Short dialogue: greetings, introductions, farewells

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.

Useful expressions to greet people

Ten expressions to greet people:

1. Hi.
2. Hello.
3. How's it going?
4. How do you do?
5. How's tricks?
6. Watcha!
7. How are things?
8. Haven't seen you for ages.
9. Great to see you again.
10. Nice to meet you.

How to use these phrases:

4 and 10 are quite formal. We use them when we meet someone for the first time.

The most general greeting is 2, which you can use in formal and informal situations, in business and with friends.

3, 5 and 7 are informal expressions you can use with friends or people you work with on a regular basis. 6 is very informal and is only used with good friends or people in informal situations.

8 and 9 can be used in informal situations when your last meeting was a long time ago.

The normal reply for all of them is: Fine. But with 1, 2 and 4 we repeat the same greeting.

Saying hello to people

Here are some common greetings for you to practice!