Recently, Gabby và I taught you how to lớn answer the question, “How are you?” Today we’re going to lớn teach you something similar.
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How Are You? vs. How Have You Been?
Did you notice that I asked “How have sầu you been?” Many students know how to answer the question “How are you?” But they don’t understand when native sầu speakers ask them “How have you been?” We’ll talk about the difference between “How are you?” and “How have you been?” We’re also going to lớn provide lots of examples & a quiz!
The Pronunciation Can Be Confusing!
When you look at this question on a piece of paper, you see “How have sầu you been?” But when we talk, we actually speak fast & we use contractions. “How have sầu you been?” becomes “How’ve sầu ya been?”
You can also say “How’s he been?” instead of saying “How has he been?”, or “How’ve sầu they been?”. Try to practice this as much as you can. You’re going khổng lồ hear this all the time!
Important Questions khổng lồ Learn
“How are you?” và “How have you been?” are both very important questions. Why? Because they’re greetings! If you don’t know how to tell somebody toàn thân how you’re doing, then the conversation can’t really continue. You could answer both questions by saying “Not too bad,” or “So far, so good,” or just “Great!”
So What’s the Difference?
The difference is that “How are you?” is in the present tense. I want lớn know how you are doing RIGHT NOW.
“How have sầu you been?” is the present perfect tense. It means that I want to lớn know what you’ve been doing since I saw you the last time. I know you, but I haven’t seen you for a while.
Here’s an example. Maybe you have sầu a friover who has been siông chồng for two weeks, và you haven’t seen him. When you see hlặng again, it would be appropriate khổng lồ ask hlặng, “How have you been?”
You could also say “How are you?” using the present tense. But because you care about your friover and you knew he was sick, it would be better to lớn ask “How have you been?” He can respond by saying “Oh, I’ve sầu been great,” or “I’ve sầu been feeling much better.”
Here’s another example. I see Gabby almost every day. When I see her, I don’t ask “How have you been?”, I ask “How are you?” We only ask “How have sầu you been?” if we haven’t seen someone in a week or more.
More Ways to lớn Answer “How Have sầu You Been?”
Are there different ways lớn answer this question? Sure, there are!
You can use the continuous khung of a verb in your sentence. Just add -ing, & that will make your sentence sound better & give sầu the person more information about how you have been.
More examples, please!
I have sầu been feeling fantastic recently.I have sầu been working a lot.Oh, I have sầu been sleeping a lot lately.I have sầu been studying a lot lately.
A Way lớn Keep the Conversation Going
Here’s a sample conversation between me và my cousin. I haven’t seen her in a month.
Vanessa: How have sầu you been?Cousin: Oh, I’ve been working a lot.Vanessa: What have sầu you been working on?
This is a really great way khổng lồ keep a conversation going.
Conversations with Gabby và Vanessa
Gabby: Vanessa! It’s been so long! How have sầu you been?Vanessa: I know, Gabby, I haven’t seen you in months. I’ve sầu been traveling a lot lately.Gabby: Lucky you!
Vanessa: Good morning, Dr. Wallace.Gabby (Dr. Wallace): Good morning.
Vanessa: How’ve ya been? I haven’t seen you since my last yearly checkup.Gabby: I’ve sầu been busy working. You’re my twentieth patient today.Gabby: Vanessa, I just saw you post a photo with Alyssa & Laura. How’ve sầu they been? I haven’t seen them in ages!Vanessa I haven’t seen them in forever, either. They said they’ve sầu been doing great. They were actually doing some shopping with their brother, Mike.Gabby: Oh, Mike! How’s he been? I haven’t seen hlặng in a while, either.Vanessa: He’s also doing really well. He’s been trying khổng lồ purchase a new home page.
Time For a Quiz!
How well bởi vì you underst& what you’ve learned in this English lesson? See if you can answer these six questions:
What is a more natural, native sầu way to lớn say “How have sầu you been?”This is about pronunciation. Try saying it out loud to yourself a little faster, using a contraction. The answer is “How’ve ya been?”
What is a faster, more native sầu way to lớn say “I have been…”?Instead of “I have sầu been…”, say “I’ve been…” Using contractions will help you sound more native sầu.
If I am meeting you for the first time, is it appropriate to ask, “How have sầu you been?”No. Remember, this is a question for people that we already know.
When someone asks you,”How’ve sầu you been lately?”, is it correct lớn answer, “I’ve been feel great!”It’s not correct, but why not?
Remember, with that verb feel we need khổng lồ put -ing at the over. “I’ve sầu been feeling great lately.” “I’ve sầu been working a lot lately.” “I’ve sầu been busy studying these days.”
You see your co-workers every day. Is it okay lớn ask them how they’ve sầu been every morning?I hope you said no! “How have sầu you been?” is for when you want to have a conversation with someone you haven’t seen in a while.
You return lớn work after a week-long vacation, và you see your co-worker. Can you ask, “How have you been?”Yes! This would be the perfect time to use the present perfect form of the question. You haven’t seen them in a week. They might want to lớn have a conversation about your vacation.
How Did You Do on the Quiz?
Let us know in the comments below. And tell us how you’ve sầu been! We care about you, & we want lớn grow our relationship with you.
If you learned a lot from this post, you might want to also read this post about how to answer the question, “How are you?” Thanks for learning English with us! Chechồng out all our new YouTube videos & we’ll see you next time at Go Natural English!
