Greetings and introductions

What you will practice

• Choose a greeting that fits the time of day.
• Ask for a name and give your own.
• Tell a greeting apart from a goodbye.

Explanation

Time of day

Good morning is for the morning. Good afternoon is for the middle of the day, and Good evening is for when you arrive in the evening. Hello and Hi work at any hour. Hi is the more casual of the two. None of these phrases needs a verb.

Names

What is your name? and the reduced What’s your name? ask the same thing. My name is Leyla and I’m Leyla both answer it. Nice to meet you comes after the names. Where are you from? asks about a home city or country. A short answer is I’m from Ankara.

Hello and goodbye

Good night is a goodbye when people leave at night or go to bed. It is not the greeting you use when you arrive. That greeting is Good evening. Goodbye and Bye end a conversation at any time of day. Bye is the informal one.

Examples

1. Good morning.a morning greeting
2. What’s your name?asking someone’s name
3. My name is Leyla.giving your name
4. Where are you from?asking where someone is from
5. Good night.a goodbye at night

Common mistakes

• Do not answer Good night with another greeting as if the person had just arrived.
• How are you? is usually a greeting, not a request for a long medical story. I’m fine, thanks is enough.