A greeting is a polite phrase of welcome or recognition given by someone upon meeting another, or when beginning a letter to another.
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How to greet in a formal e-mail? [duplicate]
I'm going to send a lot of e-mails to different universities. I don't know if a man or a woman will response, so I can't (or shouldn't) use
Dear Sir/Madam
Also,
Hi,
Hello,
looks ...
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2answers
2k views
Greetings in the beginning of an email
In my language, when I write an email to my professor, boss, etc, there is a greeting part in the first part of email right after "Dear prof. ..."(in my language of course), e.g. "How are you", "I ...
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1answer
164 views
'Evening' and 'morning' in use as greetings [closed]
This is more a historical question than one on the usages themselves. I'm interested in the history of the truncated forms of "Good morning" and "Good evening..." specifically, when people started ...
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1answer
588 views
Proper polite response to “How are you doing?” [duplicate]
This is more of a culture question than a language question, but the two can't always be separated, can they?
For me, one of the most shocking things about the United States was how often people ask ...
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1answer
157 views
What should I say to people when I am passing them by?
I am talking about situations when you want to greet someone, without stopping to talk to them. In Russian, people usually say "добрый день" which means "hello." This is a greeting, not a valediction. ...
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3answers
663 views
How's it hanging?
Why do some people use "how's it hanging?" as greeting? What is "it" referring to?
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4answers
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Greeting: “Cold enough for you?”
This morning at -32C whilst collecting firewood outside my house, I called to my neighbour (brushing snow off his idling truck): "Cold enough for you?" To which he replied with a nod.
Later on, I ...
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5answers
412 views
What is an appropriate greeting to use at night time? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Good night” or “good evening”?
I am in the process of creating a software application which displays a greeting to users based on the time of day. I have come to a ...
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2answers
947 views
Greeting after Christmas
I needed to write a business e-mail to my US partner just after Christmas day.
Are there any established forms of such a greeting?
Something like
I hope you had a nice Christmas
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1answer
599 views
Common ending lines for formal emails? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are some expressions that can be used to end an email?
I know a few,
Best regards
Best
Sincerely
Eagerly
Think of it as an email for first impression ...
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2answers
706 views
“And you?” or “And yourself?” as response to “How are you?”
If someone asks "How are you?", which of the following is grammatically correct?
"I am well, thank you. And you?" or "I am well thank you. And yourself?"
'Yourself' sounds more formal, and is used ...
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3answers
501 views
Greeting in different ways [closed]
I'm going to go to US for a long business trip, during which I'm going to meet a lot of people. Some of them are senior managers; others are day-to-day colleagues.
I want to know how to greet people ...
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1answer
944 views
Hi! How is doing?
Is it possible to greet someone asking "How is doing?" When I was in US, many times I heard a phrase "Hi! How is doing?" or maybe it was a misunderstanding and the phrase was "How are you doing?"
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3answers
667 views
“Hello” or “hi” — what's best? [closed]
I must send a professional email but I'm not sure what is best to start it with, hi or hello.
The question may seem to be simple, but unfortunately I am not too good in English.
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1answer
178 views
Grammar/case in a salutation/greeting
I have a simple question — in a greeting or salutation such as "Good Morning Jane", since I believe it is a contraction, is Jane the object (as in "Good Morning to Jane") or is it the subject (as in ...
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1answer
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'What ho!' of Bertie Wooster
"What ho!" - this strange form of greeting is used all the time by Bertie Wooster, a character of well-known "Jeeves and Wooster" stories by P. G. Wodehouse.
Bertie Wooster: Oh, what ho, Sir ...
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7answers
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Can you also say “Take you care” or “Take you care, too”?
As a greeting in parting you often say "Take care" (at least in the US, I am not so sure about the UK).
Can you also say "Take you care" or answer with "Take you care, too"?
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The use of “hey” in North America
Having had my formative years in New Zealand, I was born in South Africa. I vaguely recall when I was VERY young having someone tell me when I said "hey" that "hay is what horses eat".
I got that ...
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6answers
409 views
Is it always appropriate to reciprocate when asked “How are you?” [closed]
This question is related to When someone asks how are you, are you supposed to answer, "Good," or "Fine," and ask back?. There, the answer by z7sg Ѫ claims it is sometimes appropriate not to ...
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2answers
745 views
When can you start wishing people a good weekend?
In Belgian culture (and some others, I suppose) it is not uncommon to wish people a good weekend when you meet them on Friday. Not just when you go home after work, but also in the store around noon, ...
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3answers
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Is it appropriate to use “Hey yourself”?
I've heard this phrase in a couple of movies, it was being used like this:
-Hey, John!
-Well, hey yourself, Mike!
Sounds pretty simple, but my question is about how appropriate is it to say ...
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9answers
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Alternatives to “Good Night” when sleeping in the afternoon
It seems to be a silly question but I was puzzled when somebody bid me good night, when I was
going to sleep at 1:00 PM. If somebody goes to sleep in the afternoon, is it correct to bid him "good ...
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0answers
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How to reply to the question, “What's up?” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is an appropriate response to “what's up” greeting?
If someone asks me "What's up, man?," how should I reply? What does it mean?
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2answers
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“Good to hear from you”?
Is it correct to write "Good to hear from you" ?
I have seen it many times but I feel it should be "It feels good to hear from you" or equivalent.
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0answers
935 views
What are the most common “informal” greetings in the US? [closed]
When I'm walking in small cities in the US, especially, I hear people using different greetings, depending on the State I'm in. It sound weird for me to understand some of them, just because english ...
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1answer
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Is saying 'Good Noon' valid?
How should I greet between 12pm and 2pm? Should I say 'Good Afternoon' or 'Good Noon'? Is Good Noon commonly used or not?
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2answers
1k views
“Hi ladies” — Is it rude to use this greeting for 3 people? [closed]
In addressing three people in an email isn't it more polite to use their names rather than "Hi ladies"? Also when you walk into a quad cubicle isn't it more polite to address people by their names? ...
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3answers
392 views
Is “This is from xxx” correct usage?
I placed a phone call and introduced myself this way: "Hi, This is from " and a coworker pointed out that the sentence is grammatically wrong.
While I understand that it sounds a bit weird, I'm ...
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2answers
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Should “Good Morning” always be used as the first greeting of the day? [closed]
Is it true that regardless of the time of the day, the first wish to a person must be Good morning? Even if I meet him in the afternoon?
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3answers
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What to reply to a person saying “Good Morning” when my time zone is different? [closed]
When I'm talking to a person in opposite time zone and the person greets with "Good morning" or Good evening/afternoon as per his time, is it ok to reply "Good afternoon" (as per my time-zone) when he ...
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7answers
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Alternative to “Merry Christmas” [closed]
The common greeting for the new year is
I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Since Christmas has religious roots, it may not be suitable for people who are not religious. ...
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Should I say “have a good night” at 5:00 PM?
We're off work at 5:00PM. I've never tried to say "have a good night" at this time of day. In fact, I wouldn't even say it at all unless I'd like to say it to someone who is heading to bed.
When I'm ...
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9answers
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Any other good way of saying “Happy Birthday”?
Quite a few of my friends are having their birthdays in the coming weeks. I feel a little awkward posting plain words like "Happy Birthday" on their Facebooks.
I've decided I should come up with a ...
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6answers
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Is there a season's greeting for Halloween?
There is "Season's greetings" or "Merry Christmas" for Christmas. But is there something for Halloween? "Happy Halloween" just does not sound right to me because of the contrast between "happy" and ...
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6answers
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How should I greet two people sharing the same first name in an email?
I'm sending an email to two persons with the same first name (Steve)
Greeting them by saying "Hi Steve, Steve" seems totally awkward.
Is there a good way of writing this, apart from the obvious "Hi" ...
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2answers
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What is the correct way to greet a specific person when only their business title is known?
I need to write a letter to a specific person, who I only know by title. I do not know their name or gender.
I can think of a couple ways to greet this individual in a letter, however I can not ...
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2answers
653 views
Greeting for Correspondence to Multiple People [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you greet multiple recipients in an e-mail?
I'm sending an email to four people at a client, all in different roles / departments and of varying genders (Dear ...
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How to use commas in greetings [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where should the comma be placed in the salutation of a letter?
I've noticed that most of Americans I interact with online have a tendency to begin their emails like ...
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6answers
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Phrases similar to “pleased to meet you”
What phrases can I use instead of pleased to meet you? I'm especially interested in using it as a greeting when chatting to a person for the first time online.
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4answers
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What was “well met!” supposed to mean?
I know it was a sort of archaic greeting, but I don't know how to interpret the actual words.
I had a foggy idea that it meant "It is good that we met here and now", but even then, "well met" is not ...
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3answers
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Can “Sure” be used to respond to “Thanks”?
I often hear "Sure" in response when I say "Thank you" or "Thanks" to someone. I don't know — is this correct usage? If it is considered good, I'll use it someday.
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6answers
868 views
How can I greet a group of teachers?
Suppose I'm walking in my school corridor and there are 4–5 teachers standing in the hallway. How can I greet them all at once?
Anything better than "Greetings, teachers"?
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How do you respond back to “Hi, How is it going?”
I have observed that people from America, greet by asking, "Hi, how is it going?". I usually say, "It is going good" and return a smile. Sometimes, I have observed people saying "Thank you" and ...
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5answers
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Precise names for parts of a day
I have learnt these words so far, please correct me if I'm wrong:
Dawn, maybe 4am–6am?
Morning, maybe 6am–9am? The food for the morning is called breakfast. People greet each other Good morning!
...
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4answers
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How did Americans greet each other before “Hi”?
I had assumed that "hi" was a somehow abbreviated form of "hello," but though both of these words appear to have originated from a noise to attract attention, hi actually predates hello. These words ...
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3answers
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“Thank both of you”
Is there a trace first person pronoun before the utterance "thank you", making it shorthand for "I/we thank you"?
A ramification of this question is an expression of gratitude I just heard that ...
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5answers
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What do I have to say when I enter into a house?
In Italy when you want to enter inside the house of a stranger or also of a friend you knock at the door and say, "Permesso?" meaning, "Can I enter?" or "Do I have the permission to enter in your ...
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When someone asks, “How are you?”
When someone asks, "How are you?" are you supposed to answer, "Good," or "Fine," and ask back?
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6answers
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Is the response “I am fine, thank you. And you?” outdated?
This is what I learned from the middle school English class 10 years ago as the correct way to respond to "How are you?". The textbook was co-published by Longman, I suppose it was British English. ...
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Are greetings and salutations redundant in an e-mail?
Do I really need to write my email this way?
Hi John,
[My Message here]
Regards, Jane
The email header already includes the to and from. The recipient should not be confused by who the ...
