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Greetings Are Easy

Greetings are a rather simple things to learn actually. Some people may not realize that they are very important in society. When I use to work at the warehouse, that is all people would do when they saw me in the morning and when I exited the job in the afternoon.

My boss said and others said, "Good morning!" My response was as usual with me being a night owl was, "What is so good about it? I prefer good evening or good night." People either laughed at my response or thought I was just a grouchy person.

Just to let some of you know, I will offer this in Spanish as well for those desiring to learn English that can not even read my English. I know. It seems kind of pointless teaching an English lesson to somehow that probably can not even say hello or goodbye or how are you doing today.

Greeting List

So, the standard greetings and goodbyes in English are these words:

1. Hello or hi or howdy. Not Howdy Doody Time - although that is a fun song.

2. Goodbye or bye or see you later or see you tomorrow.

3. How are you? or How are you today?

4. What's up? or Sup.

5. Good morning.

6. Good night.

7. Good evening.

8. Good afternoon.

Proper Usage of Greetings

The standard responses to these may be a repeat of what the person just said. For example, if one was to say good morning, the other person would say good morning in return to be polite unless the person had a bad night's sleep of course.

In the case of someone asking "How are you?", the other person would respond with "I am fine." If the person did not hear you well due to you being sleepy or not a good mood, he or she will repeat ask the question again. Normally a grouchy person may answer with, "I am fine!" or "I am fine already." 

The polite thing to do regardless of mood is to respond politely as best you can. I know for night people it can be somewhat hard after getting only like 2 or 3 hours of sleep and going to work in the morning.

Now, one thing to note is when a person says good night or good evening. There is a difference between the two at least when a person gets an emotional response or stimulus to the brain.

I encountered someone when I walked to the corner store the other day in Mexico. He was waiting for the store clerk to bring him purchased items. During that waiting period, he was trying to talk with my daughter who was standing right next to him. He tried to speak English. The first time I did not hear him well, but he spoke another phrase saying, "I am sorry. How you say in English? Good night."

Normally when someone says good night, they are really meaning goodbye during the night time. When saying hello at night, we will say good evening. Just a small hint on what the proper thing to say at night is.

Usage of What's Up

Ok. One more thing I want to go over is the question what's up. What's up can mean how are you, what is your problem, or hello. Many times men to take it as meaning hello. It all depends on the scenario. 

Obviously if someone was messing up and I said what's up or what's up with you, that means I am asking him what his problem is. If I am passing by someone and nodding my head up and down when I say 'sup, that means I am using it as a greeting. A few people have taken it as if I was asking how are you though when I am meaning to use it in substitution of the word hello.

This concludes my overview of greetings. Pretty simple stuff and can be very useful so people do not think you dislike them on a first impression. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section below or send me a message via chat or my mailbox. I can also be reached on google plus as well.

Your Not So Perfect Teacher and Student,

Jakob