Everyday Greetings

 

"Good morning."

 

"Good afternoon."

 

"Good evening."

​

"Goodbye."

​

"Good night."

​

"Good night."

​

​

Special Greetings

​

"Happy Christmas." or "Merry Christmas."

​

00.01 - 1st January "Happy New Year!"

​

"Happy Easter."

​

or etc.... "Good Luck!"

​

or etc... "Congratulations!" or "Well done!"

​

"Get well soon."

​

Shaking Hands

​

When meeting someone formally for the first time, we shake their hand and say "How do you do?" or "Pleased to meet you."

"How do you do?" isn't really a question, it just means "Hello".

When young people meet informally they sometimes say "Give me five!" and slap their hands together (high five).

Generally we do not shake hands with people we know well.

 

​

 

Naturally speaking

​

You say hello, and I say goodbye!

​

Follow the dialogue.

​

Mr Bean meets Mrs Breuer, one of his students, and her husband in the street.

​

Mr Bean: Good morning, Mrs Breuer.

​

Mrs Breuer: Good morning, Mr Bean. How are you?

​

Mr Bean:  I'm fine thanks, and you?

​

Mrs Breuer: Not too bad. Mr Bean, this is my husband Michael, Michael this is Mr Bean my English teacher.

​

Mr Breuer: Pleased to meet you.

​

Mr Bean: Pleased to meet you too. Are you from Germany, Mr Breuer?

​

Mr Breuer: Yes, East Germany, from Dresden. And you, are you from London?

​

Mr Bean: No, I'm from Derby, but I live in London now.

​

Mrs Breuer:Well, goodbye Mr Bean, it was nice to see you.

​

Mr Bean:Yes, goodbye.

​

Formal to Informal Greetings and Introductions

​

First meetings

Formal

Introducing yourself

Introducing others

Responding to an introduction

On Leaving

 

• How do you do? My name is Mrs Hand.

• Mrs Hand, may I introduce my boss, Mr Smith.

• Pleased to meet you Mrs Hand.

• Goodbye. It's a pleasure to have met you.

 

 

• Hello, Lynne Hand. I'm the owner of this web site.

• Lynne, I'd like you to meet John Smith, our salesman. John, this is Lynne Hand.

• Pleased to meet you Lynne.

• Goodbye. Nice to have met you.

 

 

• Lynne Hand.

• Lynne, meet John, my husband. John, this is my teacher Lynne.

• Hi, Lynne. How are you?

• Bye. It was nice to meet you.

 

Informal

​

Subsequent meetings

Formal

Possible Greetings

Possible responses

 

• Hello, Mrs Hand.  It's nice to see you again.

• What a pleasant surprise! How are you? It's been a while.

 

 

• Good morning Mrs Hand.  How are you today?

• I'm very well thank you.  And you?

 

 

• Good afternoon, Mrs Hand.  It's good to see you.

• Thank you.  It's nice to see you too.  How are you?

 

 

• Hello Lynne.  How are you doing?

• Fine thanks.  What's new with you?

 

 

 

• Hi, Lynne! How's it going?

• Not too bad, busy as ever.

 

• Hi, Lynne. How are things?

• Oh fine. You know how it is.

 

Informal

​

!Note - on first meeting say, "It's nice to meet you", and when departing "It was nice to meet you".

For future meetings say, "It's nice to see you again", and when departing, "It was nice to see you again."

​

​

Greetings and Introductions

​

First impressions are a really important aspect of British culture. Introducing yourself and others in the correct way is fraught with various do's and dont's of etiquette.

​

Introductions

​

In social situations, a man is traditionally introduced to a woman. However, in the business world introductions are based on a person's rank or position in an organisation. Whoever is the highest-ranking person is introduced to everyone else in order of their position. If you introduce two people of equal rank to each other, introduce the one you know less well to the one you know best.

​

Introducing Yourself

​

There might be occasions where you will have to introduce yourself. For example, if you are meeting a new colleague or an associate, you might start off by extending your hand and saying "Hello! I am .....". If you have been introduced earlier to someone, do not assume that the person would remember you and be prepared to reintroduce yourself should it be necessary. There are some useful tips below.

​

Greetings

​

The British do shake hands, i.e. when first introduced to new people, but we rarely shake hands when parting.

In an informal situation you may see social kissing (often just a peck on the cheek), this is acceptable between men and women and also between women who know each other very well, but it is rare that you will see two British men kissing, even if it is only on the cheek.

​

Useful tips

​

Introductions are much simpler if you can memorise a few simple rules.

​

Introducing others

​

In business a person of lower rank tends to be introduced to a person of higher rank. In other situations you may find that a younger person would be introduced to an older person and a man introduced to a woman.

​

Introducing yourself

When shaking hands people may give you their name without saying "Hello" or anything else. It can come across as a bit unfriendly, but it's not considered to be rude.

​

For example:

​

• I hold out my hand to you and say, "Lynne Hand."

If you wish to be on first-name terms with someone you can indicate this by stressing your first name:-

For example:-

• "Hello, my name is Lynne. Lynne Hand."

 

Reacting to an introduction

​

The response you give should have the same level of formality as the introduction.

​