Greetings and farewells: hello, goodbye, Happy New Year

Saying hello

When we see someone we know, we usually exchange greetings:

A:

Hi.

B:

Hello, how are you?

A:

Fine, thanks. How about you?

Saying goodbye

When we leave people, we usually say something as we leave:

A:

See you later.

B:

OK. Bye.

We use Good night only when we are leaving someone at the end of the day, before going home or going to bed:

[leaving someone’s house]

Good night. Thanks for a lovely evening.

[before going to bed]

I’m off to bed. Good night.

Congratulating and celebrating

We use different expressions for celebrations:

We don’t say congratulations to wish someone a happy birthday:

Happy birthday, Nora.

Not: Congratulations, Nora.

• shier
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• shifted
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• shift for yourself
• shift gear
• shift-gears
• shift gears
• shift gears
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• shift-ground
• shift house
• shift-house
• shiftier
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• shiftily