

  • as long as you're well.

  • The next few are more business-related.

  • They're things that your boss might say to you.

  • Number four is, how are things coming along?

  • And this implies that there is some sort of progress

  • to be made.

  • Maybe you're working on a project or you've got a big job

  • going on.

  • How are you getting on?

  • How are things coming along?

  • How much progress is being made?

  • Number five, very similar, how everything coming together?

  • Implies that maybe there were implies that maybe

  • there were problems at the beginning but now everything

  • is coming together nicely.

  • As a good response you could say,

  • oh, things are coming together nicely, thank you.

  • In Britain especially, we do like to talk about health

  • a fare amount, especially to the older generation.

  • You maybe had a public struggle with health.

  • There are a couple of things you can say

  • that are more formally, obviously,

  • because you're talking to an elder.

  • Number six is how's your health?

  • If you know that they've got a health issue

  • that they're happy to talk about,

  • then how's your health is the perfectly reasonable way

  • of saying how are you.

  • Two other ways are hello, I hope you're well,

  • or I trust you're well.

  • They're not necessarily questions,

  • it's more statements about health.

  • Right, let's move onto funny phrases.

  • Now these are if you want to show a bit of character.

  • A lot of them of quite American.

  • I wouldn't necessarily advise using these

  • in a formal situation or in an English exam

  • or around people you don't know.

  • Try them out with friends and family first.

  • Number one is howdy.

  • This is very American.

  • It's basically a shortened down version

  • of how do you do.

  • How do you do, howdy.

  • We also have how's it hanging.

  • Hey, how's it hanging?

  • Again, very American, but it's kind of come over to the UK

  • because we watch American films and TV shows here.

  • Number there, a very old-fashioned one

  • that's sort of coming back because of old-fashioned TV shows

  • and films is, how's tricks?

  • How's tricks?

  • I think it's like from '20s or '30s America.

  • And the last one, a personal favourite,

  • hey, what's sizzling?

  • What's sizzling?

  • It's another way of saying what's kicking.

  • Hey, what's kicking?

  • Right, that's it for today's lesson.

  • I hope you enjoyed it.

  • I hope you learned something.

  • I hope I have equipped you with loads of alternatives

  • to hey, how are you, that phrase we all hate so much.

  • Don't forget to share your other alternatives,

  • one's that you think I've missed,

  • one's that you like saying.

  • Don't forget to check out Audible.

  • Claim your free audiobook by clicking on the link

  • in the description box and signing up

  • for the 30-day free trial.

  • I've got loads of recommendations for both books

  • and audiobooks down there.

  • Don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media.

  • I've got my Facebook, I've got my Instagram

  • and I've got my Twitter and I should see you soon

  • for another lesson.

  • (throws kiss)

  • (upbeat music)

(upbeat music)

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