Monotosh Dey

1 min

Informal Greetings | Spoken English

Graham: Hi, Lucy! How is it going?

Lucy: Fine, thanks—and you?

Graham: Just fine. Where are you off to?

Lucy: To the Library. I’ve got a Science exam next week and need to start studying. Ugh.

Graham: Oh, no. Well, I’ll see you later then. Good luck!

Lucy: Thanks. See you later.

Analysis:

  • “Hi” is an informal way of saying “hello.”

  • “How is it going?is an informal way of saying “How are you?”

  • Notice the rising intonation on “and you?” This shows that Lucy is interested in what Graham has to say.

  • “Where are you off to?” is an informal way of saying “Where are you going?”

  • “To the library.” Notice that Lucy does not say “I’m going” here because that information was already established in the question

  • Ugh: expression people make when they think that something is disgusting or unpleasant

  • e.g: Ugh! How can you eat that stuff?

  • Oh, no” is a way of saying “I sympathize with you” or “I understand you are not happy.”

  • Note: used to express surprise, fear, joy, etc

  • Oh, how wonderful!

  • Oh no, I've broken it!

  • “See you later” is an informal way of saying “goodbye.”

    35
    3