A Guide to Greetings and Introductions in English

Greetings and introductions in English is one of the most important topics when you are learning a language.

We use greetings and introductions in our first-time interactions with people.

It is important that we don’t forget that some greetings apply only to formal situations and other greetings are more suited to informal situations

Learning how to introduce ourselves and how to show interest by asking personal information questions is also a goal to reach since most conversations tend to go beyond a simple greeting and introduction.

Let’s check all that you need to know about greetings and introductions in English


Greetings and Introductions Vocabulary

There are different ways to greet people in English, we usually categorize greeting into formal and informal situations.

This is an example of greetings used in formal situations

AHow are you?
BI am fine thanks

This is an example of greetings used in informal situations

AHow are you guys doing?
BWe are doing great

Formal and Informal Greetings

Let’s remember that there are informal and formal greetings and that some of them can be used in both contexts or situations.

These are some of the most common phrases to greet people and where they belong

GreetingsFormal o Informal?
Good Morning Both
Morning JoshInformal
Morning, GuysInformal
Good AfternoonBoth
Good NightBoth
Good EveningBoth
HiBoth
HelloBoth
How are you ?Formal
How are you doing?Informal
Howdy?Informal
How is it going?Informal
Hey MatthewInformal
Hey, What’s up Informal
Hey, BuddyInformal
Hey, Guys Informal
Hey, What’s going on?Informal
What’s new?Informal

Greetings and Introductions Video

Now, let’s check a video to understand more about greetings and introductions in English

Useful Expressions to Respond to Greetings

These are some of the common ways to respond to some of the greetings above

Good to see youGood to see you too
I am fineVery well thanks
GreatNot bad
I am doing greatPretty good
FineNot Good
NothingNot much 
Good

Useful Expressions for Introductions

These are some useful expression when the moment to introduce ourselves come

  • What’s your name? My name is [Your name here]
  • This is [name of a friend]
  • I am [ [name of a friend]
  • I am happy to meet you
  • Nice to see you again
  • Excuse me
  • Thanks/Thank you
  • Please
  • Nice/good to meet you
  • Nice meeting you too
  • I am from [place, school ]

Leave-Takings in English

These are some of the most common leave-taking that we use in English

ByeSee you in a few
Good-ByeSee you around
See youLater
See You laterTake care
See you tomorrow

Greetings and Introduction Dialogues

You can practice greetings and introductions using these dialogues. You can alter parts of it to suit to your particular situations

Greeting and Introductions Dialogue #1

Mike: Good Morning
Linda: How are you mike?
Mike:  I am fine Linda
Linda: We are in the same class
Mike:  That’s right, Can I have your telephone number?
Linda: Sure, It is 86021456

Greeting and Introductions Dialogue #2

Mike:  Hello, My name is Mike
Linda: How are you, Mike? I am Linda
Mike:  I am fine, how about you?
Linda: I am fine too but I am a little lost.
Mike:  What’s your first class like?
Linda: I have Spanish classes
Mike:  Nice, We are classmates
Linda: That’s great

Greetings and Introductions Dialogue #3

K: Good morning! You must be Otto
O: Yes, good morning! I’m sorry, and your name is…?
K: My name’s Karen. Very nice to meet you. Welcome to Ohio!
O: Thank you.
K: How are you today?
O: Very well, thank you, and yourself?
K: I’m good, thanks for asking.

Interested in Learning More English?

I hope that you have found everything you were looking for

These are some posts that you might want to check before you leave

If you are a Spanish native speaker, I have written Cómo Presentarse y Saludar en Inglés with instructions in Spanish and I also have included some translations to make the topic easier for you.

Manuel Campos, English Professor

Manuel Campos

I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English