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Mumbojumbo Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

How do you do?

Can you tell me what the reply for the question 'How do you do?' should be?

Thanks,

MJ.
  

Top answer

-aux. inversion). also, rising intonation, while not always co-occuring with wh-questions, is absent.

— Sam C

  • -aux.
  • inversion).
  • also, rising intonation, while not always co-occuring with wh-questions, is absent.
  • a reasonable response to this formal-ish greeting is the mirror 'how do you do'.
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4 Answers
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'how do you do' is not, usually, a question (the concept of question coming from pragmatics), although its form is, as you spotted, interogative (initial wh-word + subj.-aux. inversion). also, rising intonation, while not always co-occuring with wh-questions, is absent.

a reasonable response to this formal-ish greeting is the mirror 'how do you do'.
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A: How do you do? Nice to meet you.

B: How do you do? Nice to meet you, too.
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I would answer: "Fine thanks"

Otherwise if you really want to be polite (ex.: when you meet someone for the first time) you can pick this one:

"How are you doing?"

Correct me if I'm wrong...
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How do you do is a stock greeting and the correct stock answer is always just to repeat How do you do. It is not actually asking a question.

However, it is becoming increasingly obsolete as a form of greeting.
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