You will hear native speakers say, “have a great rest of your day.” The phrase is very common, but it would help to know whether it’s grammatically correct. This article will look into that and provide some ideas of how to say “have a great rest of your day” correctly.
Is “Have a Great Rest of Your Day” Grammatically Correct?
“Have a great rest of your day” is not grammatically correct. It combines two well-known farewells with “have a great day” and “enjoy the rest of your day.” Combining these sentences is incorrect and should not be used in formal English. You can use it informally in spoken English, though.
It’s common for English speakers to use half-correct phrases like this in speaking. Most of the time, spoken English rules are relaxed compared to written ones. You might hear someone say farewell like this:
- Have a great rest of your day, Terry! I’m sure I’ll see you again tomorrow.
As you can see, the phrase itself sounds jarring when written down. However, when spoken aloud, it’s easier to understand.
It can be interpreted as:
- Have a great day, and enjoy the rest of it.
While this isn’t expressly said, it is how the phrase “have a great rest of your day” is received by the human ear. It’s common for phrases like this to pop up when people are thinking of something quick and polite to say as a goodbye phrase.
Now that we’ve seen that “have a great rest of your day” is grammatically incorrect, we should explore other options. If you want to remain formal and correct, you should have a few alternatives lined up. We’ve gathered the best options to help you understand what to say instead of “have a great rest of your day.”
Other Ways to Say “Have a Great Rest of Your Day”
Other ways to say “have a great rest of your day” are “have a great day,” “enjoy the rest of your day,” and “have a wonderful day.” These phrases are grammatically correct and allow you to show that you would like someone to enjoy their day.
1. Have a Great Day
“Have a great day” is a great example of how to say, “have a great rest of your day.” It removes the redundancy in the repeated phrase, allowing “have a great day” to shine on its own.
This works best when you want someone to have the best day. It shows that you are referring to the remaining time in the day without expressly saying “rest of your day.”
- Have a great day, Stu! I know you’re going to find a way to enjoy yourself today.
- Have a great day! Don’t forget you can always give me a call if you need me. I’ll look out for you.
2. Enjoy the Rest of Your Day
“Enjoy the rest of your day” is the other phrase used in the long-winded “have a great rest of your day.” It works well for how to say “have a great rest of your day” more concisely.
It shows that you want someone to make the most of the time in their day. “Enjoy” is used as an encouraging verb. It shows people you want them to have fun or entertain themselves.
“Rest of your day” shows you’re talking about the remaining time in their day.
- Enjoy the rest of your day, Sarah. I know things haven’t been great with us, but that will change soon.
- Enjoy the rest of your day, and get back to me about the information when you know more. Thank you!
3. Have a Wonderful Day
“Have a wonderful day” is a great alternative if you’re looking for a more exciting synonym than “great.” It shows you want someone to have the best day, where “wonderful” is a powerful adjective to encourage positive behaviour.
You should use this when you feel like someone could do with a little morale boost. Words like “wonderful” are great to try and improve someone’s spirit and confidence.
- Have a wonderful day today. I was hoping you could go out there and find something you can get lost in.
- Have a wonderful day. Don’t let anyone bring you down. It’s about time that you showed others how to have fun.
4. Make the Most of Your Day
“Make the most of your day” is a simple phrase you can use to encourage someone to enjoy themselves. It suggests you want them to “make the most” of the things coming up in their days.
“Making the most” of something means jumping at every opportunity. It encourages people to give themselves the best chances to better their lives and enjoy their time.
- You should be walking around here with a huge smile on your face! It’s only fair! Please, make the most of your day.
- Make the most of your day today. I know it will be tricky after this news, but you should still have fun.
5. I Wish You Well for the Rest of the Day
“I wish you well for the rest of the day” is a more formal alternative. It shows you want someone to be “well” for the remainder of the day. This phrase works as long as there are still a few hours (at least) left in the day.
“I wish you well” makes this a more formal phrase than most of the others. It shows you would like to personally wish someone good health or wellness as the day goes on.
- I wish you well for the rest of the day. Do you have any plans coming up that should be fun?
- I wish you well for the rest of the day, George. I want you to know I’m here if you need to talk about anything.
6. I Hope Your Day Goes Well
“I hope your day goes well” is a simple phrase you can use to show that you want someone to enjoy their day. “Goes well” implies that someone has a few plans lined up they might have already told you about.
This is a good phrase to use if they have informed you of their plans. It shows you want their plans to “go well,” especially if they are worried that the plans might not go as well as imagined.
- I hope your day goes well. Have you thought about what you want to do at the weekend?
- I hope your day goes well. You’re such a positive guy, and it would be so sad if you didn’t make the most of today.
7. Take it Easy for the Rest of the Day
“Take it easy for the rest of the day” is a great alternative showing that you want someone to take the load off. This works well when someone lives a stressful lifestyle, and you want them to “take it easy.”
If you worry about someone burning themselves out, a phrase like this will work wonders. It shows that you care about them and want to ensure they’re not doing too much.
- I know how much you’ve been pushing yourself lately! Kick your feet up. Take it easy for the rest of the day, okay?
- Take it easy for the rest of the day. I won’t let you get away with anything less than that!
8. Have Fun With the Rest of Your Day
“Have fun with the rest of your day” encourages someone to enjoy themselves and find something entertaining or interesting to do. It shows that you want them to “have fun” with whatever time they have left in the day.
It’s even more useful if someone’s already informed you of their plans. It will work well if you know someone already has fun things lined up, as it shows you were listening and want them to enjoy themselves.
- Have fun with the rest of your day. Feel free to text me again if you get up to anything interesting.
- Take a full day off! Have fun with the rest of your day. You shouldn’t pick up the phone for work.
9. Enjoy Your Day
“Enjoy your day” is a very simple choice, but it works well. It shows you would like someone to enjoy their day and make the most of the things they’re doing.
While it might seem simple at first glance, some people have difficulty “enjoying” themselves. That’s why reminding them to do so when parting ways with them might help them to enjoy more of their time in the day.
- Enjoy your day. Don’t let anyone tell you how you should live your life. Just enjoy the time you have.
- Enjoy your day, Martin! I’m sure you have a lot of exciting plans today. I can’t wait to hear about them.
10. Good Day!
“Good day!” is a more formal way to say goodbye to someone when you want to wish them well. It can be positive or negative, depending on how you choose to deliver it.
Either way, it’s a great phrase for a more formal goodbye. It shows you would like someone to have a “good day,” regardless of how much time is left in the day.
- Good day to you! I’d love to hear some interesting tales. Let me know if you get up to anything fun, though.
- Good day! I’m not sure if you have anything exciting planned. I do. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.
What Does “Have a Great Rest of Your Day” Mean?
“Have a great rest of your day” means you want someone to enjoy the remaining time they have in their day. It’s a common farewell phrase when you are saying goodbye to someone earlier in the day.
For example, you might say it during the early afternoon. It means you won’t see the person again for the rest of the day, but there are still a lot of hours left in the day for them to make “great.”
On the other hand, if you say goodbye to someone at night, this phrase won’t work well. Night time is usually when people go to bed, meaning there won’t be much of a “rest of the day” to enjoy.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.