I’m back!
England was cool and cloudy.
Prague is hot and sunny.
Yesterday I went for a walk and ran into an old teacher friend.
We used to teach in the same language school back in 2004.
The school no longer exists, but we’re still here and still teaching.
It’s good to be back where it all started for me!
The Most Common Question In America
Yesterday I asked you, “What’s up?”
I got some good replies.
And before I share them…
Here’s how NOT to answer this question…
Many years ago, when I was teaching in the language school I just mentioned, I was running late for a class.
And as I passed Dagmar, the Czech receptionist, I asked her, What’s up?
A lot, apparently. Because she started to tell me about her back, and her garden, and her grandmother.
Jiri said it well when he called this question “an icebreaker.”
That means, it’s just to get the conversation started.
The exact words aren’t so important.
Common replies are:
- Not much. You?
- Hey.
- What’s up?
But then Kristina also made a good comment when she said, “This is basic English.”
So let me give you a more challenging question today.
And the question is…
“What do you do?”
It’s not hard.
But I hear wrong answers quite often.
Post your answer here and we’ll continue this tomorrow.
What do you do? – I’m an archaeologist.
How do you do? – How do you do?
What are you doing? – I’m typing my answer.
What do you do? – I am a psychologist and the author and leader of seminars and workshops for professionals who work with children and young people. I am happy that I can influence children and young people to grow up in a stimulating environment 🙂
What do you do ?
I feel it is a strange modification of the obligate “How do you do?” that is not used today. What I hear more often is: How are you doing?” The answer be: well, thanks, and you? But I think the question is still not about my back pain or the health of Granma..
What do you do? I’m an entrepreneur.
If someone ask me “how do you do? I think I will answer “How do you do.” But I don’t know if this expression is used now in USA too. I think it is a basic English expression, a politeness formula. But if the question is “What do you do?” I answer “not much” or “nothing new” or something about my life now.