Useful vocabulary and phrases
Long time, no see
| It has been a while | It has been ages |
| It has been ages since I saw you | How long has it been? |
Recent well-being
| How have you been? | How has life been treating you? |
| How have things been? |
Recent activities
| What have you been up to? | Been up to much recently? |
News of Peers
| Did you see that…? | Have you heard? …(news) |
| Did you hear that…? | Have you heard what (x) did? |
| Did you hear what (x) did? |
Major News
| Did you see the story about…? | What do you make of…? |
Responses to News
| Good for him | I told you so |
| That’s good news | We all saw that coming |
| Who would have thought? | That’s a shame |
| Really? | Poor guy |
| That doesn’t surprise me | Last I heard… |
Saying Goodbye
| I have to go | I’m afraid I can’t really talk right now |
| Sorry, I’m afraid I have to go | It was nice seeing you again |
| I’m afraid I have to rush off |
Hinting at a future meeting
| We should have lunch some time | Give me a ring some time and we can (do something) |
| We should do this again some time | Stop by (my house) if you have time |
| Give me a call when you’re free |
Dialogues
Dialogue 1
“Hey there Philip. How are things?”
“I’m OK, thanks. How about you?”
“Not bad.”
“Hey, did you hear that Chloe got offered a job in Italy?”
“Yeah, I heard that. Sounds exciting. But I’m afraid I can’t really talk right now. I have to get to the station.”
“No problem. It was nice seeing you again. Have a good trip.”
Dialogue 2
“Oh hi Anna. How are you?”
“Not bad. How has life been treating you? It seems like ages since I saw you.”
“It does. Maybe 6 months. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, same old same old. How about you?”
“I changed my job. I’m now working at the bakery downtown.”
“Very nice. Oh, did you hear that Samantha broke up with her boyfriend?”
“Did she? Well, I’m not surprised.”
“Yep. She’s back on the market.”
“How about Emili? Any news from her?”
“I haven’t heard from her in a while. Last I heard she was still working for the electric company.”
“Oh well. Hey, we should have lunch some time. Maybe on Saturday.”
“I’d like that.”
“Cool. Give me a ring and we’ll arrange a time. As for now, I’m afraid I have to rush off.”
“No problem. I’ll talk to you later.”