Transcription
Fun fact: When I was in university, I used to talk in my sleep. I'll tell you more about that at the end. I'm Teacher Tiffany. Let's jump right in.
[Music]
All right, has anyone ever asked you this question: "How are you?" I'm quite sure they have. And maybe your answer was, "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" Stop saying this answer now. I know you're probably shocked because a lot of you learned this in books, in your English classes. You learned to say, "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" But in actuality, native English speakers don't speak like this. So today, I'm going to teach you two different ways to properly respond to "How are you?"
Now, let's jump right into my screen. Here we go. So, there are two different ways. Now, the first way is to give a response that also includes a basic question used by native English speakers. And the second way is to give a response that also includes a connection question used by native English speakers. So, what we're going to do for today's lesson is we're going to look at these two categories, and I'm literally going to give you natural ways of responding based on these two categories. So, let's go to the first category. Remember, giving your response plus a basic question. So, here we go.
All right, now the first example we have is this one. And I have "happy answer plus basic question." Now, very quickly, when I say "happy answer," it means my response is based on my feeling, okay? So, here we go. I can say, "I'm doing great, thanks. How about you?" So, again, first we have "How about you?" This is a way you can respond with the basic question instead of saying "and you?" You can say "How about you?" All right.
Now, next, let's see. Let's say, for example, you just want to give a normal response. "I'm pretty good, thanks. What's new with you?" All right. So, in English, when we say "What's new with you?" we are basically asking the person, "What's going on in your life? Is there anything new or anything exciting happening in your life?" And in English, we say "What's new with you?" All right. So, you can use that one.
Now, let's go to the next example. Here we go. The next one is when you're busy. You can say, "I've been a bit busy, but okay." Now, really quickly, guys, I said "I've been a bit busy." So, we use "a bit" in front of busy to kind of emphasize that, yeah, we've been a little bit more busy than usual. You see, I even added "a bit" right there. So, you can start using that. So, again, my answer because I'm busy is, "Ah, I've been a bit busy, but okay." Now, we have to figure out how to ask them another question, right? So, again, this is what I said: "How have things been with you?" Again, "How have things been with you?" So, for pronunciation, after me: "How have things been with you?" Great job. This is another natural way of asking a follow-up question.
Okay, so next example. Here we go. You guys are learning a lot in this lesson. Now, let's say you're stressed. So, you can say, "Things have been a bit rough lately, but they're getting better." Now, let's pause again. When we say "a bit rough" in English, that's another way of expressing that we're going through a difficult time, something that is not easy to go through. In English, we say "a bit rough," okay? "A bit rough." Now, my follow-up question to the person I'm talking to is: Here we go. "How have you been?" One more time: "How have you been?"
Now, guys, remember, as you're watching this lesson, you don't have to worry because all of the information is in the free PDF, and the link is in the description. You can always download the free PDF that goes along with this lesson, okay? All right, let's go back. Now, the question we're going to ask is again, "How have you been?" All right, "How have you been?"
So, next, we have "satisfied answer plus a basic question." I can say, "Never been better." So, you can say that as well. Now, "Never been better" is used when everything is going great. Even to look at my face, you can see that, wow, Teacher Tiffany looks happy, no stress, everything's good. Hey, "Never been better." All right, okay.
So, now let's see the question we would ask them. We can say, "What about you?" Again, "What about you?" Three simple words: "What about you?" Hey, me, man, I have never been better. What about you? So, even when I use it toward you, you can feel, "Oh, wow, Teacher Tiffany really wants to know how I've been, right?"
Okay, now let's jump to the second category, okay? Remember, the second category involves asking a connection question. So, let me explain what that is, okay? All right, so moving on to the next category with the connection question. Again, the "happy answer." We said, "I'm doing great, thanks." Now, we have a connection question: "I heard that you..." Now, the underlined portion is the portion you were going to change. I said, "Got a new job. How's that going?" All right, guys. So, again, as we're moving forward in this section, when you see the underlined portion, that's the portion that you want to change. So, for me, I'm connecting with the person I'm talking to. I said, "Hey, I heard that you got a new job. How's that going?" I'm connecting my question to something that I already know about this person. That's another important aspect of improving your English because it shows that you're thinking before you speak. Makes sense? All right.
Now, let's go to the next example. Remember, these patterns are all in the PDF, so don't worry, okay? All right, so now let's say we're wanting to give a normal answer. Again, "I'm pretty good, thanks." Now, here's the connection question: "I saw your Facebook post about your business. What's the update?" All right. So, again, guys, I saw something connected to the person that I'm speaking to, and I chose to say, "Hey, I saw your Facebook post about your business. What's the update?" I want to know more information about something that I saw that is going on in the person's life. That's what you want to do. So, you can say, "I saw..." What's the update? So, you can use the same pattern. Again, you're going to sound more natural and more like a native English speaker when you use these responses to "How are you?" instead of just saying "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" You don't want to sound like a robot. You want to sound more natural, okay? So, let's keep going. Here we go.
All right, now our next one is the "busy answer." Again, we said, "I've been a bit busy, but okay." Now, we say, "I remember that you said you were also working on some things. Any update?" All right. So, now, again, the underlined portion. Remember, I said "also working on some things." So, the portion, the pattern you want to memorize is: "I remember that you said you were..." and then put something there. So, think about a conversation you had with this person. Ah, "I remember that you said you were trying to get a new job. Any update?" So, again, the person listening will really want to respond to you and appreciate the fact that you're connecting with them. Again, showing your English fluency is improving. All right.
So, next example. Here we go. Now, for the next one, we have the "stressed answer." So, "Things have been a bit rough lately, but they're getting better." Now, "I know your mom had some good news recently. How is she?" So, I have the "now" in parentheses because you don't have to say that, but you can. So, with this one, it's very important that you think of some information that has happened to this person or something that you know is going on in their life, right? So, you say, "I know you were trying to get a plane ticket to Paris. How is that going?" You see, I thought about what this person told me or what they were doing, and I connected it to my question for them, okay? So, again, you can use that pattern, and it will change. The pattern will stay the same, but the information will change depending on who you're speaking to. Again, very important when it comes to showing your fluency, okay? All right, now, remember one more. Here we go.
So, the next one again is the "satisfied answer." Hey, "I've never been better." "You are also looking quite happy. Any special reason?" All right. So, I like this one because you're not just focusing on yourself. You say, "Hey, I've never been better." But hey, you know what? "You are also looking very good. Any special reason?" Or, "You are also looking amazing. Any special reason?" So, you see, remember, English conversation is all about this going back and forth, back and forth. So, this person gave me a compliment, then, well, they asked me how are you, and I said, "Yeah, I'm good. I am amazing. I've never been better." So, I'm happy, but I also want to know and want to ask the person I'm talking to, "Hey, why are you happy? What makes you so happy?" Using this pattern again, "You are also looking..." Any special reason? So, again, let's look at it real quick, again, one more time: "You are also looking quite happy. Any special reason?"
All right, so guys, again, we looked at two different categories: one where we gave a response and a basic question, and the second one gave a response and we added a connection question. Guys, this is really how you begin to answer the question "How are you?" more naturally and more like a native English speaker. I really hope you guys enjoyed this lesson. Remember, if you want to continue studying with me and you want me to be your English teacher, as always, you can join the Speak English with Tiffany Academy. You see the link right here on the screen. You can click it in the description and join me, become a member of my academy, and continue learning and improving your English skills. Don't forget to download the free PDF that goes along with this lesson, and as always, remember to speak English.
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You still there? I didn't forget. So, here's the story. One day, my best friend came to my room when I was in university, and she said, "Hey Tiff, how are you?" Tiff's my nickname. I said, "I'm good. How are you?" She said, "Do you remember anything from last night?" I said, "No, I slept really well last night. How about you?" She said, "Oh, I slept good, but before I went to bed, I had a conversation with you." I said, "You did? I I clearly remember going to sleep before you last night. Our rooms were across from each other at our dorm." Um, and she said, "No, no, I called you last night at 11:30 p.m." She said, "Not only did I call you, but a group of our friends called you." I said, "Huh?" She said, "Yeah, they called me on the phone. They asked me questions. I gave them answers, and then I said, 'All right guys, have a good night. Talk to you later.'" And I didn't remember anything. So, we had a good laugh, and she told me, "Tiff, you have to be careful because you don't know what you say when you're asleep." So, that's something funny about me, guys. A fact that you probably didn't know, that I talked in my sleep when I was in university, and I still may talk in my sleep, but I'll never know. I'll see you guys next week.