Learn how to use the English greetings ‘How are you?’ and ‘How do you do?’ as Dan answers this BBC Learning English learner's question. ⭐ For more on this topic, visit our website 👉 http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/english-you-need/unit-14/session-5 More Learners' Questions: ✔️ 'too' & 'as well' 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x30qzByl2s ✔️ 'tough', 'rough' & 'stiff' 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tclm0qCnI8 ✔️ 'win', 'earn' & 'gain' 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aytBD-Fb_rE ✔️ Preposition 'to' & 'verb-ing' or adjective? 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nngxmfuIoeU Transcript Dan Hi guys! Dan here for BBC Learning English with this week's Learner Question. Find out what it is after this. OK! This week's learner question comes from Ashfaq from Pakistan, who says, what is the difference between these two sentences: ‘How are you?’ and ‘How do you do?’ Well, Ashfaq, 'How do you do?' is quite formal, and it’s not used much these days. You might possibly use it the first time you meet somebody for business or with somebody very, very important. It’s usually accompanied with a handshake. The response to 'How do you do' is… How do you do?', but with a slightly different emphasis. For example, 'How do you do? How do you do?' Did you see the difference? You could also say: 'I’m pleased to meet you' or 'It’s very nice to meet you.' 'How are you?' is used in both informal and formal circumstances. So usually it’s quite a good question to begin a conversation with. It’s a question which asks about the other person’s state of being. But don’t go into too much detail when you give the answer. Standard replies include, 'Very well thank you. I’m fine thanks.' And of course it’s traditional to then return the question to the other person and ask, 'And yourself?' 'And you?' 'How are you?' Very informal greetings include, 'Hey, hi, hiya, heya', and are often accompanied by questions such as, 'What’s up? What’s going on?' And, 'How’s things?' Finally, if we’re talking about formal greetings, we should also talk about formal farewells. Again these are usually accompanied with a handshake. And we might say, 'It was a pleasure meeting you.' Or 'It’s been great meeting you. Thank you very much for your time.' Thank you for your time, Ashfaq. I hope that’s answered your question. If anybody else out there has a question for Learners’ Questions, you can email us on: learning.english@bbc.co.uk. Please remember to include Learners’ Questions in the subject box and your name and the country that you’re writing from. We can’t answer every single question, guys, we just get too many, but we do read every single one. And for more information, go to our website: bbclearningenglish.com. That’s it for this week’s Learners’ Questions. I’ll see you next time. 🤩🤩🤩 SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more English videos and podcast English to help you improve your English 👉 null ⭐ Visit our website 👉 https://www.bbclearningenglish.com/ ⭐ Follow us on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/bbclearningenglish ⭐ Follow us on Twitter 👉 https://www.twitter.com/bbcle ⭐ Find us on Facebook 👉 https://www.facebook.com/bbclearningenglish.multimedia ⭐ Join us on TikTok 👉 https://www.tiktok.com/@bbclearningenglish Get our app: Android 👉 https://bit.ly/2PeLcf6 iPhone 👉 https://apple.co/2wmG2GU We like receiving and reading your comments! 👇👇👇 Please use English when you comment 😊 #learnenglish #bbclearningenglish #learnersquestions