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📚 Grammar / Syntax
I don't know what went wrong. An acquaintance asked me "how are you doing?" I replied, "I am doing great." To which she asked with some doubt or suspicion, a little bit of annoyance, "Great..? Great..?"
I was confused. Did she not like my response? Or is it just not right to say that?
AND there is no context behind that. We don't know each other that well. I am perplexed 🤔 (The other person's a native speaker)
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It's fine. It's enthusiastic, but fine. (US)
They may have been waiting for you to just elaborate a bit. Like why you're great, more than good.
This, but “great” will likely draw further questions as the enthusiasm behind “great” is enough that it’s like you’re setting up for good news or something better than an everyday thing happened. “Great” is like you just finished a stressful thing, heard back good news, or just won $20 on a lottery ticket. Either you just had a really good experience before this meeting or you’re feeling especially free of stress at the moment. That could be a nice walk or playing with a dog as well, though.
I think like you said that person might expected certain reason for "great"
I feel like either they're waiting for you to share good news or they think you're being sarcastic if you don't elaborate.
For a phatic response it may be too effusive, it invites further investigation
Most of the time, when people say they are doing great, it's because there's something extra exciting happening, or they're actually doing terribly, and they're being sarcastic.
If your tone was more neutral, she may have thought you were being sarcastic, and if you sounded sincere, she may have been prodding you to find out what was so great that day.
I'm not a fan of the way she responded, though, because it could be confusing even for a native speaker. She could have simply said, "Is that sarcasm?" or just politely asked what was making you feel so great.
People used to be confused when they asked me how I’m doing, I’d reply “super!” And they’d ask what was going on that was so great and I’d say “nothing in particular”
Years ago I decided that instead of starting my day as neutral and hoping something good would happen and nothing bad would, I’d start my day as super/great and if something bad happened, it would go down. I ended up having most days end up “great” and a few “ok” and very few bad days.
It’s stupid but life got much better that way.
For me alright is what I use that’s between good and okay.
Ooh, this is actually a lovely approach/philosophy, I don't think it's stupid at all. More like... deceptively simple. I'm gonna keep it in mind, and try to incorporate it. Thanks for sharing. :)
100% this.
To the OP, perspective matters. I respond the same to the question, always. I’m doing great. Part of it is self-talk; but the larger part of it is realizing that I’ve got a roof over my head, food in my fridge, bills paid, family is all alive and healthy, neighbourhood is safe. If I fall ill or get injured, medical aid is close by.
I’m not getting shot at, abused, starving, homeless, on the run, or otherwise endangered.
I’m doing great.
Some people only use/perceive the word great as sarcastic or facetious. I have no idea why. But I’ve seen this misunderstanding before.
good to know you can relate, thanx
Yeah, she was being strange. "Great" is an extremely common response. It does mean that you are doing better than usual. ""Good" is more common, but they are both perfectly appropriate
It may also be that the usage of “I am” (instead of “I’m”) confused them, to me it sounds a bit odd and so that may have emphasized the potentially sarcastic nature of “great”. Most native speakers would say “I’m doing great” and not “I am doing great” and some may read deeply into it
In the context of reading too deeply into things, when you elongate a response, it does change the tone of things a little bit.
"I can't" vs. "I can not"
"I'm coming" vs. "I am coming"
Noting that this is unreasonable to infer such tonal changes for non-native speakers, but I'd definitely read into it at least for a moment when engaging with a native speaker.
Good point. It's just funny all the little things you don't think about in your native language.
I definitely get different kinds of feedback from I'm coming to I am coming.
Kinda off-topic here, but isn't "can't" a contraction of "cannot", rather than "can not"? Or isn't there a difference? I've always thought "I can't/cannot" = "I'm unable" whereas "I can not" = "I'm able to refrain" 🤔
Ah, yes.
I am doing great things.
vs.
I'm doing great.
For what it's worth, I'm a native speaker, and among other speakers, I recognize that sometimes my tone comes off a bit differently than I intend for it to.
I fairly often just throw in a phrase like "That sounds sarcastic - I actually am doing great." Even if they didn't initially interpret your statement as sarcastic, it does affirm that you are being genuine with your statements.
I do the same thing. In fact, I think I did that about 2 days ago.
Is you acquaintance a native speaker? There was nothing wrong with your response. Perhaps she wanted you to "spill the tea".
This is a great explanation.
Great…? Great…?
Great is common usage in US
Sometimes friends and acquaintances will jokingly imply that you are NOT doing great if they have a reason to think so. That reason could be something as small as a busy day at work.
You used it perfectly. Someone mentioned it might have been a pronunciation issue, which you would hopefully be able to tell from her pronunciation. If not that, she just might have been surprised at you doing "great." I literally don't know anyone right now who could honestly say they are doing great.
Did you look unwell?
uh.. I don't think so. maybe... its possible she could've thought that idk.
Nothing is wrong with your response, in content and grammar.
If you're having a great day or just generally crushing it in your life, why not be happy about it?
What is meaning of “crushing it in your life”? Sorry to ask about that cause im not a native speaker!
Don't be sorry :) Questions are good!
"Crushing it" is slang for doing great. It comes from "crushing" your problems. You can say that you're "crushing it" in your life (crushing life's problems), "crushing it" at work (crushing work's problems), or similar phrases.
It's usually not used to refer to literal, specific problems. It's used to say that things are going well. "Crushing it" sounds enthusiastic and strongly positive.
This is a fantastic answer. I know it wasn't for me but I learned from it too. :)
Yay! I'm glad I helped someone :D
Technically "doing great" is not grammatically correct. I am not saying it is uncommon or should cause a horrified reaction, but technically. "Doing" requires an adverb modifier, not an adjective.
If he said "I'm doing good" that would technically mean something like "being charitable." And that would not really answer the question "HOW are you doing?"
You're right, what I really meant was the usage is correct. (Is that the right term for how in spoken English, we like to have a lot of latitude with grammar rules?)
Seems totally normal to me.
As other have pointed out, "great" can sometimes be interpreted as sarcasm, depending on your tone.
However, I'd also like to point out the use of "I am" versus "I'm". When people lie they sometimes don't use contractions. This is something they do subconsciously and without realizing. If I heard "I am great", the lack of a contraction makes it sound even more sarcastic than intended.
It might have sounded sarcastic
I second it. In some circles (like mine, sad and gloomy people) sarcasm would be assumed when hearing such a response.
Tone/inflection has a great deal of importance in English but is easy to overlook and takes years of experience to pick up the nuance of.
Without hearing your voice in that moment, no one but them could tell what the inflection was. For all we know, they thought you were being sarcastic. Still, I hope this can help.
It might've been the tone with which you said it! Otherwise, idk.
My standard response to that question is “oh, pretty good” followed by “how about you?”. There’s nothing wrong with saying you’re doing great, maybe this acquaintance doesn’t like when others are happy.
Yeah my first thought was the only real response to a random "how are you doing" is "not too bad, how about you". Maybe "I'm fine" or "I'm good". But you always have to ask "and you?"
In addition to what other folks have said, it’s possible that she was meaning to ask why you’re in a great mood. I know when I’ve asked how some people are doing and they say “great,” I’ve sometimes followed up by saying, “great?” to inquire as to why they’re in such a good mood. But if she said it in an irritated or annoyed tone then idk.
If someone responded that they were doing great, I would kind of (but not fully) expect something more...like, why great? The typical answer is good, or ok, or fine. Great implies exceptional, or something great is going on.
For example, if I responded to coworkers at work that I was doing great,at least some of them would be interested in why?
US
I think she wanted more info. Like great is normally because something good happened
No idea why she responded like that, that’s totally fine to say.
If you said it with a rather flat tone, I agree that sarcasm could have been assumed. (Like when something goes wrong and somebody says ‘Oh great’ with an eyeroll.)
However, the ‘doubt and annoyance’ bit makes me wonder if she knows there’s something not that good going on in your life right now, so was surprised by your response. Like if you both work somewhere where big layoffs have just been announced. There might have been an implied ‘Really?! With all that’s going on? What the hell is so great?’
On the other hand, she might just be a bit rude!
There's nothing wrong with what you said. The person you're talking to is not reacting to your language skills.
There's nothing wrong with the response, it's just a very positive one, and like someone else mentioned, it's hard to believe that most people are doing "great" in the current global climate. But even so, she didn't need to be impatient in her tone. Maybe she was looking for more details as to why you could claim you were doing great.
“Yes, great, thank you for your concern”
It sounds like this interaction would have been confusing for a native speaker also. Your English is fine OP, it’s just that people are weird.
She assumes sarcasm
I don't see anything wrong with what you said, I think it depends on intonation if they've responded like that. Just say I am good.
A lot of people aren't doing great, and might be caught off guard by hearing that from someone else
If it's truly about grammar, then she probably expected an adverb (greatly, well) instead of adjective (great, good).
But then again, to me language is a tool and habit. Grammar is just a tool for people to learn a language and be consistent. If "I'm doing great" has become a habit for so many, it might as well just be right.
But based on the context it could've also been something else, more to do with the situation you or she is in?
I’m native speaker of 52 years, and I say it a lot, though often question whether I actually am doing great or not 😅.
Ask her. She would know best and knows that you are no native speaker.
Sounds good to me. If you use an enthusiastic or sarcastic tone, it can mean "I feel really shitty".
The confusion is weird to me, both be the person who responded to you, and the comments here. Maybe it's a regional or generational thing? As an older millennial, I wouldn't assume "I'm doing great" is sarcastic (without a very heavy sarcastic tone of voice, but you can make anything sound sarcastic that way). The sarcastic form to me would be "I'm doing just great". But plain "great" I would think as a normal, earnest response.
people see the word great as sarcastic. use fine instead. your tone may also make it seem more sarcastic. honestly im tired of genz misunderstanding every word. i just wanna use the word gay normally (it just means happy)
Good is the standard response.
“Great” implies that something wonderful has happened out of the ordinary, or sarcasm.
“Fine” implies you’re not in fact doing well - which is confusing because it’s not the meaning of the word.
And using “I am” here sounds uncomfortable. You’d only use “I am” instead of “I’m” if you’re trying to add emphasis to the words.
The more I think about this, the more I see the possibility for confusion. In interactions like these, tone carries a lot of meaning, tone impossible to tell here.
I'm doing GREAT! (rising, kurt "great", accompanied by a wide smile, and looking the asker in the eyes - genuine happiness, spilling over into excitement.
"Me? Oh, I'm doing grrreeeaaatttt" (trailing, lowered "great", looking down or away - there's something wrong, or I'm just down.
I find it impossible to actually tell just from the text. I've delivered both, (in person) and only very rarely had had to clarify.
Your friend is weird. It’s a totally normal response.
Next time, do your best Tony the Tiger [frosted flakes] impression. “I’m grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!”
Heh. I think that, now in the 2020s, many of us are a little suspicious of people who are doing great. Like... are you showing off? The rest of us are trying to manage "hanging in there" and you are sitting there doing great?
Are you showing off? It's a little arrogant, don't you think?
I hope it is obvious that I am 99% joking, but there genuinely can be a little bit of this sort of thing sometimes with some people. There are people who feel like you are supposed to not look like you are doing that much better than everyone else.
I don't hold with that myself, but I have seen some sour-faced people who feel that way, and some polite people who don't actually care, but got into the habit anyway.
Just fyi, many people get hung up on "how" in the question. They expect to hear "well" or some adverb.
Technically, "greatly" would fit grammatically, but nobody would say that (unless they were being maliciously compliant to the questioner about grammar).
My dad hated "good" or "great" as a response here. Drummed into us to say "doing well." Especially if the question is "how are you doing?"
If it was "how are you?" I would always take the opportunity to say "good"... he would still cringe and grumble, but my take was an adjective works here.
As an example, I would then ask him "how is the weather?" ...you can't say "well." It needs an adjective like "good" (or "great").
Edit: I notice in your post you say specifically "doing great"... and that is grammatically incorrect (though common). "I'm great" would be better grammatically, but would not exactly answer the question "HOW are you DOING?"
So, her reaction may have been on technical grammar, but more likely she has a crush on you and wanted to hear more about how great you are.
In the UK and Australia, I don't know the case in the US, it is customary to answer with something somewhat reserved, like "Alright, thank you" or "Not too bad", even if youre doing terrible
Nothing wrong with an honest reply ("Terrible, actually" or "Absolutely brilliant") but it can take some people by surprise.
To add to this: it's often a rhetorical question - they are not expecting a comprehensive answer. It is used as an alternative to "hello".
How are you doing/going?
Good, mate. You/yourself?
Good.
-end of introduction-
(Edited in an attempt to fix formatting)
Native speakers usually contract “I am” to “I’m”. Saying the full two words feels a bit stiff and/or formal to most.
I'm not sure why they would've reacted that way. Maybe they thought you sounded sarcastic? Saying everything's going great is a good response to me, especially if you are having a great day!
Great is one of the most common ways to respond sarcastically to that question. It will depend heavily on your inflection (think Great! vs. great…)
So the person may have just not been sure whether you were being sarcastic.
Depending on where you said this depends in how it's taken. In most places in England this would be seem as sarcastic as they downplay feelings so "I'm doing ok" is a standard and reasonable response. In Colorado USA, "I'm doing ok" would be met with concern about what's wrong as they exaggerate happiness as a default. So "I am doing great!" Is the standard and normal response. There is a variety of social norms across the US and the specifics of the response changes from place to place.
Can't add much to the hundred+ other comments about your intonation or the word great, but saying "I am" instead of "I'm" would sound very weird.
"I am Groot."
;-)
Try this instead : https://english.stackexchange.com/a/122123
The answer is more formal.
A couple things.
First, your response was fine. It does sort of imply that you have more to share though.
So, second, she could've been trying to draw more information out of you. She did it very poorly, but that could've been what she was thinking. But she should've asked something like "Oh, good to hear! What's going great?" rather than just repeating your reply twice.
And remember, Superman does good, you're doing well
It's valid, but the responding person might also consider: "I'm great" / "I'm good" / "I'm fine" (shorter, with varying degrees of doing well), "I'm fine, how are you?" is a commonly reflexive and courteous response.
Most likely she's just wondering what's going so well in your life that you'd answer "great" instead of "good" or "fine". "I am doing great." might be the type of answer one gives when they proposed marriage and the other person said yes, or they got that promotion at work they've been pushing for months to accomplish. Still, being a subjective measure, there are people are looser with "great" and might use it if they woke up without too much back pain that morning or their toast didn't burn at breakfast.
Probably just a miserable person who can’t conceive of someone doing great lol
On an unrelated note, I had to prepare a personal speech for German class in high school and it included the phrase, “Ich bin Ausgezeichnet,” which means “I am excellent” (not “I feel excellent,” which is what I was going for). My German teacher had a good little laugh.
It’s a bit enthusiastic and sometimes implies good news.
Sometimes the default is very robotic and automatic and small talky(good you? Not bad)
“I’m doing great” is more than this default and the person was probably like “great? That’s awesome! Why so?”
Surprised to see every response is about tone when it sounds a lot more like calling out improper grammar imo. The ellipses indicate to me that the responder is waiting for the noun. You are doing great… things? Great… work? Great… what?
“Great” is an adjective which describes nouns. An appropriate modifier in this situation is an adverb which describes verbs. “Well” or another positive adverb would be correct.
This is pedantry. Most English speakers would neither know nor care about the difference.
I don’t disagree, but this is r/LearnEnglish after all. Correct vocabulary, spelling, grammar, syntax, etc. is important. It’s also exactly the response I’d get from my mom, grandmother, and most English teachers I had in elementary school.
That response can easily be misunderstood as sarcasm if you don't use a very enthusiastic tone.
It may have come off a bit strong and therefore she may have interpreted it as sarcastic and rude. Maybe try "I'm doing fine, and you?"
Depending on tone, to someone in passing it can come off as sarcastic or at least ironic. It depends on setting and the listener.