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 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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10answers
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Do you really answer “How do you do?” with “How do you do?”
We're told in our English classes (learning English as a foreign language) that the only possible answer to
How do you do?
is to repeat the question:
How do you do?
(While it's ...
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12answers
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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 ...
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9answers
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How do you greet multiple recipients in an e-mail?
How do you greet multiple recipients in an e-mail?
Assuming they're both male, I just use "Sirs", but it seems a bit informal.
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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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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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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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When is it appropriate to use the title “Miss” as opposed to “Ms.”?
There has been some disagreement in my other online searches, and in my own education.
Assuming that I do not know if the individual addressed is married, when should I use Miss Brown, and when ...
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Is it appropriate to use the salutation “Dear All” in a work email?
I have observed that in my work place, whenever a mail is sent to more that one person( like an information, meeting request or a notice etc.), the mail starts with the salutation "Dear All". This, ...
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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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What are exchanges like “How are you,” “I'm fine,” and “See you later” called?
Some verbal/written exchanges convey almost no meaning but are part of the protocol of conversation. For example, somebody greets you with "How are you?" and they're not usually not listening for ...
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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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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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10answers
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What is an appropriate response to “what's up” greeting?
Sorry if it's a trivial question, but when someone uses what's up as a greeting I have no idea what they want to hear. What are the possible answers and what does this question mean exactly?
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votes
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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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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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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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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7answers
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Is it redundant to append “bye” to “speak to you later”?
Are the closing greetings "see you later", "talk to you later", and the like sufficient to end a conversation (especially a phone conversation) or must they be succeeded by "bye" or another word of ...
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votes
3answers
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“How's things?” or “How are things?”
In a short interview where people were introducing themselves I saw something that grammatically sounds erroneous. Is the use of How's things instead of How're things a kind of expression or a simple ...
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votes
7answers
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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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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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3answers
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Greeting a close friend (United States)
I (male) have a very good (female) friend over in the south-western United States that I met one year ago and we're exchanging mails or messages from time to time. We're both not older than 22 and I ...
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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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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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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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4answers
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Should I capitalize the starting sentence after a greeting that ends in a comma (e.g. “Hello,”)?
Should I open the starting sentence after comma in adressing "Hi," ("Hello,") with capital letter?
Hi, Xxxl, Dear Xxx L,
let me ...
vs.
Dear Xxx L,
Let me ...
In Russian it ...
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votes
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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5answers
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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 ...
5
votes
3answers
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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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6answers
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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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1answer
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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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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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5answers
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“Good night” or “good evening”?
If it's 7:30pm, which of these phrases is correct, Good night or Good evening?
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2answers
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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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“I'm well” vs. “I'm good” vs. “I'm doing well”, etc
The greeting How are you? is asking How are you doing in general?
—
How are you?
I'm well. [Misunderstood the question.]
because well as an adjective which means:
in good health ...
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4answers
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Formal way to wish good morning
I am not a native English speaker, the source of my learning is books, websites and of course movies and music.
In the movie — if I remember the name correctly — The Last Samurai, I heard that they ...
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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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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 ...
3
votes
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?
3
votes
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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votes
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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votes
2answers
607 views
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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votes
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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votes
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
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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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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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votes
2answers
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“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? ...
2
votes
1answer
585 views
Are you well? Happy New Year's Eve!
What are more formal ways to say "How are you" with a hint of positive expectation, in the sense that you want the other person to confirm that his/her life is just fine. Does "Are you well?" work?
...
2
votes
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 ...
