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Greeting - Basic
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There are many ways to greet someone. We'll learn about the most common way to greet
someone in this lesson. I'll give a variety of example sentences.

Greeting someone you never met:

"Hi, my name is Steve. It's nice to meet you."
You can respond to this by saying,
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jack."

Another common question to ask is

"What do you do for a living?"

You can respond to this by saying,

"I work at a restaurant."

"I work at a bank."
"I work in a software company."
"I'm a dentist."

Usually, you will not need to ask for a name. It is implied that each person should say their
name. But in case they don't, you can ask,

"What is your name?"

Many times, I don't hear the name. If you would like for them to repeat their name, you can
say,

"What was that again?"

"Excuse me?"
"Pardon me?"

Greeting Someone you Know

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"Hey John, how have you been?"

"Hi Bob, how are you?"
"Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
"Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"

If you meet someone unexpectedly, you can say,

"Hey Jack, it's good to see you. What are you doing here?"
or
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"What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"

If you see the person at a restaurant, you can say, "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
Or at the movie theater, "What movie did you come to see?"

Appropriate responses:

"Hi Steve, my name is Mike. It is nice to meet you as well."

"I heard a lot about you from John. He had a lot of good things to say."

"Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty well. How
about you?"

A typical response to this type of greeting is simple.

"Not too bad."

If asked what you have been up to, you can respond with, "Same ole same ole." Or, "The
same as usual."

Here are some other example responses.

"I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
"I'm doing very well."
"I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so relieved
that I'm done with it."

Restaurant Responses

"I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."
"I come pretty often. This is my favorite restaurant."
"I can't believe we haven't seen each other before. I come here at least twice a week."

Movie Response

"I came here to see Matrix Revolution. How about you?"

Greeting - Example Conversations

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Let's look at several example conversations. Then we can move on to the practice section.

Person A: "Hi, my name is Steve. It's nice to meet you."

Person B: "I'm Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you, Steve."
Person A: "What do you do for a living Jack?"
Person B: "I work at the bank."
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Person A: "What is your name?"

Person B: "Jackson."
Person A: "What was that again?"

Person A: "Hey John, how have you been?"

Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "I'm doing very well. How about you?"
Person B: "I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so
relieved that I'm done with it."

Person A: "Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"

Person B: "The same ole same ole." Or, "The same as usual. How about you?"
Person A: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."

Person A: "Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"
Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
Person B: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."

The next lesson is the interactive practice section. If you would like to repeat this lesson or
previous lessons, feel free to go back and study as many times as you need. When you are
ready, go to the practice section.

Greeting - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire
conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only
Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of
Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the
pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several
times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

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Listen All | Person A | Person B
A: "Hi, how are you doing?"
B: "I'm doing great. How about you?"
A: "Not too bad."
B: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
A: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis. What have you been up to?"
B: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
A: "Well, have a good evening."
B: "You too."

2
Listen All | Person A | Person B
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A: "It's nice to meet you. My name is Jack."

B: "I'm Steve. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A: "What was your name again?"
B: "Steve."
A: "So Steve, What do you do for a living?"
B: "I work at the public library. How about you?"
A: "I'm a University student."
B: "That's great. It was nice meeting you."
A: "Yeah. It was a pleasure meeting you."

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Listen All | Person A | Person B
A: "Hey Jack, it's good to see you."
B: "Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty well. How about
you?"
A: "Not too bad."
B: "What movie did you come to see?"
A: "I came here to see Matrix Revolution. How about you?"
B: "I'm going to watch Finding Nemo."

How is your Day - General Statements

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In this lesson, we are going to learn how to communicate to someone using the present
tense. However, because this isn't a site teaching grammar, I do not want to spend too
much time on details. I wanted to include this section primarily to show many different
sentences using present tense and to have a dedicated practice section with only present
tense sentences.

This lesson is a little shorter than others because speaking in the present tense is not as
common as speaking in the future or past tense. Although speaking in the future tense or
the past tense is more common, it is still important to know how to communicate in the
present tense. Here are some example sentences:

"I see Bob over there by the newspaper stand."

"I'm going to the library."
"I'm on my way home."
"I'm going to the bus stop."

"Jack is going to the store."

"Jill is stopping by now."
"The meeting is starting now."
"The manager is waiting for you in her office."
"Tell the receptionist that you are here to see Mr. Hwang."
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Questions:

A very common question you will run into is,

"How are you doing?"
"How is your day going?"
"What are you doing now?"

To answer these types of question, you must remember that you are talking about what is
currently going on now, so you must use the present tense.

Here are some ways to answer the above question.

"I'm enjoying the beautiful weather without any worries in the world."
"I'm playing a video game on my computer because I have nothing to do."
"I'm at the grocery store buying ingredients for tonight's dinner."
"I'm at the gym working out."

As you can see, each sentence is starting with, 'I am' instead of 'I will be' or 'I was.' We will
discuss past tense and future tense in the next sessions.

More descriptive answers you can give are the following:

"I'm pretty busy right now. I'm doing my homework because I have an exam tomorrow."
"My project deadline is coming up, so I'm currently in the process of finishing my tasks."
"I'm taking the day off from work today because I have so many errands. I'm going to the
post office to send some packages to my friends."
"I'm looking for a job. The job market does not look that great, but I can't give up."
"I'm applying for a job at a consulting firm in Taiwan."
"I'm listening to music while thinking about my situation."

Tomorrow's Plan - I am going to

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Talking about the future is something that is done very frequently. Whether we are talking
about our dreams or simply telling someone what we will do tomorrow is all spoken in the
future tense. As in the previous lesson, this isn't a grammar lesson. This lesson is to provide
many different sentences using the future tense.

In the previous lesson, we concentrated on present tense using 'I am'

When we speak in the future tense, we can still use 'I am' but it is important what follows
the two words that will make it future tense. Here are a couple of examples.

"I'm going to see Bob tomorrow."

"I'm going to meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight."
"I'm going to go home in an hour."
"I'm going to go to the bus stop right after class."
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"I'm going to do that tomorrow."

When using 'going to' after 'I am' it is important that a future indicator is present. For
example, if I say, 'I am going to meet John', this can also be present tense that we
practiced previously. But if you add a future indicator like 'at 6 O'clock tonight' then it
becomes future tense.

Other future tense indicators are:

'going to go'
'going to be'
'I will'
'I have to'

Let's practice using these words:

"I'm going to be dead if I don't finish this project by tomorrow."

"I'm going to go home next week."
"I'll meet you there at five."
"I can't go tonight because I have to work late."

Yesterday - The Past - Questions and Answers

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When asking questions about the past, you can ask questions like:

"How did you enjoy the movie?"

"What time did you get home last night?"
"How was your date with Jackie?"
"How was the traffic going to the airport?"
"What have you been up to?"
"What did you do last weekend?"
"How was the party?"
"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"
"How did your presentation go?"

Here are some ways you can answer these types of questions. Remember to use past tense
because these actions already occurred.

"How did you enjoy the movie?"

"It was a long movie, but overall, the movie was great."
"I really didn't like the movie. It was slow and boring."
"I enjoyed the movie so much that I saw it again."

"What time did you get home last night?"

"I got home at two in the morning."
"I didn't make it home until eleven last night."
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"I made it home at midnight."

"How was your date with Jackie?"

"The date went so well. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant. And then we saw a movie
together."
"I don't think it went too well. We hardly had anything to talk about. I really thought Jackie
was bored to death."
"The date was alright. She called me this morning to go out again, but I haven't responded
yet."

"What have you been up to?"

"I just graduated from school so I'm happy that I'm done."
"I met Jackie yesterday and we spent the evening together in a nice restaurant."
"The only thing I have done in the last three months is computer games."

"What did you do last weekend?"

"Last weekend, I visited my parents."
"I went golfing on Saturday. I shot a great score."
"I stayed home and watched TV all weekend long."

"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"

"I was very sick yesterday."
"I missed the bus and by the time I got to campus, class was already over."
"I slept in because I didn't hear the alarm ring."

"How did your presentation go?"

"It went ok. A few of the people asked some tough questions, but overall it was good."
"I messed up so bad. I brought the wrong folder from my office so I didn't have any notes."
"It was the best presentation of the day. My boss told me I was organized, focused, and
spoke clearly."

Weather - Questions and Answers

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In this session, we are primarily going to practice speaking key sentences that will help you
carry a conversation about the weather.

Asking about the weather:

"Do you know what the weather will be like tomorrow?"

"Do you know if it's going to rain tomorrow?"
"Did you see the weather forecast?"
"What is the weather like in Korea/Seattle/Los Angeles?"
"How is the climate in Korea?"
"Does it rain much in Denver?"
"How different is the weather between Pusan and Seoul?"
"What is your favorite season of the year?"
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Answering questions about the weather:

"The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow."

"It's supposed to rain for the next several days."
"I didn't see the news yesterday so I don't know what the weather is going to be like."
"Weather in Los Angeles is usually hot in the summer and mild in the winter. It never really
gets that cold."
"The weather in Pusan is very similar to Seoul. The main difference is that Seoul gets a little
more snow in the winter and a little hotter in the summer. This is primarily because Pusan
is right next to the water."
"My favorite season of the year is Spring. It's not too cold and the anticipation of a good
summer puts me in a good mood."

Statements about the weather:

"I heard Seattle is a very gloomy city with so many clouds."

"The weather is beautiful this time of year."
"I hate the rain. It makes me feel depressed."
"Autumn is a great season."
"The summer months are so humid in Korea."
"I can't stand the cold winter months."
"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?"
"I wish the weather was like this everyday."
"It's been raining for 5 days straight. I wonder when it will stop raining."
"I hate the snow. The roads are dangerous to drive in, and when it melts, the streets are
very dirty."
"I love snowboarding so I always look forward to the winter."
"The winter months are tolerable because I don't mind the cold."
"Korea has four distinct seasons."

General greetings (Formal)

Hello
Good morning/ Good afternoon/ Good evening
How are you?
How are you doing?
Nice to meet you
It’s nice to meet you
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I’m pleased to meet you.

It’s a pleasure to meet you.
I’m glad to see you.
How do you do?
General greetings (Informal)
Hi
Hey
What’s up?
How’s it going?
How have you been?
What’s new?
What’s going on?
How are things?
How’s your day?
How’s your day going?
Good to see you.
Greeting someone you haven’t seen for a long time.
Long time no see.
It’s been a while.
It’s been a long time.
It’s been such a long time.
It’s been too long.
I’m so happy to see you again.
Wow, it’s so good to see you again!
What have you been up to?
Useful responses when greeting people
I’m doing very well, thank you. And you?
I’m fine, thank you.
Great, thanks. How are you?
Not bad. You?
Couldn’t be better? How about you?
Wonderful, thank you.

How to say goodbye in English

How do you say goodbye? Do you know that there are many different ways to say
goodbye in English? Discover some common Goodbye phrases and expressions as
below.

Different ways to say goodbye in English.00:00

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00:00
Goodbye
Bye
Bye for now!
See you!
See you soon!
See you later!
Talk to you later!
Catch up with you later.
I hope to see you soon.
See you next time.
I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.
It was nice meeting you.
It’s been really nice knowing you.
It has been a pleasure, we’ll speak soon.
It was really great to see you, catch you later.
All the best, bye.
Take care!
Stay in touch.
I’m really going to miss you.
I’ve got to go now.

Apologies Expressions
I’m sorry…
I’m so sorry…
I’m very sorry…
I’m terribly sorry…
Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.
Sorry about that.
Can you forgive me?
I apologize for…
Please forgive me.
I owe you an apology.
You can blame me for this.
How should I apologize to you?
I beg your pardon.
Sorry, it’s my fault.
Sorry for keeping you waiting.
Sorry, I’m late!
To accept an apology, you can use these sentences and expressions:
That’s all right!
Don’t worry about it.
Forget it!
No problem.
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Never mind. It doesn’t really matter.

No big thing.
It’s not your fault.
Please don’t blame yourself.
Think nothing of it.

Express thanks and gratitude:

Thank you.
Thanks.
Thank you very much.
Thanks a lot!
Many thanks.
Sincerely thanks.
Thank you so much!
Thanks a million for your help.
I really appreciate your help.
You are so kind.
I don’t know how to express my thanks.
There are no words to show my appreciation!
What you’ve done means a lot to me.
That’s so kind of you.
You’ve made my day.
I owe you a great deal
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.
How can I ever possibly thank you?

Useful Responses:
You’re welcome!
It was my pleasure.
My pleasure.
Don’t mention it.
Forget it.
No big deal.
It’s was nothing.
Think nothing of it.
I’m glad that I can help you.

Introducing yourself
Hello. My name is …
Hi. I’m …
Nice to meet you. I’m …
Pleased to meet you. I’m …
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It’s a pleasure to see you. I’m…

May I introduce myself? I’m…
How do you do? My name is…
Let me introduce myself. I’m …
I’d like to introduce myself. I’m …

Introducing others:
John, I’d like to introduce you to Mary.
John, please meet Mary.
John, I’d like you to meet Mary.
John, have you met Mary?
John, let me introduce you to Mary.
John, this is Mary. Mary, this is John.

Useful responses when introducing yourself or other people:

Nice to meet you.
I’m pleased to meet you.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.
Glad to meet you.
How do you do?

Talking About Time

Here are some common sentences and expressions you can use when talking about
time in English:00:00

What time is it?

What’s the time?
Could you tell me the time?
Do you know what time it is?
How long have you been waiting?
Do you have free time this afternoon?
What time can we meet?
What should we do to kill time?
It’s ten o’clock.
It’s midnight.
It’s 6 A.M now.
See you at 8 P.M.
I can’t tell you exactly what time we will arrive.
It’s too late now.
My watch is stopped.
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My watch is slow.
Don’t waste your time doing nothing.
I didn’t think it was so late.
We have plenty of time.
Give me a little more time.
It’s time to leave.
It’s almost time to go home.
Time went by so fast.
The supermarket opens at 9 a.m.
The class starts at 8 in the morning.

Giving Compliments:
Good job!
Well done!
Fantastic!
Perfect!
That’s great!
Nice work!
Excellent!
That’s really remarkable.
Good grades!
What a nice dress!
You look great.
This dish is delicious.
You look very good in that suit.
This tie looks nice on you.
You have a nice voice.
You look very handsome.
I like your haircut.
What a beautiful house!
What a nice apartment!
I really must express my admiration for your speech.

Receiving compliments:
How kind of you to say so.
It’s nice of you to say so.
It’s very kind of you to say that.
Really? I’m not sure about that, actually.
Thank you.
Thanks a lot.
I’m glad you like it.
It was nothing really.
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I’m delighted to hear that.

Thanks for your compliment.

Making a complaint
I’m sorry to say this but…
I hate to tell you but…
I’m angry about…
I have a complaint to make…
There seems to be a problem with…
I’m afraid there is a slight problem with…
Sorry to bother you but…
I’m not satisfied with…
Wouldn’t be a good idea to…
There appears to be something wrong with…
I was expecting… but…
Sorry to bother you but…
I want to complain about…
I’m afraid I’ve got a complaint about…
I have to make a complaint about…
I don’t understand why…
Excuse me but there is a problem…
Would you mind…?

Accepting a complaint
I’m so sorry, but this will never happen again.
I’m sorry, we promise never to make the same mistake again.
I can’t tell you how sorry I am.
I wish I never happened.

Rejecting a complaint
Sorry, there is nothing we can do about it.
Sorry but it’s not our fault.
I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do about it.

Expressing Likes:
I like…
I love…
I enjoy…
I adore…
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I ‘m crazy about…
I’m mad about…
I’m keen on…

Examples:
I like dogs.

I love cooking.

I enjoy playing football.

I’m crazy about pizza.

I’m fond of rock music.

Do you like tennis? Yes, I do.

Expressing dislikes:
I don’t like…
I dislike…
I hate…
I can’t bear…
I can’t stand…

Examples:
I don’t like him.

I can’t stand these people.

I can’t stand this smell.

I don’t like washing dishes.

I hate going to the dentist.