Greeting a colleague and asking about their day
CEFR: A2
Read/Listen first
Today I’m greeting a client in our office. When Mr Gomez arrives, I say, “Please, come in. How are you?” He says he is pretty good, but his morning has been hectic. He had a problem with the traffic, and he has already answered fifty emails. I tell him, “Take a seat.” We talk about our day. My day is going pretty well. I was very busy earlier, but things are calmer now. I ask, “How is your day going?” He says, “It was awful at first, but it has gotten better.” We laugh because we both feel tired, but we want the meeting to go well. I say that the afternoon is going to be quieter. He says that a good coffee would help him feel better. Before the meeting, I had worried about being late, but everything has gone smoothly. By the time we start, we both feel more relaxed and ready to work together.⚡ Learning goals
- I can greet a colleague politely and invite them to sit down.
- I can ask and answer questions about how a person and their day are going.
- I can describe a busy or awful morning that has started to get better.
✨ Key language
- How is your day going? “How is your day going this afternoon at work?”
- I’m pretty good, just very busy. “I’m pretty good, just very busy with emails.”
- It was awful at first, but it’s better now. “It was awful at first, but now it feels better.”
⚙️ Rules & Grammar — 4 Structures
1️⃣ Past simple
Rule: Use the past simple to talk about finished actions at a specific time in the past.Examples: He had a problem with the traffic.; I was very busy earlier.; It was awful at first.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners often say “I am busy yesterday” — Use the past form instead: “I was busy yesterday”.
Choose the correct past simple sentence.
Tip: Look for the finished past action and use the past form.
Fill with the best answer: Yesterday I ______ earlier.
Tip: Copy the pattern from the mini text: “I was very busy earlier.”
2️⃣ Present perfect
Rule: Use the present perfect to talk about past actions with a result now or no specific time.Examples: He has already answered fifty emails.; It has gotten better.; Everything has gone smoothly.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes say “He already answered fifty emails” — Add “has” to make “He has already answered fifty emails”.
Choose the correct form: He ______ fifty emails this morning.
Tip: Use “has” or “have” + past participle for the present perfect.
Fill with the best answer: My day ______ since the morning.
Tip: Think of the sentence from the text: “It has gotten better.”
3️⃣ Future with “going to”
Rule: Use “going to” to talk about future plans or predictions based on the present.Examples: The afternoon is going to be quieter.; We are going to start the meeting soon.; It is going to be a better day.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes say “It going to be quiet” — Add the verb “is”: “It is going to be quiet”.
Choose the correct future sentence.
Tip: Remember the pattern “is going to be” from the mini text.
Fill with the best answer: This coffee ______ me feel better.
Tip: Use “is going to” + base verb for future plans.
4️⃣ Would for polite suggestions
Rule: Use “would” to make polite suggestions or to talk about something helpful.Examples: A good coffee would help him feel better.; A short break would make us less tired.; A quiet room would be perfect for this meeting.
Common pitfall + fix: Learners sometimes say “It will be nice if we have coffee” — For a soft suggestion, use “would”: “A coffee would be nice”.
Choose the best polite suggestion about coffee.
Tip: Use “would” to sound polite and not too strong.
Fill with the best answer: A smaller meeting room ______ for us.
Tip: Think of how the speaker predicts a quieter afternoon in the office.
✍️ Vocabulary
hectic
Meaning: very busy and full of activity in a short time.Synonyms: busy, intense, stressful
Chunk/Idiom: a hectic morning at the office
Example: This morning was hectic, but things are calmer now.
Morphology: adjective (adj.), related noun: hecticness
Self-practice: Write one sentence about a hectic day at your work or school.
awful
Meaning: very bad or unpleasant.Synonyms: terrible, horrible, dreadful
Chunk/Idiom: an awful start to the day
Example: The traffic was awful, so he arrived late and stressed.
Morphology: adjective (adj.), adverb: awfully
Self-practice: Describe an awful morning and how it changed later in the day.
pretty good
Meaning: quite good, better than okay but not perfect.Synonyms: fairly good, quite good, rather good
Chunk/Idiom: feel pretty good about something
Example: He feels pretty good now that the meeting is going well.
Morphology: phrase, adverb + adjective
Self-practice: Say when you feel pretty good during a normal workday.
very busy
Meaning: having a lot to do with little free time.Synonyms: overloaded, snowed under, extremely busy
Chunk/Idiom: be very busy earlier in the day
Example: I was very busy earlier, but I can relax now.
Morphology: phrase, adverb + adjective
Self-practice: Write one sentence about a time when you were very busy at work.
meeting
Meaning: an event where people come together to talk or decide something.Synonyms: session, discussion, appointment
Chunk/Idiom: start a meeting with some small talk
Example: We start the meeting by asking how everyone is today.
Morphology: noun, verb: meet
Self-practice: Describe one important meeting you have during a normal week.
client
Meaning: a person or company that receives professional services from you.Synonyms: customer, account, business partner
Chunk/Idiom: greet a client at the office door
Example: Today I’m greeting a client in our office meeting room.
Morphology: noun, related adjective: client-focused
Self-practice: Write one sentence about a client or customer you often meet.
☁️ Examples (+ audio)
Please, come in and take a seat in my office.
My morning was hectic, but the day has gotten better now.
I was very busy earlier, so I felt tired and stressed.
The afternoon is going to be quieter, and we can relax.
✏️ Exercises
Grammar
Choose the best answer to the question: “How are you?”
Tip: Use a subject, the verb “be” or “do”, and the -ing form correctly.
Choose the correct present perfect sentence about the meeting.
Tip: Remember “has” + past participle to describe the result now.
Fill with the best answer:
This morning ______ at first, but it got better.Tip: Use the past simple form from the mini text: “It was awful.”
Fill with the best answer:
My day ______ since I had a coffee.Tip: Think of the sentence “It has gotten better” from the story.
Vocabulary & Comprehension
Which word from the text means “very busy”?
Tip: Look at how the speaker describes the busy morning with emails.
How does the client say he feels now?
Tip: Read the part where he compares the awful morning with his better afternoon.
Fill with the best answer:
Please, ______ and make yourself comfortable.Tip: Use the polite invitation you hear when someone enters an office.
Fill with the best answer:
Today I’m greeting a new ______ in our office.Tip: This is the person who comes for a professional meeting with you.
✅ Guided practice
Mini-dialogue:
A: Hi, please come in. How is your day going?B: It was hectic this morning, but it’s getting better now.
A: I’m glad to hear that. Please take a seat.
Why this matters:
Being able to greet a colleague politely helps you build trust. Small questions about the day create connection. This language makes office meetings feel friendlier and more relaxed for everyone.Verb & Adjective Pack:
greet — We greet the client at the office door.relax — After coffee, we relax and start the meeting.
hectic — The morning was hectic, but the afternoon is calmer.
awful — The traffic was awful and made us late.
Try & compare:
Fill with the best answer: I’m feeling ______ about today now.
Tip: Use the phrase the client says when his day improves.
Self-correction: Fix the sentence: This morning hectic but now feel good.
Tip: Follow the structure “was hectic, but now it feels better.”
Practice aloud: Listen, repeat, then type the sentence.
Please, come in and take a seat.
Tip: Pay attention to the polite phrase “Please, come in and take a seat.”