What's "how's it going" & the proper response? (Especially in the following cases)
What does "how's it going" really mean? & What's the proper response?
1. At the beginning of a conversation
Is it just a signal for the beginning of a conversation? (And what's the proper response for it?)
Or the speaker really wants to catch up with someone?
It could mean both, but which is the most common?
If it's not frequent in your daily life, what's the sentence that you use to start a conversation or to greet?
2. In the middle of a conversation
e.g.
A: I just had a quiz.
B: How's it going?
For this case, I suppose B is asking about how A feels about the quiz rather than what the exact result of the quiz is.
The question is,
if my understanding is correct, why doesn't B ask "how do you feel about it/the quiz"?
Is it about some social etiquette?
If I misunderstand it, what else could B mean?
And what's the proper response?
Thanks for reading my questions and your answers would be helpful!
:)
For the questions, my focus is more on the social code.