G reetings and Introductions

Almost all conversations start with a greeting. There are several expressions that are commonly used as
greeting, some formal and some informal. Which to use, of course depends on the situation.

Introductions
When you meet and greet someone for the first time, introductions are needed. There are a
number of standard expressions that can be used for introductions. Take a look at some of them.

1. Introducing Yourself
Expressions
Hello, Im (... Ms. Jaines).
My name is (... John Grey).
Im (... George Franks. What's
your name)?
Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is (...Frank
Jeffers).
Responses
Hello, Ms. Jaines, Im Susan
Appleton.
Nice to meet you Mr. Grey, Im
Mrs. Sukjoy.
My name is Sopida, Sopida
Hakam. Its a pleasure to
Meet you Mr. Franks.
I'm delighted to meet you
Mr.Jeffers. My name is
Pornpan Orasa.

Other useful expressions of closing an introduction

Expressions Responses
How do you do?

I am pleased to meet you Glad to meet you

Nice to meet you

I am glad to meet you

Its nice to meet you

2. Introducing others
On occasion, you may find yourself in a situation where you have to introduce one person to another.
Look at these possible expressions that are used for this.
 Expressions Responses
Sam: Peter, I would like to Peter: Hello Miss Cranston,
introduce (... Miss Helen nice to meet you.
Cranston).

Helen: Nice to meet you too

Mr. Kellogg.

Bob: Min Ju, this is (... my Min Ju: Hi Ms. Watson, a

friend Betty Watson). pleasure to meet you

Betty: Same here

Alice: Harry, let me introduce

(...my supervisor, Mr.Lee). Harry: Mr. Lee, its good to
Mr. Lee: Good to meet you meet you.
too. But please, call me
Sammy.

Other useful expressions of opening an introduction

Expressions

May introduce (to) .?

Let introduce (to) .

3. Farewells

Just as there are several standard expressions for greetings, there are also expressions of farewell. The
farewell itself is generally very short- one or two words. However, many times people add something to
the expressions, depending on what they want to happen in the future or the situation.

Expressions Responses
Goodbye Bye/Bye bye/ Bye now/

So long Catch you later

I have to run/ I must be off I have to be going now

Good day Later dude /See you/Cheerio

 Extensions to Farewells
Expressions Responses
See you again/ I hope to see See you/Be seeing you/
you again

See you (later/ Fine/ O.K/ All right/

/soon/tonight)

Call me Fine/ O.K/ All right/Sure

4. Greetings (Well-being)
After the greeting finished, the conversation should be continued in some way. One of the most common
ways is to ask about the other people well-being. Again, there are several expressions that can be used for
this. The responses to such inquiries will, of course, depend on how one actually feels. Lets take a look at
these.

Expressions Responses
IF GOOD

How are you? Great/Fine/Wellthanks

Hows it going? Couldnt be better.

How are things? Fantastic/wonderful. Thanks

Pretty good thank you

IF SO-SO

How are things going? Could be worse.

How have you been? I cant complain.

How do you feel? Not bad

IF BAD

How goes it? Ive had better days.

How are you doing? Not too good.

How's life treating you? Not very well

How are you getting on? Lousy.

Hows everything?
Thanking and Requests
Some expressions of saying common thanks: Responses:
Thanks Youre welcome
Many thanks No problem
Thanks a lot Its O.K anyway
Thank you No worries
Thank you very much Its nothing
Thanks you for Not at all
Your help Dont mention it
The ride Thats all right
Everything Its a pleasure
The tip

No Useful expressions of requests: Responses:

I Might I borrow your pen? (yes), certainly
May I (please) borrow your pen? Of course
Could I borrow your pen (please)? Sure
Can I borrow your pen? By all means
Yes, with pleasure

II Would you pass the salt? Yes, Id be happy to

Will you (please) pass the salt? Yes, Id be glad to
Could you pass the salt? Certainly
Can you pass the salt? Sure
Of course

III I wonder if I could speak to Miss Id like to very much

Barnes Yes, Id like to
Would you mind if I closed the Yes, with pleasure
window?
Would you mind closing the window?
Excuse me, would you mind
repeating that?

Offers and Preferences

some useful expressions of offers:
Would you like to come to my birthday party?
Would you care to have dinner with me?
Will you join us?
I wonder whether you would care to come to my party.
Could you come to a party at my home next Wednesday?
 Some useful expression of preferences:
I would rather stay at home than go out
He prefers wine to beer
She likes water better than coffee
I would prefer playing football

Apologies
Expressions: Responses:
I would like to apologize for.. Thats all right
I do apologize for.. Thats OK
I have to apologize for.. Thats fine
I am really sorry, .. It doesnt matter
I am very sorry, .. Never mind
Sorry, .. Dont mention it
Sorry to.. Dont worry about it
No problem
Forget it
No worries
Theres no problem
Its fine
Dont think about it
Its OK, please take it easy

Invitations
Expressions: Accepting Invitations Refusing Invitations
Would you like to go out Thanks. Id love to No, thanks
for dinner? Its a good idea Im sorry, but I cant
What about going to the Sure Id like to but..
mall? It sounds good Id love to but..
Why dont we go to the
cinema?
Likes and Dislikes
Expressions:
Do you like romantic film?
What kind of books do you like?

I like action film very much

I love adventure book
Im interested in hard music

I dont like jazz

Im not interested in politics
Im not keen on sports

Degrees of Preferences
Expressions:
I like it very much
I like it but not very much
I dont like it
I hate it
Its O.K

Some Polite Remarks

Conveying greetings to Expressions: Responses:
someone else Please remember me to Thanks, I will
.. Certainly, I will
Give my (best) regards Thanks
to .. Sure
Give my love to .. Of course

Others enjoyment Expressions: Responses:

Have a nice trip Thanks
Have a good/nice trip Thank you
Have a good Thanks. Im sure I shall
holiday/vacation Im sure I will
Enjoy
 yourself/yourselves
Take care of
yourself/yourselves
I hope you have a good
time

Just before an interview or Good luck

examination Best of luck

For an achievement Congratulations (for ..)

Well done

Getting a failure Bad luck

Hard luck
Never mind

Getting an illness I hope you get better soon

I hope you get well soon

Seasonal greetings Expressions: Responses:

Merry Christmas Thanks, the same to you
Happy New Year Thank you and the same
Happy Eid-Mubarak to you

Birthday Happy Birthday

Many Happy Returns

When welcoming to guests Welcome to my ..

Nice to see you
Nice you could come
Hello,
Its good to see you again
Im glad you could come

Giving Advice and Suggestions

Expressions: Responses:
Why dont you see the doctor? Yes, I think I will
It would be a good idea to see the doctor Thats a good idea
Perhaps you should take a rest Maybe I should
I think youd better lie down Maybe youre right
Perhaps youd better not go to school Maybe
today I guess not
Perhaps you shouldnt consume too much
cholesterol
What about seeing the doctor?
How about seeing the doctor?
Expressing an opinion
Expressions: Responses:
What do you think of ..? I think ..
Do you think ..? In my opinion,
What is your opinion ..? Its good
Do you have any idea?
What will you say if ..?

Its good, isnt it? Youre right

I think its a big city Thats true
In my opinion, she is a beautiful girl Yes, I think so
No, youre wrong

Questions and Answers

Questions:
Where is she going?
Is he going to the library?
Do you know where he is going?
How does your father get to work?
Does he get to work by taxi?
Can you tell me how your father gets to
work?
What did your friends study this morning?
Did your friends study Economics this
morning?
Tell me what your friends studied this
morning?
Answers:
He is going to the library
Yes, he is
Yes, I do. (He is going to the library)
He gets to work by taxi
Yes he does
Yes, I can. (He gets to work by taxi)
They studied Mathematics
No they did not
They studied Mathematics

Expressing of Sympathy
Expressions: Responses:
Oh, I am sorry to hear that Thank you very much
Thats too bad Its very kind of you
What a pity of you! I hope so
Be patient, it would be better soon Thats a pity, isnt it?
I take my sympathy to you Thanks for your sympathy
I sympathize with your condition Thanks for your support
 I know how is your feeling I would be OK, thank you very much for
It would be OK soon. your support

Showing Empathy
Expressions:
I can see how important this is to you.
I understand this can be frustrating.
I know this process can be confusing.
Im sorry to see that youre in this situation.
Id like to help you if I can.
Lets see if we can solve this together.

Understanding Imperative
Imperative sentences are the commanding sentence. They give a command.
Pay the rent now.

Imperative sentences can sometimes be a little confusing. You have learned that a sentence must have a
subject and a verb. In imperative sentences the subject is often invisible! Lets look at some examples:
Pay the rent now.
Give me another hotel.
Pass out the money.

Who or what is the subject of these sentences? Remember two basic facts.
1. An imperative sentence is a sentence that gives a command.
2. A command is an order given to someone.

The subject of most imperative sentences is you, so the sentence is really saying:
You pay the rent now.
You give me another hotel.
You pass out the money.

When you is used as an invisible or unwritten subject it is called you understood.

It means that the reader understands the subject is you.
Imperative sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period, just like declarative sentences
Complaining
Expressions: Responses:
I want to complain about Sorry
Oh my good (goodness)! Im so sorry,
(Well,) this is the most unsatisfactory. All right,
(Im afraid) it just isnt good enough. Well, it is good for you to
Why did you do that? Its not my fault
You should have told me before! Oh my goodness
Im sorry to say this, but
(Honestly!) Im fed up with
Did you do it on purpose!

Asking for and Giving Permission

Asking for Permission Giving Permission Refusing to give Permission
Can I go out, please? Yes, please do. No, please dont.
May I open the window, Sure, go ahead. Im sorry, but thats not
please? Sure. possible.
Please, can I have a look No problem. I'm afraid, but you can't.
at your photo album? Please feel free.
Please, may I taste that
hot spicy couscous dish?
Do you mind if I smoke?
Would you mind if I
asked you something?
Is it okay if I sit here?
Would it be all right if I
borrowed your mobile
Phone?

Expressing Feelings
Asking about feelings Responses: Vocabulary about feelings
How are you feeling I feel a little sad / happy sad / unhappy
today? / angry / .... feel blue
You look sad / upset. Are I am a little sad / happy feel low / down
you OK? / angry / .... depressed
You seem a little bit To be honest, I'm a little downhearted
 distracted. Are you bit sad / happy / angry / angry
alright? .... cross
You seem kind of low It's been a difficult day. annoyed
today. What's wrong? The thing is that, I am irritated
You seem a little blue angry / sad / ... mad
today. What's the I am mad at him / her.. furious
matter? vexed
What's wrong? indignant
What's the matter? irate
Are you OK / alright? seething
Are you happy / angry...?
Is everything OK /
alright...?