how to answer the question "how are you doing in English?" when I'm not good and bad

Hi teachers

I wonder how to answer the question "how are you doing in English?" when I'm not good and bad at English.

(I just only know Yes/No responses. I mean, I do want to know the neutral expression.)

Can you tell me the expression describing such a situation appropriately?:lol:

Thanks a million in advance!

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Originally Posted by Eureka

Hi teachers

I wonder how to answer the question "how are you doing in English?" when I'm not good and bad at English.

(I just only know Yes/No responses. I mean, I do want to know the neutral expression.)

Can you tell me the expression describing such a situation appropriately?:lol:

Thanks a million in advance!

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(Not a teacher)
So-so.

I understand your question not well.
What do mean 'English' here ? As a subject, a language, or anything else concerning English?
The verb 'do' here needs to be more specific, I think it can be 'write', 'read', 'learn', 'teach'...there are too many actions can be implied by 'do'
If the asker want to know all how you do in English, the answer may be various, such as I read English well but not for writing
An English starter at all

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Originally Posted by crazYgeeK

I understand your question not well.
What do mean 'English' here ? As a subject, a language, or anything else concerning English?
The verb 'do' here needs to be more specific, I think it can be 'write', 'read', 'learn', 'teach'...there are too many actions can be implied by 'do'
If the asker want to know all how you do in English, the answer may be various, such as I read English well but not for writing
An English starter at all

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"How are you doing in/with/at...?" is a general question. If you want to give a general answer, you can say:

I'm not doing too badly.
I'm doing OK.

The question doesn't need to be more specific, but you may wish to make your answer more specific:

Well, I'm pretty good at written English but not as good when speaking.
My reading comprehension is good but I have problems with grammar.

Many other combinations are possible, obviously.

Sorry for the off-topic, but I've just seen this:
I understand your question not well.

My first thought:
It's wrong and has to be,
I don't understand your question well.

However, my second thought says it's already right because not belongs to well.
I not understand your question. :cross:
I understand your question not. :cross:
I don't understand your question well. :tick:
I understand your question not well. :?:

So, is number 4 correct or not?
(I still have the feeling it's not correct...)

Cheers!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nightmare85

Sorry for the off-topic, but I've just seen this:
I understand your question not well.

My first thought:
It's wrong and has to be,
I don't understand your question well.

However, my second thought says it's already right because not belongs to well.
I not understand your question. :cross:
I understand your question not. :cross:
I don't understand your question well. :tick:
I understand your question not well. :?:

So, is number 4 correct or not?
(I still have the feeling it's not correct...)

Cheers!

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Sentence 4 is not correct. You could say "I understand your question badly" or "I understood your question only a little", though both of those sound rather strange.

However, with "well", we construct it as if the question had been "Did you understand my question well?" The answer would therefore be either "Yes, I understood it well" or "No, I didn't understand it well".

I should note that normally, we would simply ask "Did you understand the question?" The answer could still be "Yes, very well" or "No, I didn't understand it well at all."

sorry..can i know how to start a new thread.help needed..I'm a newbie:-)

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Originally Posted by tungsam

sorry..can i know how to start a new thread.help needed..I'm a newbie:-)

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Go to the "Ask a Teacher" main page, scroll down a little until you find the line which also has the list of page numbers. On the left, is a lozenge-shaped button marked "New Thread".

Thank you emsr2d2, Could you please answer me one more question, can I say 'I understand your question well not at all'? Thank you, wish more people like you joining this forum

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazYgeeK

Thank you emsr2d2, Could you please answer me one more question, can I say 'I understand your question well not at all'? Thank you, wish more people like you joining this forum

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You can't say "I understand your question well not at all". Again, if you want to answer in the negative, it should start "I don't/didn't understand..."

I didn't understand your question well at all = I understood your question a little but not completely.
I don't understand your question at all = I don't understand a word of it!