Conversation Lesson 2: Greetings

Paul: Hi, Jeff. How are you doing? Jeff: Oh, hi, Paul. I’m fine. How about you? Paul: Pretty good. How are your classes going? Jeff: They’re really keeping me busy. I’ve been working hard on a chemistry paper. What do you think of our chemistry class so far? Paul: It’s not really my favorite course, but the teacher is nice person. Maybe it’ll be interesting. Jeff: I hope so. Well, I have to go now. See you at lunch. Paul: Yeah, see you then. Bye. Jeff: Bye.

Note: The use of contractions in daily conversation. I’m They’re I’ve It’s it’ll

Culture Note Greetings are mainly used to make contact with another person and to show friendliness. Replies to greetings are usually positive even if you’re not feeling well at that moment. People usually give an honest negative reply only to close friends or family members. After greeting people, Americans usually chat (聊天) – have a friendly conversation about a topic that’s not too personal. This is also called small talk. (闲聊, 寒暄)

Greeting Words and Phrases Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Nice to see you. Hello. Hi. Long time no see. Hey! How are you? How are you doing? How are things? How’s it going? How’ve you been? What’s happening? What’s new? What’s up?

Greeting Replies Good morning, etc. Fine, thank you. And you? (I’m) pretty good. How are you? Great. How about you? Everything’s OK. Not (too) bad. Good. And you? I’m fine. You?

Small Talk Topics Vacations and travel plans Education Work News – local, national, international Movies Books Sports Recent activities or experiences Education Work Food Weather TV programs Future plans Interests and Hobbies

Practice Greeting Work in pairs. Read each of the following situations and practice greeting each other.

You and an American student at an American university. Greetings - Situation 1 You and an American student at an American university. You have studied in America for a year. Today is the first day of the new semester and you meet an American student who took the same course you did last semester. After greeting each other, make small talk for a while.

Greetings - Situation 2 You and a friend You and a friend used to live near each other but your friend moved to a different city several months ago. Now you run into each other at a shopping mall. After greeting each other you make small talk for a few minutes.

You and one of your neighbors Greetings - Situation 3 You and one of your neighbors It’s a rainy day. You arrive at a bus stop, where a neighbor is also waiting for a bus. After greeting each other, you make small talk until your bus comes.

Greetings - Situation 4 You and your boss You have worked for your boss for many years. You haven’t seen each other for a couple of weeks because he/she was on vacation. Greet him/her and make small talk for a while.

Greetings - Situation 5 Use your imagination! Create your own conversation in which you first greet each other and then make small talk. Who are you? Who is your partner? What’s the situation?