14 Ways to Answer the Question, "How's it going?" - An English Lesson

So one of the most common greetings

in the English language that I

know of, one that I use every day,

is the question how's it going?

So if I gave you the long version,

it would be how is it going?

But normally we just

say, how's it going?

And there are a number

of different answers.

So in this English lesson, I'll talk

about 14 different answers

to the question how's it going?

And I put them in different

little categories like

normal responses, enthusiastic

responses, unenthusiastic,

sarcastic, funny, etc.

Etc.

So welcome to this English lesson

about how to answer

the question how's it going.

Let's start by talking

about what I think are three very

normal responses to the question

how's it going?

And those are good,

pretty good, and not bad.

These are very, very common.

In fact, this is how I most often

answer the question how's it going?

How's it going, Bob?

Good.

How's it going, Bob?

Pretty good.

How's it going, Bob?

Not bad.

And then I will add this as well.

And this is true for all of the other

responses I will teach you.

You often also just put the word you

with a question mark

at the end of your response.

So how's it going, Bob?

Good.

You.

What you're doing is you're

returning the question to the person

who asked you that question.

So how's it going, Bob?

Good, You.

And then you can answer

the question as well.

Now, let's say your day is going

extremely well and you want

a more enthusiastic,

a more energetic and happy response.

I would probably say these three

are very, very common responses.

I might say great, I might

say fantastic, or I might

use a whole sentence and say,

everything's going great.

When someone asks you this question,

normally you'll give the normal answer.

But yeah, if you're just having

an amazing day, everything's

going the way you want it to.

You're happy, you just feel

excited about everything.

Those are the three responses

you would use great, fantastic,

and everything's going great.

Now, let's say you're feeling

unenthusiastic about your day.

Maybe your day isn't going that

well, or it's just kind of blah,

meaning it's kind of boring.

Here are two responses you can

give that are unenthusiastic.

The first would be to say,

can't complain.

How's it going, Bob?

Can't complain.

This is a short version

of the sentence I can't complain.

And it simply means the day isn't

amazing, but the day's not bad.

It's somewhere in the middle,

can't complain.

The second one is

to just say, it's going.

How's it going, Bob?

It's going.

It's not an enthusiastic response.

It's not a happy response,

but it's not like, sad or you're

not aggravated or anything.

It's just a kind of a, I guess,

blah day, like I said earlier.

So 2 responses you can give

that are unenthusiastic.

You could say, can't complain,

and you could also say, it's going.

So these next three responses

to the question how's it going?

Are a little bit sarcastic, and you

might even find them funny,

depending on your sense of humor.

The first is to simply

say, could be worse.

How's it going, Bob?

Could be worse.

What you're saying is that your day

is going okay, but there are things

that, if they did happen, would make

your day worse than it actually is.

So you could respond

by saying, could be worse.

The second one is definitely

sarcastic, and you

might find it funny.

You might say, living the dream.

How's it going, Bob?

Living the dream.

So my response is basically saying,

my life is amazing in a sarcastic

way, and I am living this

life that is like my dream life.

So in a sarcastic way,

Living the dream.

And then the third one is

to say, same old, same old.

How's it going, Bob?

Same old, same old.

Basically, what you're saying is

every day is kind of the same.

You get up, you have breakfast,

you go to work, you go home.

Same old, same old.

So how's it going, Bob?

Same old, same old.

So there's three sarcastic

or maybe funny ways to respond

to how's it going?

So here's a funny thing about

the question, how's it going?

And that's that we don't always

answer honestly to coworkers

and other people that we work

with or see every day.

Usually if I'm having

a bad day and someone says,

says, how's it going?

I'll still say good or great,

even if I'm not totally having

a bad day, because I don't

really know that person well.

But here are three ways you

might answer this question

if you're talking to someone who you

know really, really well.

So if Jen asked me, how's it going?

I might respond and say, not great.

I might be honest with Jen

and then tell her the things that

didn't go well that day.

If I was talking to my mom

and she said, how's it going?

I might say, oh, I've seen better

days, basically, saying that

other days in my life have been

much better than this one.

And then I might share

with my mom why the day isn't

going very, very well.

And then lastly, if I was

talking to my brother and he

said, how's it going?

And it was a day where a lot

of things were just going wrong,

I might respond by saying

it's just one thing after another.

Basically saying that a bunch

of bad things happened today.

My car broke down, I ran out

of gas, I was late for work.

It's just one thing after another.

So when you're talking to

colleagues or someone at a store or

someone you don't know well,

you will just answer by saying good

or great or whatever else works.

But if you're talking to someone

you know and trust, you'll use

things where you're just being

a little bit more personal.

You'll say, not great.

I've seen better days.

Or it's just one thing after another.

Well, thank you for watching

this English lesson.

I hope the 14 ways to respond

to the question how's it going?

Will help you

in your next English conversation.

When you greet someone,

remember if this is your first time

here, don't forget to click

that red subscribe button.

Give me a thumbs up if you

enjoyed this English lesson.

Leave a comment again, I love

reading them and have a good week.

Say how's it going?

to someone

and see how they respond

and see if it matches some

of the answers that I gave you.

Bye.