Alternative ways to ask

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You could

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ask, "How's it going? How are you

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doing?" Or, "How have you been?" Did you

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notice the contractions? How are often

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becomes how with the schwa at the end?

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How are you? And how have becomes how

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have. How have. You'll also hear this

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pronounced as one syllable. How. How

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have you been? Other common questions

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you'll often hear are how's life or

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how's life treating you? You'll also

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hear how are things or how's things.

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Now, how's things isn't grammatically

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correct because things is plural, but we

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say it a lot. These phrases just mean

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how are you or what's been happening in

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your life. You might also ask been up to

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much. This is more a question about what

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you've been doing. Notice the ellipsus

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in that sentence. We know who the

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subject is, so we can omit have you.

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You'll also hear you've been up to much

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with just have emitted. You'll hear been

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pronounced with the long e sound and

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been with the short i sound. Been up to

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much.