How do you do answers

Home Buy Ebook Project Topics. Latest Posts. Posted by Tamuno Reuben January 15, I got it wrong when my professor first said it to me.

My response was "I am doing fine. My wrong answer prompted his laughter, which made me a bit sad. Perhaps this shibboleth does not extend to America; I wonder how U and non-U language work there, as I am sure they must exist in some form in nearly every culture. I have spoken with some foreigners here who were specifically taught U Dutch and kept wondering why most people used different words.

I think language learners should at least be explained the difference before being taught one variant or the other, both of which can be equally useful—that is, if their teacher is good. Many of my non-native-English-speaking friends have also said they were taught the same as you, but with the same principle applying to all similar greetings -- "How's it going? I find that bizarre. As an American English speaker, I am always taken by surprise if someone answers my "how do you do? While I don't always care much about their response, I do feel that I am actually asking a question to open up conversation via responses like, "Actually I just came down with a cold," or, "Great!

My school application was accepted today! It's somewhat archaic. However "How do you do? I would consider it mildly impolite not to answer the question at all, but you can answer any way you like - it's meant to be taken as a genuine question. Agree with most of the guys, yet I've heard What's up!

I think. In England, "How do you do? Like most greetings, can be:. While questions of the type you list there are frequently either partially or fully rhetorical in that the asker doesn't actually care how you are, but rather is simply following the social convention to ask , I've never heard of any sort of rule or custom of only answering the question with another question.

Certainly, it's possible to simply respond with the question you were asked, especially if you're passing someone rather than actually beginning a conversation. But I would suggest that a more standard response would be of the sort you got on chat.

A one word answer followed by asking about you as well. There is no rule that says the correct answer to "how do you do?

In my experience, most people would reply back with "I am fine" without to give any further detail, even in the case they are not actually feeling well.

I have also heard people who, receiving back "I am fine; and you? Most people would not take attention to the reply given, but replying to a question with another question could be interpreted differently from the person who first asked the question. Another modern UK version is "alright? The reply can be a statement or the same ritual question repeated back, which is rather neat. In Jane Austen's novels, people did not only ask "How do you do?

For example in Persuasion :. She and the Harvilles came on Tuesday very safely, and in the evening we went to ask her how she did,. Hence, we reply "Fine, thanks. And you? I've heard three somewhat unusual responses to this question.

You can take them seriously, or not. My late uncle, who loved to be humorously sarcastic and throw people a bit of surprise would often respond, "You'd better watch out, because I might tell you. My grandmother, a classy woman, would actually answer a bit about how she was feeling that day - "I have a headache and arthritis and constipation and An interesting short polite answer that I've been hearing lately is, "Thank G-d".

I thought this was an answer that was unique to the Orthodox Jewish community. However, recently, I have been hearing this from a number of non-Jews, as well.

I don't know if they learned this from the other community or this is part of their religious belief, or what. But, I think it's a nice response. Why use a rather confusing and somwhat impolite answer?

I would feel insulted if someone responded to my "How do you do" with another "how do you do". If you dont mean to ask people how they are doing, then hello, goodmorning, etc should suffice. The use of that must have been born out of pride, where some think its disrespectful to be greeted with such inquiry, so they respond with same. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Your friends will probably ask you the very same question, but It might sound a little different! You might hear:. If you are talking to a friend, you can offer more information if they ask and if they are your friend, they probably will!

Now, what if you hear a different question? Find out in this lesson click here! English Speaking. How are you?