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Meg2589 Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
How have you been?
My friend told me not to use the above sentence while writing a letter. According to him we should use "how have you been?" when we meet someone. But when we write a letter, we should use something else like "How are you?" etc etc. Is he right?
Top answer
I think that's just a matter of personal opinion, really. " sounds a little more like you're expecting an immediate answer, as in a conversation. " in a letter.
- I think that's just a matter of personal opinion, really.
- " sounds a little more like you're expecting an immediate answer, as in a conversation.
- " in a letter.
- "...
- I hope that helps.
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4 Answers
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I think that's just a matter of personal opinion, really. "How are you?", in my opinion, is just about the same as "How have you been?" The difference is that "How have you been?" sounds a little more like you're expecting an immediate answer, as in a conversation. I personally wouldn't think any less of anybody if they asked me "How have you been?" in a letter. I would see it as the same que
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I agree with haogide's answer.
"How are you?" is a very popular expression. "How have you been?" is not as popular.
How are you? - 1.5 million hits on Google
How have you been? - 52 thousand hits on Google.
I don't think most people even think about it. They just simply use whichever expression they want.
"How are you?" is a very popular expression. "How have you been?" is not as popular.
How are you? - 1.5 million hits on Google
How have you been? - 52 thousand hits on Google.
I don't think most people even think about it. They just simply use whichever expression they want.
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Thank you Haogide and MountainHiker for your help. I was thinking the same reason.
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