how

Unlike sense 6 (WELL-BEING), this sense asks about a specific condition after a particular event — an illness, exam, move, or other change — and expects a detailed answer rather than a short social reply.

Very common after events that have just finished. The verb is usually be, go, or turn out. Expects an evaluative answer (good/bad/fun/boring).

Follows the fixed pattern how + adjective/adverb + subject + verb. Do not use do/does/did — the subject comes directly after the adjective or adverb. Compare: How quickly she runs! (exclamation) vs How quickly does she run? (question).

These are rhetorical questions — they do not expect an answer. The speaker's real purpose is to express a strong feeling. The stronger versions use how dare (anger) or how could (shock/disappointment).

Commonly used as an opening greeting. The expected reply is usually short and positive (Fine, thanks / Good, you?), even when things are not perfect. This is a social routine, unlike sense 2 (CONDITION) which asks for a specific update after an event.

This fixed phrase expects the same expression in reply: 'How do you do?' It is not a genuine question about the other person's state. Almost exclusively British English and quickly becoming old-fashioned.

Frequently used alone as a one-word question ('How?') after the speaker has made a claim. Can also introduce a full clause asking for the mechanism or reasoning behind a statement.

Subject is typically a concrete thing you have provided (a room, a meal, a piece of work). The question expects a positive or negative evaluation, not a simple yes or no.

Common patterns are 'How true!' (for factual agreement), 'How + subject + verb!' (for emphatic confirmation), and 'How + adjective!' (for emotional agreement). Distinguish from adverb sense 4 which uses 'how' for general emphasis without agreeing with another speaker.

This is the most basic and frequent pattern for using 'how'. The adjective or adverb always comes immediately after 'how': 'how big', 'how quickly', 'how often'. In indirect questions, word order changes to subject + verb: 'She asked how old he was.'

In this sense, 'how' can be replaced by 'that' without changing the meaning. Most common in formal letters, legal documents, and literary narratives rather than everyday conversation. Often used after verbs of reporting such as 'explain', 'mention', 'write', 'inform', and 'describe'.

This is a formal and somewhat literary construction. The how-clause usually comes first, followed by the main clause. A more common alternative in everyday speech is 'no matter how' or 'however'. The fixed expression 'try how you might' is an established idiom using this pattern.

Always used with the definite article 'the'. Common after verbs such as 'learn', 'understand', 'explain', 'teach', and 'master'. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 refers to the actual method itself, not the question about the method.