UNIT 1: GREETING PEOPLE AND RESPONDING
The following dialogs show some typical ways people greet each other and respond to greetings. Choose a partner, take a role, and act out the dialogs, putting in any gestures or facial expressions you think would be appropriate. At the end of each dialog, talk about the situation, and answer the questions or do the tasks. In the first two, the scene is set for you, and a little explanation is provided. But in the next three, you must try to discover the degree of formality, the relationship between the speakers, and other important facts.
Conversation
A. A polite, rather formal greeting between two adults who know each other only casually:
Mr. Hung : Good morning, Ms. Thu.
Ms. Thu : Hello, Mr. Hung. It`s good to see you. How are you?
Mr. Hung : Just find, thanks. And you?
Ms. Thu : I`m doing very well, thank you.
Mr. Hung : That`s good. See you later.
Ms. Thu : All right. Bye now.
B. A very informal exchange between friends:
Tam : Hey, Ha! What`s up?
Ha : Nothing new. Same old thing.
Tam : Yeah. Same here. See ya around.
Ha : Okay. Later.
C.
Son : Good morning, Professor. How are you today?
Prof. Thanh : Very well, thank you, Son. It`s a beautiful day, isn`t it?
Son : Yes, it certainly is.
D.
Hanh : `Afternoon, Duy. How`s it going?
Duy : Oh, so-so.
Hanh : Why do you say that? What`s wrong?
Duy : Nothing really. I just have the blahs. How are you?
Hanh : I don`t feel so great, either. I`m ready for some sunshine and warm weather!
E.
Thanh: Hi, Yen. I hear your ski trip was out of this world!
Yen : It was wonderful! I didn`t want to come back to the real world! How have you been? I haven`t seen you in a while.
Thanh : I`ve been burying myself in the books, I can`t believe how much studying I`ve got to do — just to keep up!
Yen : Well, we should get together some time.
Thanh: Sure. Just let me finish this semester, and I`ll be ready to come out of hiding!

Greetings
Good day1, Dr. Thanh. How are you? (Formal)
Good evening2, Mr. Tung. How are you tonight? (Formal)
Good afternoon, ma`am3. You`re looking well today. (Formal)
Good morning, sir4. (Formal)
Hello, Dung. How`re you doing?
Hello. It`s a nice evening, isn`t it?
Hi, Thao! What are you up to5 these days?
’Morning6, Lien! Are you doing okay?
Hey, Manh! What have you been doing these days?
Hey, Chien. How`s it going?
Hi, Tuyen! What`s happening?7 (Informal)


Responses
I`m doing very well, thank you. And you? (Formal)
I`m fine, thank you.
Fine. How are you?
Great, thanks. What about you?
Couldn`t be better! Yourself?
Not bad. You?
Okay, I guess. You doing all right?
Can`t complain. How about you?
Lousy! (Informal)
Fantastic! (Informal)




Practice
Choose a partner and take roles. Then complete each dialog, either by greeting the person or by responding to the greetings. Then switch roles and complete the dialog again, this time using different lines. Pay special attention to the information given, so you will know how formal your language needs to be.
1.
Minh : Hey! Phuong! How`s it going?
Phuong :
Minh : I could be better, I think I`m coming down with a cold, and that`s the last thing I need — right before the big game on Saturday!
Phuong :
2.
Hoa :
Dat : Not bad. How about you? Playing tennis lately?
Hoa :
Dat : Yeah. That would be good. Call me sometime.
Hoa :
3.
Mr. Hung : Good afternoon, Karen. How are you today?
Khanh :
Mr. Hung : I`m glad to hear that. As usual, I`m up to my ears in paperwork. But I`ll survive, I guess.
Khanh :
Mr. Hung : I don`t have time right now. I`ve got a class in ten minutes. What about at 3: