bvpraveen  +  85791 Fri, 01 Apr 05 07:27 PM Dear Friends, How to reply to the welcome note : "How do you do?" a) I'm fine. b) Doing good. c) Doing well. d) Doing better. e) Fine, Thanks. f) How do you do?( Most popular ) Thanks, Praveen. bvpraveen Joined on Sat, Mar 5 2005 Coimbatore, India Regular Member 507 Please feel free to correct my grammatical mistakes.

	just the truth  +  85793 Fri, 01 Apr 05 07:35 PM How would/could you [to] reply to the welcome note : "How do you do?" JTT: BV Praveen, "How do you do?" is a more formal term used for introductions and the reply was usually, "How do you do?" These are all replies to "How are you?"; "How are you doing?" ; "How have you been doing?" a) I'm fine. b) Doing good. c) Doing well. d) Doing better. e) Fine, Thanks. f) How do you do?( Most popular ) just the truth Joined on Mon, Dec 27 2004 Regular Member 849

	bvpraveen  +  86034 Sat, 02 Apr 05 04:04 PM Dear Friends, To Abbie: What do you mean by the term : "not written"? Is it that they are not used in Novels,etc. To JTT: I'm an Indian. Here they are not using 'How do you do?' for the reply. Can I use it in India? I don't find it correct. 'How do you do?' prompts for an answer and how can we post the same question back to the person? Praveen. bvpraveen

	pieanne  +  86063 Sat, 02 Apr 05 06:43 PM If I may intrude, I'll try to explain what Abbie means (if you'll excuse me, Abbie?) You say "how do you do" the first time you meet someone. It is written in novels, of cousre, but when the author reports the first meeting of someone with another person. It's something you say when shaking hands for the first time (if you shake hands), or you rub eachother's nose, Eskimo-fashion. On the other hand, when you write to someone, either 1. you know her/him already, so you'll say "how are you?" 2. you don't know the person you're writing to, then you'll write: "May I introduce myself to you" or something of the kind. See what I mean? pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	abbie1948  +  86085 Sat, 02 Apr 05 08:14 PM I certainly do excuse you, Pieanne - always! When it is written in novels, it is usually written as reported speech, i.e. what someone is saying to someone else. It is a strange thing, I admit, that when soemone greets you by saying "How do you do?" you don't actually answer, but ast the question straight back! So, if you were being formally introduced to someone, you would say "how do you do?" and they would reply "how do you do?" But that's English for you! abbie1948

	pieanne  +  86214 Sun, 03 Apr 05 08:57 AM Yes, that's English, but it doesn't sound wierd to me any longer. It's some kind of harmfess ritual... pieanne

	bvpraveen  +  86247 Sun, 03 Apr 05 10:52 AM Thanks Pieanne. Meanwhile, I have heard that 'Hi' is a short form for 'How are you?'. Hence, if you say 'Hi, How are you?' you are actually asking 'How are you?' two times. Anyway, 'Hi' has been used as a friendly welcome note. Am I correct? Praveen. bvpraveen

	paco2004  +  86248 Sun, 03 Apr 05 10:55 AM It is a strange thing, I admit, that when someone greets you by saying "How do you do?" you don't actually answer, but ast the question straight back! It's the same as my language. In Japanese, when we see each other for the first time, we do this way; Paco : Hajime mashite, Paco desu. (See you for the first time! I'm Paco.) Abbie: Hajime mashite, Abbie desu. (See you for the first time! I'm Abbie.) Paco : Dochira kara irashita no desu ka? (Where do you come from?) Abbie : Englando desu. Anata wa? (From England, and you?) blah.. blah.. paco paco2004 Joined on Wed, Nov 17 2004 Senior Member 4,095 In Japan today even dogs are learning how to bow-wow in English.