Learn English – Is it right to ask “how are you all doing?”

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  1. Is it right to ask "how are you all doing?"?
  2. Should I reply to a "How do you do?" with an "Am good" or should I say "How do you do" myself in return?

Best Answer

  1. It's right only if you really want to know or are simply trying to be polite. Is it grammatically correct? Yes. It is idiomatic English? Yes, especially in the USA's southeast, except there it'd more likely be spoken as "How y'all doin'?" with a rising intonation. If you don't want to sound regional, you can ask "How are all of you?"

  2. If someone asks you "How y'all doin'?" and there's no one but the two of you in the conversation, then you can say "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" if you want to be perfectly polite and a bit didactic, "Fine, thanks, and you?" if you want to be a bit on the friendly side, and "Jes' like a goober in uh bottle uh Coke! How're y'all doin', Jethro?" if you want to pretend you're a comedian and can box very well or run very fast.

"How do you do?" is too formal a response for "How're y'all doin'?", and "Am good" is a bit idiosyncratic, even for most American speakers -- maybe "I'm good. And you?"

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