Greetings, farewells and special expressions Greetings: ‘hello’ How do you do? or Hello. Nice to meet you. Hi/Hello. How are you? Good morning, good afternoon, good evening ze) Farewells: ‘goodbye’ Nice to meet you. or Nice to have met you. See you latet/tomorrow. Bye. See you soon. Goodnight. A: Have a nice weekend. a: Yes. Same to you. Used in formal situations when you meet someone for the first time, The reply can also be How do you do? or Pleased/nice to meet you. ‘A common greeting when you meet someone you already know, (Also How's it going? infml) The usual reply is: Fine, thanks. And you? Or possibly: Not bad. How about you? ‘These expressions are used at different times of the day (most people say Good morning until lunchtime). British people do not usually say Good day, but Australians do. In formal situations, when you say goodbye to someone you have just met for the first time. If you plan to see someone you know later the same day/ the next day. You know you will see someone again, but have no plans to meet them. When you say goodbye to someone late at night, or if you (or they) are going to bed. When you say goodbye to a colleague/friend on Friday afternoon. You can also reply: You too. rc Happy occasions and celebrations Happy Birthday Happy/Merry Christmas Happy New Year Congratulations To someone on his/her birthday. You can also say Many happy returns. To someone just before or on Christmas Day (25 December). To someone at the beginning of the year. To someone who has just achieved something, e.g. passed an exam, got a job, etc. We can also say Well done. HMO! Expressions for special situations Excuse me a To get someone's attention, e.g. Excuse me. Is this your hat? NoTE b When you want to get past other people (on a bus or in a crowded room). anes ¢ To tell others you are going to leave the room. special phrase Sorry a To say sorry, e.g. you stand on someone’s foot. when people b When you want someone to repeat what they said. (With this meaning, start eating, the voice must rise at the end of the word.) Inrestaurants, Cheers Used to express good wishes when you have a drink with other people. walters may Informally it can also mean ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’. we Ee Good luck To wish someone well before a difficult situation, e.g. exam or job interview. Bless you To someone when they sneeze. They can reply: Thank you. 46 English Vocabulary in Use (presntermediate & intermediate)22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Exercises ‘What message could you write in a card to these people? 1 A friend, Next week is 25 December. tlappy Ovistmas 2A friend who is 21 tomorrow. 3. A friend. ft will be 1 January in three days’ time. 4. A very good friend who has just passed some important exams. 5A friend who is going to rake his driving test in three days’ time. 6 A friend you will visit when you return from your holiday, but you're not sure when. Complete the conversations in a suitable way. (hank you.) What could you say in these situations? 1 You are in a meeting. Someone enters the room and says you have an important telephone call. What do you say as you leave? Excuse. mt. | wan't be. long. 2. Someone says something to you but you didn’t hear all of it. What do you sa 3. You met a new business client for the first time 15 minutes ago, and now you are leaving. What do you say? 4 You are in a crowded bus. It is your stop and you want to get off. What do you say to other passengers as you move past them? 5. You are staying with some English friends. What do you say to them when you leave the room in the evening to go to bed? 6 You are in the street. A woman walks past you and at the same time something falls out of her bag. She has her back to you. What do you say? 7 A friend tells you they have just won some money. 8 Another friend is going for a job interview this afternoon. When do we use these expressions? Do you have similar ones in your language? Hard luck. Say ‘cheese’. Watch out! —_Keep your fingers crossed. English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate) 47