Variety is what makes life more vibrant. It is undeniable that life can become miserable and boring when we always do the same things most of the time. I guess this is the same as Learning English.   

When we learn a new expression, it is always good if we practice using it and over again to acquire it. Yet, once you have mastered the expression it is necessary to start finding alternatives to say the same things in different ways to give more variety. Why is it important? One thing for sure is to avoid boredom. Then, when you learned English, it is important to always find excitement along the way, and frequently used of the same expression may result in losing learning excitement.  

This time, we will have a look at some alternatives to saying, “How are you?”. It is very important to learn because “how are you?” is a basic greeting that is often used many times in a day. And, most importantly, in a casual daily conversation how are you may sound too formal. So here are some other ways to say “How are you?” 

 1.What’s going on? 

It means hello and at the same time, it also means that you asking your interlocutor to tell what’s going on in his/her life. This is a good informal expression to greet someone you already know. This expression is good to spark a conversation after the initial greeting. 

 2.How’s everything? 

Another way to say hello to someone you’ve known before. Using this expression does not mean that you want to know every single thing, but you want to find out how everything is in general.  

3.How’s your day going? 

This is very useful in an informal or formal setting. A very nice way to ask whether the entire day of someone has been good or bad. 

 4.How have you been? 

This expression is used when we have not met or seen someone for quite some time. This expression is not appropriate to be used for someone that we often see or just seen in the past couple of days.  

You are now ready to play in the game of “How are you?”. So, feel free to experiment and see the responses you get. Practising these new expressions will help you understand when to use which expression.