There are different ways to greet people:

Greeting means welcoming someone with particular words or a particular action.

When meeting people formally for the first time, we greet by shaking hands and saying "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 greet and say "Give me five!" and slap their
hands together (high five).
Generally we do not greet by shaking hands with people we know well. We greet by just saying
'hi' or 'hello'
Here are some expressions you can use to greet people.

Greeting

 Hi, hello.
 Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
 How are you?
 How are you doing?
 How do you do?

Responding to greeting

 Hi, hello.
 Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening.
 I'm fine thank you (thanks)/Okey! Thank you (thanks)/Can't complain/Not bad.
 How about you?/And you?
 How do you do?

Things to remember about greeting:

When you greet someone and say:

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

Introducing yourself and others

There is a range of ways to introduce yourself and people.

Introducing yourself:
Here are expressions to introduce yourself:
 My name is ...
 I'm ....

 Nice to meet you; I'm ...

  Pleased to meet you; I'm ...
 Let me introduce myself; I'm ...
 I'd like to introduce myself; I'm ...

Introducing others:

Here are expressions to introduce others:

 Jack, please meet Nicolas.

 Jack, have you met Nicolas?
 I'd like you to meet Liza.
 I'd like to introduce you to Betty.
 Leila, this is Barbara. Barbara this is Leila.

Useful responses when introducing yourself or other people:

 Nice to meet you.

 Pleased to meet you.
 Happy to meet you.
 How do you do?

Dialogue:

Alex is talking to the new manager and his assistant. Notice how they introduce themselves:

Alex: Hi! My name is Alex Litterman, the new manager.

Hi! I'm William O'Brian. Nice to meet you, Mr Alex
William:
Litterman.
John: William, please meet Mr Steve Lynch, my assistant
Jack: How do you do?
Nicolas: How do you do?

Things to remember:

 When introducing yourself or other people in a formal situation use full names.
("I'm Alex Litterman.")
 "How do you do?" isn't really a question, it just means "Hello"

How to express ability

To express that someone has the power or skill to do something, can and be able are used.
Examples:
 I can't help you.I am busy.
 I'm unable to help you.

 When I was young I was able to earn my living pretty well; I could work hard.
Now I can't. I'm too old.
 I can stand on my head for five minutes.
 Can you speak Arabic?
 Yes, I can.

Expressing ability

In the present:

Express ability in the present as follows:

 I can speak good English.

 I can't stand on my head.

In the past

Express ability in the past as follows

 I was unable to visit him.

 I couldn't eat at all when I was ill.

In the future

Express ability in the future as follows

 I will be able to buy a house when I get a good job.

 The teacher can assist you after class if you have any questions.

Things to remember:

 Can is always followed by an infinitive without "to."

Examples:
I can ride my bike and I can drive a car, but I can't drive a lorry.

 Can in the past is was able or could

Examples:
When I was young I was able to earn my living pretty well. Now I can't; I'm too old.
I couldn't hear what he was saying.
  Can in the future is will be able.
Example:
When I finish my studies, I will be able to find a job.

Asking for and giving permission:

When you ask for permission to use something that belongs to someone else you have to do your
best to be polite. It is desirable to use the word "please."

Asking for Permission:

 Can I go out, please?

 May I open the window, please?
 Please, can I have a look at your photo album?
 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?

Giving Permission:

 Yes, please do.

 Sure, go ahead.
 Sure.
 No problem.
 Please feel free.

Refusing to give permission:

 No, please don’t.

 I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.
 I'm afraid, but you can't.
Dialogue:

Liza, eight years old, is asking her mother for permission to use the computer...

Liza: Please mum, can I use the computer?

Her mother: No, dear you can't. It's time to go to bed.
Liza: May I read a story before I sleep?
Her mother: Sure! But try to sleep early.
Liza: Thanks a lot mummy.

Talking about favourite things

When you talk about your favourite things you talk about the best liked or most enjoyed things.

Examples:

 "What's your favorite color?" "Green."

Study the dialogue:

Leila is talking to her new friend Cathy:

Leila: What kind of films do you like best?

Cathy: Science fiction. And you?
Leila: Comedy. And who's your favorite actor?
Cathy: Tom Cruise.
Leila: I like Robert de Nero most.

Asking about favorite things:

 What's your favorite sport?

 What sport do you like best?
 What sport do you like most?
 What kind of sport do you like best?
 Who's your favorite football player?
Responding:

 My favorite sport is football.

 I like football best.
 I like football most.
 My favorite football player is Ronaldo.

Things to remember:

 "Favourite" is British spelling.

 "Favorite" is American spelling.

How to tell the time in English?

There are two common ways of telling the time in English. For 2:40 you can use one of these
two ways.
 Digital: the easier way - "Two forty "
 Classical: you say the minutes first then the hour - "twenty to three"

Here are the different ways to ask for and tell the time.
Asking about the time:
time is it?
What time do you make it?
's the time?
Have you got the right time?

Telling the time:

Digital It's ... It's ...

2.00 two o'clock two
2.06 six minutes past two two oh six
2.09 nine minutes past two two oh nine
2.12 twelve past two two twelve
2.15 a quarter past two two fifteen
2.20 twenty past two two twenty
 2.25 twenty-five past two two twenty-five
2.30 half past two two thirty
2.35 twenty-five to three two thirty-five
2.40 twenty to three two forty
2.45 a quarter to three two forty-five
2.50 ten to three two fifty
2.55 five to three two fifty-five
2.57 three minutes to three two fifty-seven
2.58 nearly three o'clock two fifty-eight
3.00 three o'clock three

Example:

Question: What's the time, please?

Answer: It's two o'clock.

How to make offers in English?

It is common that English speakers make offers in conversations in order to be polite and
helpful. When they do so they use these expressions:

Can I… ?
Shall I… ?
Would you like … ?
How about ...?

English learner must be able to make offers as well as accept or reject them. The following are
useful expressions to do so.

Making offers:

Can help you?

I
Shall get you some juice?
Would you like a glass of water ?
How about some pizza?

Examples:

 "Can I help you?"

 "Shall I open the window for you?"
  "Would you like another cup of coffee?"
 "Would you like me to clean the board?"
 "How about a juice? "

Remember:

 Shall, can and will are followed by the verb without to.
Example:
"Can I help you?"
"Shall I bring you the mobile phone?
 Shall is more formal than can.
 Would you like… is followed either by a noun, or by the verb with to.
Example:
"Would you like some tea ?"
"Would you like to drink some coffee?

Responding to offers

Accepting Declining
Yes please. I'd like to.
That would be very kind of you.
It's OK, I can do it myself.
Yes please, that would be lovely.
Don't worry, I'll do it.
Yes please, I'd love to.
No, thanks
If you wouldn't mind.
No, thank you
If you could.
Thank you, that would be great.

Examples:

 "Can I help you?"

"No thanks, I'm just having a look." (With a shop assistant.)

 "Can I help you?"

"Do you know where the post office is."
 "Shall I help you with your maths problem?"
"Yes, please. That would be very nice of you."
 "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"No thanks." Or, "No thank you."
 "Would you like another piece of cake?"
"Yes please, that would be nice ."
"Yes please, I'd love one."
  "Would you like me to do the the ironing for you?"
"If you wouldn't mind."
"If you could."
 "I'll do the washing, if you like."
"It's OK, I can do it."
"Don't worry, I'll do it."
"Thank you, that would be great."

Expressing shock and disbelief

It is sometimes difficult to say how you feel in unexpected situations, such as natural disasters,
bad news .., especially when you feel sad.

Here's a list of some common expressions to help you express

 shock
 and disbelief.

Shock:

shocked to hear…
I was stunned by...
taken aback by…
... came as
a complete shock.
I'm in

Examples:

 I was shocked to hear the news.

 I was stunned / taken aback by the news
 I was completely taken aback by his behavior.
 I was just stunned by her clothes.
 The news came as a complete shock.
 We're all in complete shock.

Disbelief:
 can't believe…
I (just)
can't imagine…
unbelievable.
It's
incredible.

Examples:

 I just can't believe he won the race.

 It's unbelievable that they got married
 I just can't imagine they were able to get along with each other.

Making an appointment

Being able to make and cancel an appointment is an important skill in English. You need to be
able to:

 make an appointment,
 respond to an appointment and
 cancel an appointment.

Here are some expressions you can use to do this concisely and clearly.

Asking to meet:

available on... / next...?

Are you
free on... / next...?
Can we meet on... / next ...?
would next ... be ok?
What about next ... ?
Is next ... ok?

Examples:

 "Are you available on the 17th?"

 "Can we meet on the 16th?"
 "How does the 3rd sound to you?"
 "Are you free next week?"
 "Would Friday suit you?"
  "Is next Tuesday convenient for you?"
 "What about sometime next week?"

Responding to an appointment:

... is fine
Yes,
.... would be fine.
suits me
....
would be perfect.
I'm afraid I can't on ....
I'm sorry I won't be able to... on ...
I really don't think I can on ...

Examples:

 "Yes, Monday is fine."

 "Monday suits me."
 "Thursday would be perfect."
 "I'm afraid I can't on the 3rd. What about the 6th?"
 "I'm sorry, I won't be able to make it on Monday. Could we meet on Tuesday
instead?"
 "Ah, Wednesday is going to be a little difficult. I'd much prefer Friday, if that's
alright with you."
 "I really don't think I can on the 17th. Can we meet up on the 19th?

Cancelling an appointment

You can cancel an appointment as follows

 Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen business, I will be unable to keep our

appointment for tomorrow afternoon.
 Would it be possible to arrange another time later in the week?
 I’m afraid that I have to cancel our meeting on Wednesday, as something
unexpected has come up.
 You know we were going to meet next Friday? Well, I'm very sorry, but
something urgent has come up.
 I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to meet you after all. Can we fix another
time?