How would you say it when I want to ask someone the progress of something?
Is "How is it going on with your assignment?" correct?
asked Jul 13, 2016 at 7:21
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2 Answers
I personally would remove the on, as in
- How is it going with your assignment?
You could also say
- How are you coming along with your assignment?
I think it sounds natural and is easier to ask
- How is your assignment going?
- How is your assignment coming along?
There other possibilities.
I think some basic responses would be
- It's going well.
- It's not going well.
- I'm almost done.
- I just started.
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1It is common, especially in the US to say "it's going good" but this is technically incorrect. Good is an adjective, well is the adverb, which we need to apply to going.– djnaCommented Jul 13, 2016 at 8:11
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Yes, I know. I didn't mean to imply that it was grammatical. I felt like it was something very common. I hear it and say it regularly. I considered making a note about it, but I think it was just best to accept your edit. Thanks.– Em.Commented Jul 13, 2016 at 8:15
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@djna It's not technically incorrect. It's perfectly grammatical in informal English, just not formal English.– eijenCommented Jul 13, 2016 at 17:18
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@eijen, we're probably into shades of meaning here. I'm not sure I understand the definition of grammatical when applied to informal speech. If it's informal can it be ungrammatical? In these examples we coud in informal speech use an adjective rather than an adverb, and be understood. Is that then grammatical? Where could I find the rules of grammar that let me know whether this is grammatical? My opinion until now, was that when we get down all informal, like, pretty much anything gits up and gits a goin'. In this forum I think we should err on the side of formality.– djnaCommented Jul 13, 2016 at 19:53
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@djna I'm using the linguistic definition of grammatical. As Wikipedia puts it: "Speakers of a language have a set of internalised rules for using that language. This is grammar, and the vast majority of the information in it is acquired—at least in the case of one's native language—not by conscious study or instruction, but by observing other speakers...The term "grammar" can also be used to describe the rules that govern the linguistic behaviour of a group of speakers." Thus something is grammatical if it corresponds to that set of internalized rules, or to the actual usage of a group.– eijenCommented Jul 13, 2016 at 21:42
I usually ask, "what is the status of...?".
For instance:
What is the status of your assignment? Or
What is the status of my application?
It's a bit more formal and technical, so it's not always used for informal speech.
