Сборник научных статей научно-практической конференции «Байтанаевские чтения-Х»

243 
whatever. Or if somebody sitting next to you in a bus or you`re riding in an elevator, 
like, I ride in an elevator everyday, I meet my neighbors and they always, how are 
you? It doesn`t mean they`re really interested in how am I, they just want to start a 
conversation. Those people are also strangers. Actually, in the United States, when 
people ask you, how are you? Sometimes it`s equal to hello and it`s not really a 
question. So in these situations, it`s better to give a short answer, cause you don`t 
want to be too daunting with explaining what`s going on in your life. The first short 
answer is, not bad, which depending on your intonation, can be either positive or 
neutral. So if you not bad, that means everything is okay, everything is going well. 
You know, say, eh, not bad, which is neutral. Or, not bad, this is positive. 
The next phrase you can say, «
all right
». Again here, it means you`re fine. And 
everything depends on your intonation. All right like okay, neutral. Everything`s all 
right. Positive, you know, you`re enjoying your life. 
The next you can say, «
good
». And sometimes you think that saying I`m good 
is grammatically incorrect, because when we`re talking about actions, we normally 
use adverbs instead of adjectives. So for example, saying we danced good is wrong, 
we danced well is better. But because in this sentence, you`re actually saying, I am 
good, or you can just say good, it makes it grammatically correct. So don`t worry 
about it. I`m good is a completely dramatically correct phrase and it means that 
you`re happy, everything is going well in your life. This is the last answer that I`m 
giving you when you reply to strangers. So let`s repeat them. Not bad, all right, good. 
Very short, kind of informal and you don`t waste other people`s time, because 
you remember that how are you, is just a way of saying hello and being polite. But, if 
you`re talking to your friends, if you talking to your family members, if you talking 
to somebody who`s really close, it`s actually impolite to just tell them like, eh, «I`m 
okay», whatever, «I`m good». You want to be more explicit. You want to go into 
details because these people actually care about you and they want to know what`s 
going on in your life.
You can say, «
I`m exhausted
». You`re really tired, there are a lot of things 
going on at work and you really want to complain, then do it. That`s perfect situation 
to complain because you`re talking to your friends. If you tell your friend that you`re 
okay, sometimes if he`s really worried about you, he might ask you, just okay? And 
this will be an appropriate follow-up question because they might notice that 
something is not well, that something`s going on, so they want more honesty from 
you. 
If a friend calls you and you know he would always call when he has free time 
and wants to talk, you can tell him, «
I`m busy
». You see what we`re talking about 
here, is giving people more details about how you`re actually feeling. Another very 
common phrase, I`ve been better. Normally it`s followed up by, actually 
complaining about something or explaining what`s going on in your life and why 
right now is not the best time, why you`re not enjoying your life right now. 
And if you say, «
I`ve been better
», I will probably ask, what`s going on? 
Why? If everything`s great, if you don`t want to go into too many details, you can 
just say, I`m great, everything is great. 

244 
And the last, but not the least, if something is coming up in your life, you`re 
having a baby, you`re heading out to a concert, you are getting a new job, you can 
say, «
I`m excited
». 
And don`t forget that when people ask you, especially your friends, when they 
ask you how you are, and when you tell them what`s going on in your life, it`s very 
important that you also ask them back, what`s going on in their lives. Cause this is 
the way you start a conversation. This is the way you`re being polite and maintaining 
relationship with people who matter to you. 
If you`re just learning English it might be confusing to you whether you should 
re 
spond or say nothing at all let`s break this down two groups: 
First responses to the question how are you when is a stranger or someone in 
passing meaning it`s more like a greeting. 
And second responses to how are you when a friend or someone who actually 
is wanting to know how you are doing or what is going on in your life here we go 
first let`s say you were at the bank and the bank teller asks how are you today he`s 
really greeting you and not asking you to start spilling the details about your life so in 
this case you can say something short and to the point like «
I`m good thanks
» or 
pretty good how about you. You see it`s nice to return the question. How about you 
but again remember you`re not actually asking the person to go into detail about how 
they are you are just being polite and greeting them back. 
In conclusion, it is necessary to give a correct and clear answer during the 
greeting. Then our answer will sense. 

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