3 English sentence patterns everyone should learn but should not use

'Hello, how are you?' is a question that makes the listener feel bored and the speaker sound like a robot.

According to Fluent U, some basic expressions below are effective in helping English beginners understand grammar and sentence patterns. They should then develop sentences to express personal feelings rather than just repeating what they have learned.

1. Hello. How are you?

This is a harmless question that any student asks their English teacher when entering the classroom. Many teachers have heard this greeting hundreds of thousands of times. It makes the listener feel bored and the speaker sound like a robot.

You can replace the greeting "Hello. How are you?" with many other expressions.

To deepen the conversation, you can use longer questions to show interest in the answer. Here are some questions you can use instead:

- How are you doing today?

- How are you doing this morning?

- How are you doing this afternoon?

- How are you doing this evening?

Saying "hello" can come across as stiff. For friends, you might try "Hey," "Hi," or "Hey there." Questions can be more complete:

- Hey, how's it going?

- Hi, how are you doing?

- Hi, how are you doing lately?

2. I'm fine. (And you?)

If "Hello. How are you?" is a bad conversation starter, "I'm fine" is a great conversation ender. Instead of being generic, you can link to something else. You just broke up with your girlfriend, bought a new car, or are going to the football game tonight, mention it. There are no limits to "How are you?". For example:

- Not great, I just broke up with my girlfriend.

- I just got a new car. It's awesome.

- I'm doing pretty good. In fact, I'm going to watch a soccer game tonight.

- I've been better. I think I'm getting sick.

When someone asks "How are you?", don't be afraid to deliver some good news or express your feelings. No matter what the answer is, it's polite to ask "How are you?" in return.

3. How old are you?

In some cultures, asking someone's age can be considered impolite. If you really need to know someone's age, you can choose to say it differently, for example: "Did you go to college/university? (Where did you go? What did you study?)", then you can ask "When did you graduate?".If you know someone who has attended college, an applicable question is "How long has it been since you graduated?".

There are many ways to find out someone's age. If the person has children, ask them how old they are. Some possible phrases to use:

- How old were you when you started teaching?

- How old were you when you took your first flight?

- How old were you when you moved to Vermont?

However, you should not make the other person uncomfortable by deliberately asking to know their age. When the situation and topic are appropriate, the above dialogue will make the listener feel comfortable sharing.

According to VNE