Conversation Lesson 1
 
 
 
 
Lesson 1 - Formal Greetings and Farewells

Dialogs for everyday use. Short situational dialogs for students of English as a Foreign (EFL) or Second (ESL) Language.
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Formal Greetings and Farewells

Paul: Hello. How are you?

Don: Fine, thank you. How are you?

Paul: Fine, thanks. Oh, excuse me—here’s my bus. Good­bye.

Don: Good­bye.
Conversation Notes
  • Hello
  • Good morning or good afternoon might also be used. They are somewhat more formal.
  • How are you
  • Note the intonation. This how question is one of the few instances in which a form of BE receives the primary sentence stress.
  • The replying speaker uses a different intonation for this question than the first speaker used. The shift of stress onto you points to that word as carrying the new or changed bit of meaning in this question, which is otherwise identical to the question in the first line.
  • Sometimes the replying speaker will answer simply, “Fine, thank you—and you?”
  • thanks
  • Slightly less formal than thank you.
  • Notice the contraction here’s (= here is).
Source: U.S. State Department
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