English Grammar How is or how was your day so far?

[sim-value]

Hi,

Just one quick easy question:

What is right:
"how is your day so far?"
or "how was your day so far?"

Or is both right?

[Oxwivi]

"How was" because you're asking about the time that already passed.

[Ranko Kohime]

Hi,

Just one quick easy question:

What is right:
"how is your day so far?"
or "how was your day so far?"

Or is both right?
Ehh, I'd say, based upon context, both. But your last line needs work: "or ARE both right?" Is is a singular verb, are is a plural.

[wojox]

I say

"So how is your day so far?"

"How was your day?"

[swisscow]

Or "How has your day been" as it is still going on and you are referring to both past and present - perfect tense I think it's called if schoolboy grammar serves me.

[Paqman]

How was is correct, the confusion arises from the fact that both "how is" and "how was" can be abbreviated as "how's".

I wouldn't use either myself though. I'd be more likely to ask "How has your day been so far?"

[CraigPaleo]

Since you're using "so far" in the sentence, the present perfect would be a better choice as it covers the past while including the present, How has your day been so far?

[Zzl1xndd]

No normally just go with "how's your day been?"

[Grenage]

How was is correct, the confusion arises from the fact that both "how is" and "how was" can be abbreviated as "how's".

I wouldn't use either myself though. I'd be more likely to ask "How has your day been so far?"

Agreed. No amount of grammar can help a poorly constructed sentence.

How has your day been so far?
How has your day been? (asked in the eve)
How was your day? (asked in the eve)
How is your day going?

[madhi19]

What about just using "How are you?" It vague enough to be used at any time of the day yet it still very polite.

[cracker89]

Hi,

Just one quick easy question:

What is right:
"how is your day so far?"
or "how was your day so far?"

Or is both right?
ermm - i think the proper sentence would be, "how has your day been so far?"

[mkendall]

ermm - i think the proper sentence would be, "how has your day been so far?"

The phrase "so far" is a redundancy. Leave it out.

[theraje]

Another good choice is to say, "How is you doing peoples, I know right?" Not only is it a syntactical nightmare, it's quite ambiguous. :P

But yeah, "so far" in the context you've given is redundant. A more prudent example (previously given by another user): "How has your day been?"

It's a matter of writing concisely... remove extraneous words, and you'll have a much easier time of figuring out whether your grammatical structure is appropriate.

[wilee-nilee]

Many of us ask this often of others, do we really want to know or is this just a polite social norm?

[theraje]

Many of us ask this often of others, do we really want to know or is this just a polite social norm?

Depends on the length of the pause and the amount of listening to the reply of the other. I often hear people ask "how are you?" and continue to flap their jaws, as if it were a run-on sentence. That seems even more rude than saying nothing at all, in my humble opinion.

[judge jankum]

Hillbilly"
how's yo day so fer?????

[madhi19]

Depends on the length of the pause and the amount of listening to the reply of the other. I often hear people ask "how are you?" and continue to flap their jaws, as if it were a run-on sentence. That seems even more rude than saying nothing at all, in my humble opinion.

That a great question after asking how are you, how long society expect you to politely listen to the answer and nod like you care? And when can you move the conversation somewhere else? I guess that all depend on the type of relationship.

Acquaintance/work = 2 minutes but make it quick!!!

Close Neighbor = 4 minutes hey they might have something to say that concern you after all!

Not so close Neighbor = 1 minutes sorry I just don't care!

Close family members = Variable this one can last all night!!

Not so close family members = 30 minutes a year because of Christmas otherwise same as Acquaintance. Warning can become variable depending on your intoxication at the moment and the length of time since you met them!

Asking how are you is a dangerous thing to ask after all they might just start telling you!!!

[HermanAB]

Amerikin:
Howaya?
Howzit?
Wassup?
Yo?

Canadian:
Hi

Or if your a very British:
How do you do?

[cracker89]

Lol this thread is just trailing off into obscure dimensions now. Anywho..


The phrase "so far" is a redundancy. Leave it out.

Yea it is redundant, but that would be the proper, grammatical thing to say. Apart from that, 'Za Dawg? is good enough for some. But I have to add, spontaneity makes all the difference. :P

And can we have a better smilie for :P i like the tongue thing, and this one >>> :P doesnt seem to cut it.

[bouncingwilf]

Either could be used under the rules of English grammar depending on whether you intended the present case or the past case. However, grammar also dictates that the final question should be pluralized i.e. "Or are both right"

Bouncingwilf

[cracker89]

Lol this thread is just trailing off into obscure dimensions now. Anywho..


The phrase "so far" is a redundancy. Leave it out.

Yea it is redundant, but that ^^^ would be the proper, grammatical thing to say if "so far" is to be included. Apart from that, 'Za Dawg? is good enough for some. But I have to add, spontaneity makes all the difference. :P

And can we have a better smilie for :P i like the tongue thing, and this one >>> :P doesnt seem to cut it.

[mcduck]

Now that you guys are discussing English grammar here, I'll throw in another question, something that I've been wondering for a while now:

Being a native speaker of language that makes no difference between genders, I always have troubles finding a way to refer to a person who's gender I don't know. Like when making a forum post and referring to another person in the thread.

I mean, doing something like "he/she said that..." is a bit awkward and wouldn't really even work with spoken language.

I guess all my English teachers just assumed that we'd always either see or hear the person we are talking with, or at least know the name. Then came the Internet and all the people with their anonymous user names. :D

[cpmman]

The most important thing in conversation is mutual understanding.

"Having/Had a good/bad day?" would be my choice. In the second case it should be said sympathetically.

[phredbull]

Native speakers teaching non-native speakers to speak improperly. Nice. You can always count on the internet for authoritative misinformation.

[theraje]

Now that you guys are discussing English grammar here, I'll throw in another question, something that I've been wondering for a while now:

Being a native speaker of language that makes no difference between genders, I always have troubles finding a way to refer to a person who's gender I don't know. Like when making a forum post and referring to another person in the thread.

I mean, doing something like "he/she said that..." is a bit awkward and wouldn't really even work with spoken language.

I guess all my English teachers just assumed that we'd always either see or hear the person we are talking with, or at least know the name. Then came the Internet and all the people with their anonymous user names. :D

"He or she" is a good way of referencing someone whose gender is unknown. Not very colloquial, I know. A lot of people use "they" instead. So, instead of "He or she is great", one might say, "they are great" (even when referring to only one person).

Don't sweat that too much - the English language is so difficult to master relative to others because it has so many ambiguities within its own rules. :P

[Grenage]

Now that you guys are discussing English grammar here, I'll throw in another question, something that I've been wondering for a while now:

Being a native speaker of language that makes no difference between genders, I always have troubles finding a way to refer to a person who's gender I don't know. Like when making a forum post and referring to another person in the thread.

I mean, doing something like "he/she said that..." is a bit awkward and wouldn't really even work with spoken language.

I guess all my English teachers just assumed that we'd always either see or hear the person we are talking with, or at least know the name. Then came the Internet and all the people with their anonymous user names. :D

English lacks a proper gender-neutral pronoun; they is about as good as it gets.

[theraje]

English lacks a proper gender-neutral pronoun; they is about as good as it gets.

Well... there is "it", but I doubt most people would appreciate being called an "it" unless they were playing tag. Even then, it's not exactly desirable. :P

[Grenage]

Well... there is "it", but I doubt most people would appreciate being called an "it" unless they were playing tag. Even then, it's not exactly desirable. :P

Indeed; common parlance is to use gender-specific pronouns, once gender has been established; they is more common. I'd rather they just invented a word, and I hereby suggest hem!

[mcduck]

Thanks for the answers, this made my life a bit easier. :)

"they" sounds a bit strange, but I suppose I'll trust you on this one and start using that. It's a lot better than anything I've heard of this far.

I like the idea of "hem, but at least based on Wikipedia people have been trying to add such pronoun to English since 1850. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for "hem" to become common.. :P

[mcduck]

Don't sweat that too much - the English language is so difficult to master relative to others because it has so many ambiguities within its own rules. :P
I've noticed that. :D

Well, better this way than being an native English-speaker and trying to learn Finnish, I suppose..

[bouncingwilf]

On the subject of gender neutrality, "How is one today?" - "Fine your Majesty"


Bouncingwilf

[DirtyPC]

Acutally, the British way of saying is:

'Ite blud, howz u doin init?

Safffeee;

[DirtyPC]

Deshalb sprechen nur Englisch? Ich finde sprechen eine andere Sprache, zum Beispiel Deutsch, ist sinnlos und völlig nutzlos, aber wie viele von euch haben kopiert und diese in Google Translate?

[DirtyPC]

sorry, I think thats right, my German is poor.

[Spice Weasel]

'Ite blud, howz u doin init?

I'm afraid I'm not feeling too well at the moment, but thank you for asking! :)

[DirtyPC]

I'm afraid I'm not feeling too well at the moment, but thank you for asking! :)
Aha this made me laugh! :D

Good day to you sir!

[JustinR]

Hi,

Just one quick easy question:

What is right:
"how is your day so far?"
or "how was your day so far?"

Or is both right?

According to my English class the first one is correct. Your talking about the day 'so far', which is present - 'is' is present so that is correct.

[t0p]

According to my English class the first one is correct. Your talking about the day 'so far', which is present - 'is' is present so that is correct.

Your English class is wrong. As has been pointed out already, over and over and over again, the correct usage would be: "How has your day been so far?", usually abbreviated to "How's your day been so far?" (How's can mean how is and how has). But "so far" is redundant - it's implied anyway.

[cracker89]

I say, Quite.

[Sean Moran]

What a wonderful thread!

"was" doesn't fit with "so far" but somehow "How has your day been (going) so far?" seems to manage to bridge the gap between past and present tenses. It all comes back to "How you doin'?" and the answer is the same either way:

"I'm fine, thank you, and you?" :)

[lisati]

I mean, doing something like "he/she said that..." is a bit awkward and wouldn't really even work with spoken language.


As someone else has already observed, "it" doesn't quite make the grade. We could solve this problem by switching to Maori or Samoan, both of which use "ia" for he, she and it. ("ia" in this context sounds a little bit like the English word "ear". When pronounced like the Dutch or German word "ja", it has another meaning in Samoan.....)

Then again, there could be confusion for speakers of English: for example, some Polynesian languages have THREE words that can be translated as "you", depending on how many people you're talking about.

[cracker89]

As someone else has already observed, "it" doesn't quite make the grade. We could solve this problem by switching to Maori or Samoan, both of which use "ia" for he, she and it. ("ia" in this context sounds a little bit like the English word "ear". When pronounced like the Dutch or German word "ja", it has another meaning in Samoan.....)

Then again, there could be confusion for speakers of English: for example, some Polynesian languages have THREE words that can be translated as "you", depending on how many people you're talking about.


NOW We're definitely going to get places! Right, so then in english an equivalent would be?

Personally - I never quite had a liking to it. I hate when people refer to animals with "It". EG: "It is a dog." For pete's sake, bend a li'l lower and check for the mammaries or testicles.

However, I wouldnt mind it using it in the context of unknown gender personalities over the net. How bout "they" or "them" though? Again, the context, tense is of imperative value here.

Hows about coming up with a neutral gender referral word in english, and then copyrighting it for use at ubuntuforums :P

[Rasa1111]

Past Tense~ [Talking about something already passed]
"How was your day?"

Present Tense ~ [Talking about something that is presently happening, or still happening]
"How is your day?" or "How is your day going?"

[lisati]

NOW We're definitely going to get places! Right, so then in English an equivalent would be?


Good question. Sadly, I don't have a good equivalent without knowing a person's gender in advance.

[cracker89]

Lol.. lets make one up then... ? though i've never faced a problem with it...

And by it i mean, referring to other forum members. They've got names haven't they?

[madhi19]

Lol.. lets make one up then... ? though i've never faced a problem with it...

And by it i mean, referring to other forum members. They've got names haven't they?

And we can solve this problem with a little gender sign bellow the nickname! Many forums have that and you're not forced to give your gender if you don't want to.

[cracker89]

Question: what bearing would your gender have on your knowledge/queries/contributions here? I'd prefer a gender-less online presence. not to mention a possible increase in private messaging spamming.

[mcduck]

As someone else has already observed, "it" doesn't quite make the grade. We could solve this problem by switching to Maori or Samoan, both of which use "ia" for he, she and it. ("ia" in this context sounds a little bit like the English word "ear". When pronounced like the Dutch or German word "ja", it has another meaning in Samoan.....)

Then again, there could be confusion for speakers of English: for example, some Polynesian languages have THREE words that can be translated as "you", depending on how many people you're talking about.

That would work for me. :)

Finnish word "se" is also these days commonly used for people, animals and items. It used to be a bit insulting, just like "it", but that's pretty much history now and I'd say "se" is a lot more common than the "correct" pronouns which are just seen as being extra polite and formal. Especially in spoken language.

That's one more "you" than we have, though. :D

[Rachel_Eliason]

simplest answer to your question is "they" as in "they said..."

[Swagman]

lol

In Australia (WA) we used to greet people with a "How ya goin mate ?"

When we came over to UK and I said that I got "Going ? I aint going nowhere!"

[CraigPaleo]

I've noticed that. :D

Well, better this way than being an native English-speaker and trying to learn Finnish, I suppose..

Tagalog, as well as many Asian languages, also has one pronoun for he/him/she/her. Sometimes they mix them up, which can make a conversation very confusing.

I've been to Finnish websites and wasn't able to find my way around. Usually, with Germanic or Romance languages, I can recognize enough words to find my way. Finnish seems to have very few cognates. It'd probably be one of the harder languages for English speakers to learn.

[lisati]

lol

In Australia (WA) we used to greet people with a "How ya goin mate ?"

When we came over to UK and I said that I got "Going ? I aint going nowhere!"

One which puzzled me for a while is the tendency for young people these days to say something like "sup" (as in "What's up?", not "eat") as a greeting that does't demand a response detailing what is (was?) happening.

[CraigPaleo]

As someone else has already observed, "it" doesn't quite make the grade. We could solve this problem by switching to Maori or Samoan, both of which use "ia" for he, she and it. ("ia" in this context sounds a little bit like the English word "ear". When pronounced like the Dutch or German word "ja", it has another meaning in Samoan.....)

Then again, there could be confusion for speakers of English: for example, some Polynesian languages have THREE words that can be translated as "you", depending on how many people you're talking about.

There is a language (Polynesian?) that has two versions of "we." One includes the person or people being addressed and the other excludes them.

Edit: I also remember when bad was just an adjective. Now it's also a noun. "My bad."