sentence choice

The first is right (give or take a full stop) but not the second. ("It was a pleasure to meet John" would be correct.)

GPYThe first is right (give or take a full stop) but not the second. ("It was a pleasure to meet John" would be correct.)

Thank you. How about 'meeting' instead of 'to meet' in your example. Would that also be correct?

"It was a pleasure meeting John."

AnonymousThank you. How about 'meeting' instead of 'to meet' in your example. Would that also be correct?"It was a pleasure meeting John."

Yes.

The "I had the pleasure ..." and "It was a pleasure ..." sentences are used in slightly different situations: the first is more likely to be the first mention (or listener's first knowledge) that the meeting t

GPY AnonymousThank you. How about 'meeting' instead of 'to meet' in your example. Would that also be correct?"It was a pleasure meeting John."Yes.The "I had the pleasure ..." and "It was a pleasure ..." sentences are used in slightly different situations: the first is more likely to be the first mention (or listener's first knowledge) that the meeting took place.

AnonymousThank you for your clarification. So the first one is just indicating that the meeting took place and the second is used after meeting a person and before saying goodbye in person. Have I understood correctly?

It doesn't have anything to do with "before saying goodbye in person". Say you are starting a new topic of conversation with someone. If they d

GPYThe second one seems to presuppose some prior knowledge about your activities on the part of the listener.

Does that mean that the person I am talking to has some knowledge about my activities and that is when "It was a pleasure.." can be used?

Also, can "it was a pleasure meeting you" be used just as "it was nice meeting you" after a conversation