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Speaking English
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Speaking English
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Agreeing in English
In English conversations, people often say that they agree or disagree with each other. There are many ways of
agreeing or disagreeing and the one you use depends on how strongly you agree or disagree. Here's a list of some
common expressions.
Agreeing in English
"I think you're right."
"I agree with you."
Strong agreement
"I couldn't agree with you more."
"You're absolutely right."
"I agree entirely."
"I totally agree."
Partly agreeing
"I agree with you up to a point, but"
"That's quite true, but"
"I agree with you in principle, but"
Disagreeing
"I'm not sure I agree with you."
"(I'm afraid) I don't agree."
"(I'm afraid) I disagree."
"(I'm afraid) I can't agree with you."
"(I'm afraid) I don't share your opinion."
Note
When you disagree with someone in English, you can often sound more polite by using a phrase such as "I'm afraid"
Disagreeing strongly
"I don't agree at all."
"I totally disagree."
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English greetings
First impressions are important, so here's a guide to using the right expression.
Greetings
Two friends meeting
Friends often say "Hi" to each other. Then they often ask a general question, such as "How are you?" or "How are
things?" or "How's life?"
The reply to this question is normally positive.
"Fine thanks, and you?"
"Fine thanks, what about yourself?"
"Not bad." Or "Can't complain."
Greeting people you don't know
You can use "Hello" with people you don't know, but a more formal greeting is "Good morning / afternoon / evening."
The other person normally replies with the same greeting as you have used and then makes polite conversation, such
as "How was your trip?" or "Did you find our office easily?"
Introducing yourself
At an informal party
"Hello, I'm Maria." Or "Hello, my name's Maria."
The reply could be:
"Hi, I'm Sarah." Or "Hello Maria, I'm Sarah." Or "Nice to meet you, I'm Sarah."
At work-related events
"I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Maria, from english@home."
Or, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Maria from english@home."
The reply could be:
"Nice to meet you. I'm Peter Mitchell, from Mitchell Creations."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Peter Mitchell, from Mitchell Creations."
"How do you do? I'm Peter Mitchell from Mitchell Creations."
Speaking English
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Speaking Tips
"How do you do?" is quite formal for British English speakers and the reply to this question is to repeat the phrase,
"How do you do?" (as strange as that may sound!)
At a more informal party
When you introduce two of your friends to each other, you can simply say, "John, this is Sarah."
Cultural considerations
At work, one person may have higher status your boss, or a client, for example. It's polite to address them as Mr / Ms
until the situation becomes more informal.
If someone says, "Please call me (Henry)", you know you can use first names. If someone uses your first name, you
can use their first name too.
People in European and English-speaking cultures often shake hands when they meet someone for the first time.
* Don't forget to smile! :-)
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Speaking Tip
Try to practise using these expressions, so that your speech sounds more varied!
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Shock
I was shocked to hear
The news came as a complete shock.
We're all in complete shock.
Everyone's reeling from the shock of
It happened out of the blue.
Who could have predicted it?
I (just) can't get over .
We were completely taken aback by
I was just stunned by
Disbelief
I just can't believe
It's unbelievable.
I / You just can't imagine
Words can't describe (how I feel about / the terrible devastation etc)
There's no way it could have happened.
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Making comments
"No!" to show surprise.
"I don't believe it!" to show surprise.
"Wow!" to show admiration or surprise.
"That's incredible / amazing / unbelievable" to show great interest in the subject of conversation.
"How awful / terrible" to show sympathy with someone else's bad news.
Asking questions
"Really?" to show surprise.
"And you?" when someone asks you how you are.
"Did you?" can be used to encourage someone to tell their story.
For example, "I saw her last night", "Did you?" "Yes, she was with one of her friends, and she."
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Sympathetic responses
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"You don't look very well."
"You look a little pale."
"Maybe you're going down with something. There's a bug going around."
"Maybe you should go home and get some rest."
"Why don't you go home and have a lie-down."
Mild illness
"I have a bit of a stomach bug."
"I think I've got a bit of a temperature."
"I have a touch of flu." (Flu = influenza)
"I've got a nasty cough." (pronounced "coff")
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For example:
I 'love you. (Love, rather than just like.)
'I love you. (With the stress on I to highlight that it's me rather than another person who loves you.)
I love 'you. (And nobody else.)
Intonation
There are a couple of easy to remember rules about intonation. Usually our voices go up at the end of the sentence to
show a question, and down at the end to show a statement.
Intonation is also important in "tag questions":
You know him, don't you? (With rising intonation on "don't you?" to show it's a question)
You know him, don't you. (With falling intonation on "don't you" to show it's a statement you expect the other person to
agree with.)
7. Learn to recognise spelling patterns.
For example, "tion" on the end of a word is pronounced "shun", while "sion" can be pronounced "zhun". There are often
many ways to pronounce a particular spelling pattern, but it certainly helps to know what the variations are. For
example, the pattern "ough" can be pronounced "uff" as in "enough" and "tough", or "or" as in "ought" and "bought" or
"oh" as in "although" and "dough".
8. Don't rush.
If you speak too fast, the danger is that you could skip over some words, fail to pronounce them completely, or mix them
up. If you speak too slowly, you might end up sounding unnatural. But it's better to speak slowly and clearly than too
quickly.
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Making appointments
Useful phrases for making and changing appointments.
Asking to meet
"Are you available on the 17th?"
"Can we meet on the 16th?"
"How does the 3rd sound to you?"
"Are you free next week?"
"Would Friday suit you?"
"Is next Tuesday convenient for you?"
"What about sometime next week?"
Agreeing on a date
"Yes, Thursday is fine."
"Thursday suits me."
"Thursday would be perfect."
Setting a time
"What sort of time would suit you?"
"Is 3pm a good time for you?"
"If possible, I'd like to meet in the morning."
"How does 2pm sound to you?"
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Making generalisations
English speakers often prefer to make generalisations, rather than saying something is a fact. When you make
generalisations, you will sound less direct and sure of yourself and therefore more open to other people's suggestions
and ideas. People will think you're friendly!
Speaking Tip
Although you may find it strange to avoid saying exactly what you mean, being able to make generalisations is a
speaking skill that will make you sound much more like a native English speaker.
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Making invitations
How to make and accept invitations in English.
"What are you doing next Saturday? We're having some people over for a meal. Would you like to come?"
"Are you free next Thursday?"
"Are you doing anything next weekend?"
"Would you be interested in coming to the cinema with me tonight?"
"How do you fancy going out for a meal at the weekend?"
Accepting
"Would you like to"
"I'd love to, thanks."
"That's very kind of you, thanks."
"That sounds lovely, thanks."
Do you fancy coming to the cinema tonight?
"What a great idea, thanks."
Declining
"Would you like to come over for dinner on Saturday?"
"That's very kind of you, but actually I'm doing something else on Saturday."
"Well, I'd love to, but I'm already going out to the cinema."
"I'm really sorry, but I've got something else on."
"I really don't think I can I'm supposed to be doing something else."
Speaking Tip
It's important to be polite when you decline an invitation. We normally give a reason why we can't do something and
either apologise, or use words like "actually" or "really".
Making offers
English speakers make offers all the time in conversation.
They say things like:
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Can I ?
Shall I ?
Would you like me to ?
Using these common English phrases and being able to accept and reject offers will make you sound polite and
helpful.
"Can I help you?"
"Shall I open the window for you?"
"Would you like another coffee?"
"Would you like me to answer the phone?"
"I'll do the photocopying, if you like."
Shall, can and will are followed by the verb without to.
Shall is more formal than can. Would you like is followed either by a noun, or by the verb with to.
Responding to offers
These English dialogues show you ways to accept or reject offers made to you.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes please. I'd like to know what time the train leaves."
"Can I help you?"
"No thanks, I'm just looking." (In a shop.)
"Shall I open the window for you?"
"Yes please. That would be very kind of you."
"Would you like another coffee?"
"No thanks." Or, "No thank you."
"Would you like another coffee?"
"Yes please, that would be lovely." Or, "Yes please, I'd love one."
"Would you like me to answer the phone?"
"If you wouldn't mind." Or, "If you could."
(Don't answer "Yes, I would", as this sounds like you expect someone to do it for you.)
"I'll do the photocopying, if you like."
"It's OK, I can do it." Or, "Don't worry, I'll do it.
"Or, "Thank you, that would be great."
Making predictions
When we want to say what we think will happen in the future in English, we can either use will followed by the verb
without to, or going to followed by the verb.
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Making requests
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When you ask someone to do something for you, or ask if you can do something, it's important to sound polite. Here are
some of the common ways that you can do this.
Rephrasing
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Sometimes we say things that other people don't understand, or we give the wrong impression.
This is an example conversation where one person says something that the other person thinks is strange.
LUIZ: "English is a very easy language to learn."
IRENE: "What do you mean?"
LUIZ: "Well, what I meant to say was that it is easy if you practise every day."
IRENE: "Oh, right."
Rephrasing expressions
"What I meant to say was"
"Let me rephrase that"
"Let me put this another way"
"Perhaps I'm not making myself clear"
Speaking Tip
Don't be afraid to repeat what you're saying, especially if you can do it in a slightly different way.
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Dates
We can say dates either with the day before the month, or the month before the day:
The first of January / January the first.
Remember to use ordinal numbers for dates.
(The first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the twenty-second, the thirty-first etc.)
Years
For years up until 2000, separate the four numbers into two pairs of two:
1965 = nineteen sixty-five
1871 = eighteen seventy-one
1999 = nineteen ninety-nine
For this decade, you need to say two thousand and - in British English:
2001 = two thousand and one
2009 = two thousand and nine
Large numbers
Divide the number into units of hundreds and thousands:
400,000 = four hundred thousand (no s plural)
If the number includes a smaller number, use and in British English:
450,000 = four hundred and fifty thousand
400,360 = four hundred thousand and three hundred and sixty
Fractions, ratios and percentages
= one half
1/3 = one third
= one quarter
1/5 = one fifth
1/ 6 = one sixth etc
3/5 = three fifths
1.5% = one point five percent
0.3% = nought / zero point three percent
2:1 = two to one
Saying 0
Depending on the context, we can pronounce zero in different ways:
2-0 (football) = Two nil
30 0 (tennis) = Thirty love
604 7721 (phone number) = six oh four
0.4 (a number) = nought point four / zero point four
0C (temperature) = zero degrees
Talking about calculations
+ (plus)
2 + 1 = 3 (two plus one equals three)
- (minus / take away)
5 3 = 2 (five minus three equals two / five take away three equals two)
x (multiplied by / times)
2 x 3 = 6 (two multiplied by three equals six / two times three equals six)
/ (divided by)
6 / 3 = 2 (six divided by three equals two)
Speaking English
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Here are some of the ways you can express your happiness in English.
You can be
- (absolutely) delighted
- thrilled to bits
- over the moon
- really pleased
- so happy
Or you can say
- I couldn't be happier.
- That is fantastic / wonderful / great / marvellous!
When you hear good news you can say:
- What great / wonderful / fantastic news!
- We've been waiting so long for this (moment).
- Thank God! / Thank God for that!
(British English speakers tend not to be particularly religious)
Pronunciation tip
Stress the adverbs and adjectives for greater emphasis:
- I'm really pleased.
- What great news!
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There are a number of expressions you can use to show your hopes and preferences.
Hopes
I'm hoping for (noun) ("I'm hoping for a new cell phone.")
I'm hoping to get ("I'm hoping to get a new phone.")
I would like
I really want (Using "want" can be impolite unless you are talking to a close friend or family member.)
Something I've always wanted is
I'd be delighted / over the moon if ("I'd be delighted if you gave me a new watch.")
What I'd like more than anything else is
On my Christmas wish list is
Preferences
I'd rather have (noun) ("I'd rather have tickets to the opera.")
I'd rather you (simple past) ("I'd rather you saved your money.")
I'd prefer (noun) ("I'd prefer some money for the new house.")
I'd prefer it if you (simple past) ("I'd prefer it if you gave some money to charity.")
.. would be more suitable / would be better
If I had a choice, I would go for
If it's all the same to you, . ("If it's all the same to you, I'd like some book tokens.")
Suggestions in English
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The following English words and expressions are all used to make suggestions and give advice to people.
should
"You should try to practise English."
"You shouldn't translate too much."
Why don't you
"Why don't you join an English club?"
ought to
"You ought to read more."
If I were you, I'd
"If I were you, I'd watch more television."
*All these expressions are followed by a verb, without to. For example: "He should visit the Eiffel Tower." (Not
"he should to visit the Eiffel Tower.")
suggest and recommend
Either use a verb + ing
"I suggest visiting the Eiffel Tower." (We should all go.)
OR use that + a verb without to
"I suggest that you visit the Eiffel Tower." (I'm not going.)
OR use a noun
"I recommend the lasagne." (It's a very good dish to choose in this restaurant.)
advise
"I advise you to buy a good dictionary."
advice
Advice is an uncountable noun. This means that we can't say an advice. Instead, we say some advice or a piece of
advice.
"Let me give you some advice."
"She gave me a very useful piece of advice: to buy a good dictionary."
Speaking tip
Many people don't like getting advice if they haven't asked for it! To avoid giving the wrong impression, you can try some
of these expressions:
"You could always"
"Have you considered"
"Perhaps we could"
"Do you think it's a good idea to"
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There are many words and expressions for talking about fear.
Words
afraid: "Are you afraid of the dark?"
frightened: "Im frightened of spiders."
scared: "Hes scared of making mistakes."
feel uneasy: "I felt a bit uneasy when I walked home in the dark."
spooked: My cats are easily spooked before a thunderstorm.
terrified: She was absolutely terrified when she heard the noise.
petrified: The building began to shake and we were all petrified.
Expressions
a terrifying ordeal
send shivers down my spine
give me goosebumps (goosebumps are when you skin has little bumps on it)
make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up (dogs also do this when they are scared)
scare the hell out of me
be scared shitless / shit scared (British slang vulgar)
be bricking it (British slang vulgar)
frighten the life out of me
shake with fear
jump out of my skin
Examples
One of the best horror films I have seen is The Blair Witch Project . It tells the story of a terrifying ordealin the
woods of northern USA. Some of the scenes in the film sent shivers down my spine, especially the one when the
students run out of the tent in the middle of the night. When they go back, one of the guys rucksack has been
emptied. When that same guy goes missing the next day, it gives you goosebumps.
There are some fabulous sound effects, especially the ones of the wind blowing and howling. When you hear the crying
voices at the end of the film, it will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Perhaps the scariest part of the film is at the end, when you see one of the surviving students literally shake with
fear in the corner of the basement. It certainly frightened the life out of the girl when she saw him, and Ijumped out
of my skin at the end when the camera stopped filming. The film scared the hell out of me for weeks afterwards, and
Im ashamed to say that I wouldnt go into an empty room in the house unless there was someone there with
me.
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There's a whole range of English expressions you can use to talk about how much you like or dislike something.
Things to remember
Dislike is quite formal.
Fond of is normally used to talk about food or people.
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Grammar Note
To talk about your general likes or dislikes, follow this pattern: like something or like doing something.
Common mistake
Be careful where you put very much or a lot. These words should go after the thing that you like.
For example, "I like reading very much." NOT "I like very much reading."
Probable
bound to = certain: "They are bound to succeed!"
sure to = certain: "He is sure to win the championship."
likely to = probable: "We are likely to win the contract."
definite = sure: "He's a definite frontrunner for the job!"
probable: "It's probable that we will be on holiday around then."
likely: "An election is likely next year."
will definitely happen: "There will definitely be a storm later."
will probably happen: "They will probably take on more staff."
Possible
may: "We may be able to help you."
might: "There might be a holiday next month I'm not sure."
could: "There could be a bug in the system."
is possible: "Do you think he will resign?" "Yes, that's possible."
is unlikely: "It's unlikely that she will move."
will possibly: "She'll possibly tell us tomorrow."
probably won't: "They probably won't hear until next week."
definitely won't: "I definitely won't go to the party."
is highly unlikely: "It's highly unlikely that the company will expand."
Note: Be careful of the word order.
"Definitely" and "probably" come after "will" (in positive sentences) and before "won't" in negative sentences.
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Variations
You can add words to alter the strength of probability:
highly likely / unlikely (= very likely / unlikely)
quite likely / probable / possible (= more likely, probable or possible)
could possibly / probably
most definitely won't (= even more unlikely)
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Attitude to weather
Although British people like to complain about bad weather, they generally put a brave face on it.
If someone complains about too much rain, you might hear:
"Never mind it's good for the garden."
If someone complains that it's too hot, you could hear:
"At least my tomatoes will be happy."
If the conversation has been about general bad weather, perhaps someone will say:
"Well, I've heard it's worse in the west. They've had terrible flooding."
Human attributes
We also attribute human features to the weather, almost as if the weather can decide what to do:
"The sun's trying to come out."
"It's been trying to rain all morning."
"It's finally decided to rain."
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a hard frost
blizzard / galeforce conditions
hailstones
prolonged rain
blustery wind
a drought
Here are some more temperate conditions which gardeners like:
mild weather
sunny spells
light drizzle
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How to reply
In my free time I
When I have some spare time I
When I get the time, I
I relax by (watching TV)
I'm interested in (+ noun / gerund)
I'm keen on (+ noun / gerund)
I'm into (+ noun / gerund)
I enjoy (+ noun / gerund)
You can add "really" or "quite" after "I'm" for emphasis.
"I'm really keen on football."
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Telling a story
A useful skill in English is to be able to tell a story or an anecdote. Anecdotes are short stories about something that
happened to you or to someone you know.
How to start
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Traditional stories often start with the phrase "Once upon a time". However, if you are going to tell your story after
someone else has already spoken, you can say something like:
That reminds me!
Funny you should say that. Did I ever tell you about
Hearing your story reminds me of when
Something similar happened to me.
How to tell your story
First of all, your story should be quite short. Try to keep it grammatically simple as well, so that it is easy to follow.
Make it easy for the listener to understand by using sequencing and linking words:
Sequencing words
These words show the chronological sequence of events.
First of all, I (packed my suitcase)
Secondly, I . (made sure I had all my documents)
Previously (before that) .. I changed some money.
Then I (called a taxi for the airport)
Later (on) (when we were stuck in traffic, I realised)
But before al that (I had double checked my reservation)
Finally (I arrived at the wrong check-in desk at the wrong airport for a flight that didn't go until the next day)
Linking words
Use these words to link your ideas for the listener. Linking words can be used to show reason, result, contrasting
information, additional information, and to summarise.
I booked a flight because.
As a result, I was late
Although I had a reservation, I hadn't checked the airport name.
I made sure I had an up-to-date passport and I also took along my driving licence.
In short, I had made a complete mess of the holiday.
Tenses
We can use a variety of tenses to tell stories and anecdotes. Jokes are often in the present tense:
A man walks into a bar and orders a beer.
We also use the present tense to give a dramatic narrative effect:
The year is 1066. In medieval England people are worried that the king, Harold, is not strong enough to fight off a
Norman invasion.
However, we generally use past forms to talk about past events. If you tell your story in chronological order, you can
use the past simple:
I double checked my reservation. I packed my suitcase, and then I called a taxi.
Use the past continuous to describe activities in progress at the time of your story, or to describe the background.
The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We were driving along the motorway quite steadily until we suddenly
saw in front of us the warning lights to slow down. We were heading towards a huge tailback.
Sometimes, you might want to avoid telling your story as one chronological event after the other. You can use the past
perfect (simple and continuous) to add more interest to your story by talking about events that happened before the
events in your story:
I double checked my reservation, which I had made three days previously.
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I wanted to visit some friends who had been living in France for the last five years.
Vocabulary
Try to use a wide range of words to make your story more interesting. Remember that you can "exaggerate" when you
tell a story, so instead of using words like "nice" or "bad", experiment with more interesting words, such as "beautiful",
"fabulous", "wonderful", "horrible", "awful" or "terrible".
Finally remember that you are telling a story not giving a lecture. Look at the people listening, and try to "involve"
them in the story or anecdote. Keep eye contact, use the right intonation and try to make your face expressive. You
might also want to try practising a few anecdotes in the mirror before "going live". Have fun!
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