How are you? - It's going ...

[Mzungu39]

I would like to know if the answer to the following question is acceptable or not.

How are you? - I'm fine, thank you. / So, so.

What about It's going meaning I'm doing fine, things are 'going' OK. ?

 

[kfredson]

I would like to know if the answer to the following question is acceptable or not.

How are you? - I'm fine, thank you. / So, so.
This is fine, although I've never heard anyone say "So, so."

What about It's going meaning I'm doing fine, things are 'going' OK.
"Things are 'going' OK" is fine. It's a colloquial expression. But I guess you are asking about "It's going." I've never heard it used in this context. I have heard the following:
"How are things going?"
"They're going." This is a bit "cute," as we would say. It's a play on words which usually implies that things are going along, neither too well nor too poorly.
"They're going just fine" would be a more normal response.
?

kfredson

 

[Raymott]

I would like to know if the answer to the following question is acceptable or not.

How are you? - I'm fine, thank you. / So, so.

What about It's going meaning I'm doing fine, things are 'going' OK. ?

'So, so' is quite common in AusE.

I've never heard "It's going", or even "They're going."

You can say "Things are going fine", but that is an answer to "How're things?", not to "How are you?"

How are you? - I'm fine.
How are things? - Things are fine.
How are things going? - They're going OK.
How are you doing? - I'm doing OK.
How are your children? - They're good; They're doing OK.

 

[mmasny]

How about:
How's it going? - It's going.

 

[Mzungu39]

Thank you very much.

I assume that 'So,so' is also used in British English. Anyone here that can affirm that?

kfredson,
How do you answer then to How are you if you want to say that you're actually not fine? Instead of So,so.

 

[RedMtl]

"So, so" is certainly used in Canadian English, and I have personal friends residing in the UK who also use it. Interestingly, I do not hear it in the USA when I am there (and I am there frequently), unless it is spoken by someone who is Canadian, British or Australian -- so this would support kfredson's comment. It could also be regional, and just not commonly used in California which is where I usually find myself.

When one wishes to reply to "How are you?" without stating one is well, one can simply say, "Not well today" or "Not so good" or "Things could be going better" or any variation upon the preceding.

People generally expect a positive reply to "How are you?", so answering with something else which is less positive, or simply not expected, will often cause another person to suddenly take notice of what is being said, whereas the usual "I'm fine" might actually be entirely ignored.

 

[Raymott]

How about:
How's it going? - It's going.

No

 

[Raymott]

How do you answer then to How are you if you want to say that you're actually not fine? Instead of So,so.

A lot of the time it's not what you say, but how you say it. This is hard to do in an email though.
If you are not fine but don't want to complain about it:
I'm not complaining. (I could, but what's the point?)
I've been worse, thanks. (Even though I'm not fine at the moment.)
Alright, I guess. (But don't ask me to think about it.)
Not bad, I suppose. ( " " )

If you really want the other person to know you're not well:
A bit out of sorts today/this week/etc.
Not as well as I'd like to be.
I've had better days.
Bloody awful, thanks for asking.
I think I'm dying.

 

[kfredson]

Thank you very much.

I assume that 'So,so' is also used in British English. Anyone here that can affirm that?

kfredson,
How do you answer then to How are you if you want to say that you're actually not fine? Instead of So,so.

I'm sorry, I was thrown off by the comma in So, so. I guess I would tend to write this as so-so. Yes, that is an expression meaning "not too bad, not too good, just fair to middling."

 

[mmasny]

No

I actually heard it and now my google search indicates that it's used... I thought it was just another "cute" (as kfredson called it) answer to this question.

 

[Raymott]

I actually heard it and now my google search indicates that it's used... I thought it was just another "cute" (as kfredson called it) answer to this question.

Well, you could try it and see what reactions you get.

 

[Mzungu39]

Thank you for sharing your experience.