VOA日常语法2024--Ways to Say 'Goodbye'

Ways to Say 'Goodbye'

　　It is never easy to say goodbye, but at least in English, we have many ways to do so. For my final Everyday Grammar, I want to share the many ways to say goodbye in English.

　　There are polite or formal ways. There are also ways we can say goodbye in everyday conversation, including fun slang¹ that you can use.

　　"Goodbye" is believed to have come from the expression, "God be with ye," about 500 years ago. "Ye" is an old form of "you." Over time "God" became "good." Today, the expression is for wishing someone well when you are leaving.

　　"Goodbye" is probably the most common way to say this. Shorter forms include "bye" and "bye-bye." If you enjoy the 1990's pop band, NSYNC, you can say: "Bye Bye Bye!"

　　"It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie

　　Baby, bye bye bye"

　　In formal conversation

　　When you part with someone and you want to wish them a good time, you can use this general structure:

　　Have + a + adjective² + period of time:

　　Have a good night!

　　Have a wonderful weekend!

　　Have a nice day.

　　"Have" is in the imperative³ form of the verb. The imperative form gives instructions, directions or commands. Imperative sentences use the base form of the verb.

　　If parting ways with someone during the nighttime, we combine "good" with "night" to wish someone a "goodnight." We use this expression usually when going to sleep at night.

　　I always say "goodnight" to everyone in my house before bedtime.

　　We use other command forms in formal settings⁴ to say "goodbye."

　　"Take care (of yourself)" is meant to wish someone physical or emotional⁵ health.

　　If we have enjoyed our time with someone we can say:

　　It was a pleasure speaking with you.

　　It + form of "be" in present or past tense + article and noun⁶ or adjective + gerund + (with) you.

　　It was great seeing you this weekend.

　　We can also say that we "look forward to" seeing or speaking with someone. This expression suggests hope for the future.

　　I look forward to our next meeting.

　　I look forward to seeing you then.

　　I look forward to speaking with you.

　　Shorter forms of this expression include a sentence with "will."

　　I will see you then.

　　See you then!

　　Speak to you then!

　　In everyday conversation

　　When speaking with friends and family, you can use informal ways to communicate leaving.

　　Shorter forms like "see you" are said even more conversationally⁸ when "you" becomes "ya" in fast speech. We can combine the expression with an adverb to say when we will see someone in the future.

　　See you soon!

　　See ya' later.

　　See ya' around!

　　Catch you later.

　　Catch ya' later.

　　To express a similar meaning, we can use a prepositional¹⁰ phrase with "until." There is no subject or object. Just the preposition⁹ is used.

　　Until + time expression

　　Until then.

　　Until Tuesday!

　　Until next week!

　　If you need to quickly leave, you can use these expressions. "Gotta" is a contraction¹¹ that is used in everyday speech.

　　I've got to go.

　　I've gotta go.

　　I'm heading off.

　　If you want someone to connect with you in the future, you can use these:

　　Don't be a stranger.

　　Keep in touch!

　　If someone is leaving you on a trip, you can wish them a safe journey:

　　Have a safe trip!

　　Drive safely.

　　Drive safe!

　　Safe travels!

　　Note that in "drive safe," "safe" is, what is sometimes called, a "flat" adverb. These are older adverb forms in English that do not use the -ly ending. Phrases "sleep tight" or "go slow" are examples.

　　Another expression that uses a flat adverb is "take it easy."

　　And lastly, if you must leave quickly, you can use the expression:

　　I've got to hit the road.

　　I gotta hit the road.

　　We often use it when we are going to drive somewhere, but we can use it for other means of travel.

　　Slang

　　Finally, we have a few slang words that are used very informally in speech, especially by some groups of people. Slang is often spoken by young people and is generational, meaning that each new generation has its own slang. Remember, using slang is very informal and not a good idea in groups of people who are of several different age groups.

　　From the expression "see you later," we get the one-word slang expression "later." You can use this word by itself or with the person's name.

　　Later!

　　Later, John!

　　We also have the expression:

　　I'm out of here.

　　We can make this even more informal by shortening¹² "out of" to "outta."

　　I'm outta here.

　　One of my favorite expressions was often heard in 1990's and early 2000's hip¹³ hop⁷ music: "bounce¹⁴."

　　According to Urban Dictionary, to "bounce" means to leave and go somewhere else better or quickly.

　　A song by Destiny's Child, "Say My Name," uses this expression:

　　See you gotta bounce

　　When two seconds ago

　　You said you just got in the house

　　Final thoughts

　　In today's Everyday Grammar, we talked about different expressions we can use to say "goodbye." Many "goodbye" expressions in both formal and everyday language use the imperative form. We also looked at some fun slang words for "goodbye."

　　I wanted to thank our audience for the past two years here at VOA Learning¹⁵ English. This might not be "goodbye," maybe it is just "see ya later!"

　　Take care,

　　Words in This Story

　　formal – adj. language that is used for serious or official writing and speaking

　　slang – n. a word or expression that is not standard usage, is considered very informal and is usually used by people of a certain age group or ethnic background

1 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

2 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

3 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

4 settings   

n.镶嵌( setting的名词复数 )；环境；装置；（某事、戏剧、小说等的）背景

参考例句：

• to study behaviour in laboratory and naturalistic settings 研究实验室里的以及仿自然环境中的行为
• This machine has two settings: fast and slow. 这种机器有两种可调的速度：快速和慢速。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

6 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

7 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

8 conversationally   

adv.会话地

参考例句：

• I am at an unfavourable position in being conversationally unacquainted with English. 我由于不熟悉英语会话而处于不利地位。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The findings suggest that happy lives are social and conversationally deep, rather than solitary and superficial. 结论显示，快乐的生活具有社会层面的意义并与日常交谈有关，而并不仅仅是个体差异和表面现象。 来自互联网

9 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

10 prepositional   

adj.介词的，前置词的

参考例句：

• Moreover, the locative environment is mainly realized a locative prepositional phrase. 另外，处所环境主要由处所介词短语加以体现。 来自互联网
• Its a language habit of the ancients to omit prepositional object. 省略介词宾语是古人的语言习惯。 来自互联网

11 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

12 shortening   

n.缩针，简写；酥油/雪白奶油v.弄短，缩短( shorten的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Instead, sarcomere shortening occurs when the thin filaments'slide" by the thick filaments. 此外，肌节的缩短发生于细肌丝沿粗肌丝“滑行”之际。 来自辞典例句
• Use peanut or safflower oil or solid vegetable shortening for frying. 用花生或红花油，或者食用油来起酥。 来自互联网

13 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

14 bounce   

n.弹，反弹；冲劲，冲力；v.(使)弹起(跳起)

参考例句：

• She's got a lot of bounce.她浑身都是劲。
• The ball gave a high bounce.那球弹得很高。

15 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。