The most common question to ask when greeting someone in American English is, “How are you?” The answer to that question is not always the same, but one common response is “Fine.”
Sometimes English learners make the mistake of putting the question and the answer together. It becomes: “How are you fine?” But saying “fine” after “how are you” is like answering your own question! Instead, ask the question: “How are you?” and wait for the answer from the person you are speaking to: They’ll say, “Fine,” “Good,” “Okay,” or something like that.
In a conversation this might look like:
Andrew: How are you, Becky?
Becky: I’m fine. How are you?
Andrew: I’m doing well.
Another common mistake English learners make when greeting is asking, “Are you fine?” However, “Are you fine?” sounds unnatural and is not something native speakers would say.
Instead say, “Are you doing well?” This is a greeting question. The normal response is: “Yes!”
New City Language Services 