How do you do meaning in English
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Definition
How do you do?: Pleased to meet you!
Examples
- "Bruno : How do you do, Malcolm?"
- "Charmed I'm sure. How do you do?"
- "How do you do? My name's Malcolm Baker."
- "Brian Jones, at your service. How do you do? And who do you do?"
Exercise 1
Let's play the greeting game!
Match the greetings with their appropriate responses.
Match the greetings with their appropriate responses.
How are you?
Pleased to meet you.
How do you do?
What's up?
Let's play the greeting game!
Match the greetings with their appropriate responses.
Match the greetings with their appropriate responses.
How are you?
Very well, thank you, and you? 1
Pleased to meet you.
Pleased to meet you, too. 2
How do you do?
How do you do? 3
What's up?
Oh, not much. You? 4
1 Very well, thank you, and you?: This is the correct answer. "How are you?" is greeting, neutral in tone, which is mostly used to someone you have already met. A common response would be "Very well, and you?" although there are many variations: "I'm good, thanks" to "Pretty good, you?" for example. It is uncommon to say that things AREN'T going well, even if you may feel it.
1 Pleased to meet you, too.: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
1 How do you do?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
1 Oh, not much. You?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
2 Pleased to meet you, too.: This is the correct answer. "I'm very pleased to meet you" is a common and polite way of greeting someone for the first time. Other variants of this expression include: I'm happy to meet you, I'm glad to meet you, It's nice to meet you, etc. It is usually answered by repeating the phrase and adding "too" at the end.
2 Very well, thank you, and you?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
2 How do you do?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
2 Oh, not much. You?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
3 How do you do?: This is the correct answer. "How do you do?" is a very formal British greeting which, although it looks like a question, actually means "Nice to meet you". Therefore, the appropriate reply is the same as the question: "How do you do?". Don't worry: in truth, not many British people even know how to reply correctly to this greeting.
3 Pleased to meet you, too.: Although this response makes sense, it is not the standard reply to this greeting.
3 Very well, thank you, and you?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting. "How do you do?" does not have the same meaning as "How are you?" or "How are you doing?". Confusingly.
3 Oh, not much. You?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting. "How do you do?" does not have the same meaning as "What are you up to?" or "What's up?".
4 Oh, not much. You?: This is the correct answer. "What's up?" is the most informal greeting here, usually used by young people to other people they know. It means "What is new?", hence the reply "not much (is new)".
4 Pleased to meet you, too.: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
4 Very well, thank you, and you?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
4 How do you do?: This response is not appropriate to this greeting.
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