English Speaking

This section provides useful English speaking lessons. Our goal is to help you Learn English speaking so you can speak English fluently. If you don't find what you want here, feel free to contact us at perfectyourenglish@yahoo.co.in.

English Speaking

English speaking - Lessons

Small talk

Practice sentences are a great way to improve your English speaking skills. They are especially useful for beginner level students who often have difficulty getting a conversation started. In this section you will find practice sentences that you can use in a wide variety of situations. To get started click on the links given below.

How to improve your pronunciation?

English is not a syllabic language. English people do not pronounce every letter in a word. Some are pronounced, while some aren’t. Among those sounds that are pronounced, some are stressed, while others aren’t stressed. That means if you pronounce every sound with equal strength your pronunciation will be bad.

Although each English word has a particular fixed stress pattern, the syllables that are stressed in one word may not be stressed in another. So how does one learn the correct pronunciation of each word? Well, there is no magic formula. You have to learn the pronunciation of each word along with their meaning and spelling.

Tips to improve your pronunciation

When English people speak, they stress some parts of words and sentences. These stressed syllables are not only louder; they also tend to have longer vowels, and they may be pronounced on a higher pitch.

In some languages each syllable in a word receives equal importance. English is different. In English some syllables are stressed while others aren’t. In sentences too, not all words receive equal importance.

The words that are usually stressed include nouns, principal verbs (e.g. work, write and speak), adjectives (e.g. nice, beautiful, kind) and adverbs (e.g. nicely, carefully and beautifully).

The words that aren’t usually stressed are prepositions, conjunctions, articles, auxiliary verbs and pronouns. While speaking, focus on the stressed words. The non-stressed words can often be swallowed.

Read the following sentence:

She was sure that somebody had broken into the house. (The stressed words are bolded.)
Susie didn’t know that Mike was an eminent cardiologist.

While speaking stressed words should be pronounced more slowly and clearly. Unstressed words are pronounced more quickly and less clearly.

Linguists feel that stressed syllables follow each other at roughly regular intervals. If several unstressed syllables come together, they are pronounced even more quickly so that they will not disturb the rhythm. That means even though two sentences can be of different lengths, if the number of stressed words in them is the same, we take the same amount of time to say them.

Compare the two sentences given below.

John heard the noise.
John heard that there was an explosion.

Although the second sentence is much longer than the first sentence, it doesn’t take much longer to say than the first one because both sentences have the same number of stressed words.

Exercise to improve your pronunciation skills

Take a few sentences from a newspaper or a magazine. Underline the stressed words and then read the whole sentence aloud. While reading stress the underlined words and glide over the non-stressed words. You will be surprised at how quickly your pronunciation improves.

How to improve your English speaking skills?

Do you want to improve your English speaking skills? My first piece of advice is to stop trying to sound like a native speaker. Instead, try to speak clearly and concisely. People living in different parts of the world speak English in their own style and that is perfectly acceptable. It is estimated that over a billion people speak English as a second language. Only a few among them manage to speak English like native speakers do. On the flip side, there are only around 380 million native speakers out there. That means you are in the majority.

Learn idioms, but don't use them

Try to avoid using idioms and slang. Learn idioms, but don’t use them in your speech. Although idioms are common in all kinds of English, they just don’t come naturally to a non-native English speaker. If students try consciously to fill their speech and writing with idioms, the result will probably be strange.

Use non-idiomatic ways of expressing ideas, and you will normally be understood. What’s more, English speakers do not expect foreigners to speak perfectly idiomatically or correctly.

Don’t fill your speech with long, complicated words when there are shorter alternatives. Keep it short and simple. Remember that most speakers (and that includes native speakers) have a small vocabulary. Very few words are used in everyday English speaking. Learn those words and you should do fine.

Be patient

You can’t learn a new language in two months. Learning a new language is a time-consuming process, so be patient with yourself.

Grab every opportunity to speak English. You can’t improve your English speaking skills if you don’t practice. Grab every opportunity you have to speak with people in English. The more you speak English, the more fluent you become. Can’t find English speaking people in your locality? Try to find them on the web. Search ESL forums on the internet and you will find plenty of people interested in practicing their English speaking skills with you.

Use internet based voice chat programs like MSN Web Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk. If you can travel to an English speaking country, do it. It is one of the best ways of improving your English speaking skills. When you are in an English speaking country, you will be surrounded by people speaking the language. Needless to say, your English speaking skills will improve automatically.

Pronunciation skills

Don’t worry about your accent. A lot of students try too hard to get rid of their accent. This is hardly worth the effort. Accents no longer matter. That said, you need to work on your pronunciation skills because people need to be able to understand you.

How to speak English fluently?

Don’t pay too much attention to Grammar rules

Does that mean that you should not learn English grammar? Well, not really. You can’t do well in tests if you don’t know grammar rules. Students trying to do well in tests like TOEFL and IELST must learn grammar rules. But if you are learning English with the sole objective of being a good speaker, you don’t necessarily have to be a grammar pundit.

Learn conversational structures

Native English speakers use certain structures to express ideas. These conversational structures or word combinations are often called collocations. Although many ESL students have a good vocabulary, they don’t know many conversational structures. Just knowing the meanings of words won’t make you a fluent speaker, but knowing these structures will. You can, for example, make hundreds of correct sentences using a structure like ‘I would like to’ or ‘Let me’.

Learning these phrases is a must if you want to be fluent speaker. You can find plenty of useful phrases in our English speaking section.

Don't translate

Different languages have different word orders. For example, in most Indian languages the normal word order is subject + object + verb. In English, it is different. The normal word order of a simple English sentence is: subject + verb + object. What this means is that sentences in your mother tongue cannot be translated into English word for word. Instead, try to learn the expressions that are unique to English and use them as they are. Don’t make modifications.

Practice speaking

Of all the language skills, speaking is the one you should learn first. As you probably know babies learn to speak first. They learn reading and writing much later. The problem with ESL students is that they can’t follow this normal order for learning languages: they learn to read and write first. Many ESL students don’t practice speaking at all. Needless to say, they can hardly communicate their ideas in English, although they know all the grammar rules in the book.

ESL students can’t change this situation, though. When you learn a second language, you can’t start with speaking. What you can do is to grab every opportunity to speak English. Practice speaking loud until you become comfortable. If you can’t find English speaking people in your area try to find them online. By practicing your English speaking skills, you will become a fluent English speaker.

Don't lose hope yet

Learning a language is not a difficult task. Language is a skill we are all born with. As you probably know all of us can speak at least one language. Even those lacking in brain power are able to speak languages. All that you need is some practice.

How to improve your pronunciation and listening skills

Improving one’s pronunciation helps speaking in general but it’s also very important for listening and understanding. There are several ways to improve your pronunciation and listening skills. Here are some tips to help you:

Listen to native speakers

Listen to native speakers in movies, songs and TV programmes. Listen to how speakers pronounce words and phrases and try to imitate them. These will give you good models to repeat. You can also record yourself and listen to it several times. This will help you find out the mistakes you make in pronunciation and work on them. When listening to something several times you will feel the rhythm of the language and this will improve your pronunciation and speaking skills. Try watching a film without any subtitles and listen out for key words. It’s a fun way of learning a language without really realizing it.

Learn the phonetic alphabet

Familiarise yourself with the phonetic alphabet. We use a dictionary not only to check how to spell a word and learn its meaning, but also to understand other aspects of the English Language. We use a dictionary as a guide to pronouncing new words too. In fact, after every word, many dictionaries provide the learner with a phonemic script enclosed in brackets, indicating where the emphasis (or word stress) should be put, to help students understand how a word should be pronounced and articulated.

Speak clearly and slowly

Speak Clearly. When speaking clearly and slowly there is a higher chance that you will be understood, so remember that there’s no need to rush. Another way how students can improve their pronunciation is by reading aloud, this can be done in class, usually with a piece of literature, but they can also practise on their own. By reading out loud students familiarise themselves with the sound, rhythm, intonation and stress of the language. Hence when communicating with other people, students will be better understood.

About the author

This article has been written by an English language teacher of the English language school Maltalingua in Malta.

More information about Maltalingua:

Maltalingua English Language School

151, Boxer House Birkirkara Hill

St. Julian’s

Malta

E-Mail:enquiries@maltalingua.com

Website: www.maltalingua.com

Useful phrases for making and changing appointments

Making appointments

Before you can meet people, you will usually need to set a date and time. While making appointments, you should opt for a time convenient for both of you. Here are a few phrases that you can use while asking people to meet.

Are you free tomorrow?
Can we meet on the 26th?
Are you available tomorrow?
Are you available next Monday?
Are you free this evening?
What about the 15th of this month? Would it suit you?
Is next Monday convenient for you?
Can we meet sometime next week?

Agreeing on a date

Yes, I’m free tomorrow.
Yes, we can meet on the 26th.
Yes, next Monday is fine.
No problem, we can meet tomorrow.

Suggesting a different date

Here are a few phrases that you can use to suggest a different date for the meeting.

I’m afraid I can’t make it on the 16th. Can we meet on the 17th or 18th?
Monday isn’t quite convenient for me. Could we meet on Tuesday instead?
15th is going to be a little difficult. Can’t we meet on the 16th?

Changing the arrangement

Here is how to make changes to an arrangement you have already made.

You know we had agreed to meet on the 15th? Well, I’m really sorry. I can’t make it after all. Some urgent business has come up. Can we fix another date?
Some urgent business has suddenly cropped up and I won’t be able to meet you tomorrow. Can we fix another time?

Small talk: sample conversation

Small talk can seem boring but there are many situations where it is useful or absolutely necessary. For example, an ability to engage in small talk is essential to make friends. Small talk could also be useful during an interview.

You can have a small talk on any subject you like. For example, you can talk about sports, jobs, schools, health etc. Just like any other speaking skill, your small talk skills, too, will improve with practice. So here is a sample conversation between two friends who haven’t met each other in weeks.

John: Hi Tom, how are you doing?

Tom: Very well, thanks. How are you?

John: I’m doing well myself.

Wasn’t that simple? You can initiate small talk by using a simple question like ‘How are you?’ To keep the conversation going, you can talk about anything that you like. Just make sure that you avoid controversial topics. You must also resist the temptation to ask questions that are too personal.

Tom: Haven’t seen you in weeks. What have you been doing lately?

John: Well, I’m pretty busy these days. I have got a job at a call center.

Tom: I see. It’s great that you got a job. You know what? These days getting a good job isn’t all that easy. I’m really happy for you.

John: Thank you. What about you? Have you already finished school?

Tom: No, I have one more semester left.

Small talk means small talk. You have to end the conversation after a while. Or you could change the topic. Here are a few things that you can say to end the conversation.

John: Don’t you think we should get together for lunch sometime?

Tom: Yeah, that would be great.

John: Well, I must be going. I’ll call you sometime.

Tom: OK. See you later.

John: Alright. See you.

Sharing an apartment

Rental costs are pretty high in countries like the US and the UK. So if you share an apartment with your friends, you will be able to save money on rents and other utilities. Here are a few questions you might want to ask before you decide to join existing people in an apartment.

Questions you need to ask

‘How much is the rent here?’ / ‘What’s the rent here?’

‘How many people live in the apartment at the moment?’

‘How many bedrooms are there in the apartment?’

‘Will I have to share my room with others?’

‘How many people do you intend to accommodate?’

‘Does the rent cover the utility bills?’

‘What about the neighbours? Are they good people?’

‘What time do you guys usually go to sleep?’

‘Do you cook food here?’

‘Do you hold any parties here?’

‘I’m a quiet person. Does it get loud in here?’

‘Do you have a cable connection?’

‘Do you have an internet connection?’

‘Would you mind if I turned up late at night?’

Here are some common answers

‘The rent is $1600. There are three people at the moment. You are the fourth so you would only pay $400.’

‘There are only two bedrooms so you will have to share your room with another person.’

‘We don’t intend to have more than four people.’

‘No, you don’t have to share your room with others. This is a four bedroom apartment and we won’t be taking more than four people.’

‘The rent covers the utility bills.’ / ‘The rent doesn’t cover the utilities.’

‘Sometimes we hold parties at the weekends and then it can get a little loud. During the week days we are pretty quiet so you won’t have any problems.’

‘We won’t mind your coming late as long as you don’t wake us up.’

‘Yes, we cook our food.’

‘The neighbours are good people. We haven’t had any issues with them.’

‘Yes, we have both cable and internet connections here.’

Talking about things in general

We use several different expressions to talk about things in general.

Key phrases On the whole

In general

In all / most / many / some cases

Broadly speaking

By and large

To a great extent

To some extent

Apart from

Except for

In general, I am satisfied with my progress.

Broadly speaking, politics is a dirty game.

Broadly speaking, people are nice to you if you are nice to them.

To a great extent, a child’s character is formed by the age of eight.

The photography of the film was bad but the plot was exciting. On the whole I enjoyed it.

Notes On the whole is used to sum up your opinion of something which is good and bad in parts.

To talk about exceptions to generalizations we can use apart from and except for.

Except for James, everybody turned up. (= James didn’t come; everybody else did.)

I have cleaned all the rooms, except for the bathroom.

Apart from the starter, I thought the meal was good.

Using for instance, for example and such as

To introduce examples we use expressions like for instance, for example, such as and in particular. These phrases have essentially the same meaning.

James can speak several languages. For example, he is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

James can speak several languages. For instance, he is fluent in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

He is fluent in languages such as English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

PC makers such as Acer and Samsung sell millions of laptops every year.

Note that such as is not followed by a comma. For example and for instance are followed by commas. For example and for instance can begin new sentences. Such as cannot be used to begin new sentences.

In writing, the abbreviation e.g. (Latin exempli gratia) is often used to mean ‘for example’.

Introducing strangers to each other

There are a number of phrases that are commonly used to introduce strangers.

Anne, do you know Mary? (introducing Mary to Anne.)
Mary, this is my friend Anne. (introducing Anne to Mary.)
John, I don't think you have met Sally. (introducing Sally to John.)
I don't think you two know each other, do you? (introducing two strangers to each other.)
Gautam, meet my friend Arjun. (introducing Arjun to Gautam.)
John, I don't think you've met Peter.
I don't think you know Alice
May I introduce you to Mary?
Mary, do you know Jane?
Peter, I'd like you to meet John.
Friends, can I introduce Mr John? (formal)

When you are introduced to somebody, you usually say How do you do? Americans often say How are you? This is formal. In an informal style you can say Hello or Hi.

Note that How do you do? is not a question, and the normal reply is How do you do? People who are introduced often shake hands.

You may introduce yourself saying My name is … or I am …

My name is Manju. OR I am Manju.

Example conversation

Here is a short introductory conversation:

John (to Peter): Peter, I'd like you to meet Mary.

Peter (to Mary): How do you do?

Mary (to Peter): How do you do.

John (to Peter): Mary is my cousin.

When somebody is introduced to you, it is also common to greet that person with It's a pleasure to meet you or Pleased to meet you.

John: Peter, I'd like you to meet Mary.

Peter (to Mary): It's a pleasure to meet you.

Mary (to Peter): How do you do.

John: Mary is my cousin.

John: Peter, I'd like you to meet Mary.

Peter (to Mary): How do you do?

Mary (to Peter): Pleased to meet you.

John: Mary is my cousin.

In informal situations, introductions are often made simply saying: This is (name). It is also common to just say Hi or Hello as a response in this informal setting.

John: Peter, this is Mary.

Peter: How do you do?

Mary: Pleased to meet you.

John: Mary is my cousin.

Meeting people

When you meet people greet them saying Good morning/afternoon/evening. This is formal. In an informal style say Hello or Hi.

Good morning is used before 12 pm. In most people’s speech, afternoon starts after lunch and changes to evening after normal working hours.

Evening changes to night more or less at bedtime. But note that ‘Good evening’ usually has the sense of ‘Hello’ and ‘Good night’ of ‘Goodbye’. Good night is not used to greet people.

Common forms of leave taking are given below.

Good night.

See you. (Informal)

See you later. (Informal)

See you tomorrow/next week. (Informal)

Take care. (Informal)

It was nice to meet you.

A piece of conversation is given below.

John: Good evening. Terrible weather, isn't it?

Peter: Yes, dreadful.

John: Hasn't stopped raining for days. Well, I must be going. Good night.

Peter: Good night.

Talking about a limited quantity of something

To talk about a limited quantity of something we often use the word piece or bit, together with of, before an uncountable noun. Note that bit is informal and usually suggests a small quantity.

The most common expressions of this kind are:

A piece / bit of cake / bread

A piece / bit of paper / wood

A piece / bit of news / information

A piece of advice

A piece of spaghetti

A piece of furniture

A piece of luggage

Other words like bar, blade, drop etc are also used. But note that they are less general and are used before particular nouns. Some common examples are:

A bar of chocolate / soap

A blade of grass

A block of ice

A drop of water /oil

A grain of salt / rice / sand / corn

An item of clothing / furniture

A loaf of bread

A slice of bread / cake / meat

A lump of sugar / coal

A speck of dust

A sheet of paper / metal / plastic / stamps

A stick of chalk

A strip of land / water

A suit of clothes

Pairs Pair is used for many things that normally come in pairs. Examples are:

A pair of shoes / socks / ear-rings

A pair of glasses / binoculars

A pair of trousers / jeans

A pair of scissors / pliers

Talking about certainty

Must can be used to express the conclusion that something is certain or highly probable.

If A is older than B, and B is older is than C, then A must be older than C.

She must have a problem – she looks worried.

There is the doorbell. It must be your Dad.

To express certainty in questions, we usually use can. Note that must is not used in questions with this meaning.

There is the doorbell. Who can it be?

Cannot can be used in negative clauses to say that something is certainly not the case.

It can’t be the postman at the door. He has already been.

Need not can be used to say that something is not necessarily so. Must not is not used to express this meaning.

‘Look at those tracks. That must be a fox.’ ‘It needn’t necessarily be – it could be a dog.’

The structure must have + past participle is used to express conclusions about the past.

‘Somebody phoned while you were sleeping.’ ‘That must have been Peter.’

She must have reached home by now.

Talking about necessity and obligation

Must can be used in affirmative sentences to say that something is necessary. This is common in British English.

You must improve your English.

He must work hard.

I must be there before 9 o’clock.

In American English, have to is more common.

He has to work hard. She has to improve your communication skills.

Must can also be used to ask if something is necessary.

Must I finish the work today itself?

Must I clean all the rooms?

In American English, have to is preferred.

Do I have to finish the work today itself?

Do I have to clean all the rooms?

In British English, must not can be used to prohibit people from doing things.

You must not tell this to anybody.

You must not open this packet.

To say that things are unnecessary, we usually use ‘do not have to’ or ‘do not need to’.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand this.

If you have already applied, you don’t have to apply again.

To talk about past necessity, we can use had to.

When I was a child, I had to walk three miles to school.

Talking about habits

We can use will to talk about habits and characteristic behavior.

She will spend hours watching TV. (It is her habit.)

The old woman will sit talking to herself for hours.

He will never waste an opportunity.

She will get up early in the morning.

The simple present tense can also be used to talk about habits.

He smokes.

She doesn’t get up early in the morning.

Sentences with stressed will can be used to criticize people’s typical behavior.

She WILL fall in love with the wrong people.

She WILL have her own way, no matter what you say.

Used to and would

To talk about past habits we can use used to or would.

I used to smoke, but now I have stopped.

He used to dislike opera, but now he doesn’t.

He used to play football at school.

After dinner we would sit in the hall and chat for a while.

The old man would recline in a corner and sleep most of the time.

Grammar notes

Used to does not have continuous, perfect, infinitive or –ing forms. To talk about present habits we use the simple present.

He smokes a lot. (NOT He uses to smoke a lot.)

Telephoning

British people usually give their name or number when answering a call. To ask for a person you can say 'Could I speak to…? In American English, it is also possible to say Could I speak with…?

Saying who you are

Hello. This is Jane. (Not usually I am Jane.)

If it is Alice on the other side, she will say 'Speaking.' Or This is Alice. In American English it is also possible to say This is she/he.

Asking who somebody is

To know who is answering the call you may ask any of the following.

Hello. Who is that? (US Who is this?)
Who am I speaking to?
Who is that speaking?

If somebody is not there

Sometimes the person wanted may not be there. You can use an expression with 'I am afraid' to say that somebody is not there. To take a message say Can I take a message? OR Would you like to leave a message?

Hello. Susan Fernandez.
Hello. This is Jane. Could I speak to Alice, please?
I am afraid she is not in at the moment. Can I take a message?

If you want to leave a message say Can I leave a message?

If you want to ask the person to ring you back you can say Could you ask her/him to call/ring me back? OR Could you just tell her Jane called?

Asking people to wait

You can use any of the following expressions.

Just a moment.
Hold the line, please.
Hold on a moment.
Hang on. (Informal)

Wrong numbers

I think you have got the wrong number.
I am sorry. I have got the wrong number.

Bad Connection

A bad line can cause trouble while telephoning. You may want to hang up and try again later. You can use the following expressions.

Could you speak louder? It is a bad line.

Americans will say It is a bad connection.

It is a very bad connection. I will hang up and call again.

Telephone English: How to leave a message?

If the person you want to talk to is not available, you may want to leave a message. Leaving a message is pretty easy. All that you need to do is to give your name, the time, the reason for your calling and your telephone number.

The telephone rings. If the person you want to talk to is not available on the line, you might hear an auto response.

Here is an example of the auto response and a message you can leave.

Hello. This is Peter. I’m afraid I’m not in at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep.

After you hear the beep, leave your message. Start with your name and then state the time of your calling.

Hello. This is John. It is 4 pm. We are going to the theatre tonight. I am calling to find out if you are interested in coming with us. Would you mind calling me back? I can be reached at 932-3615. I will talk to you later. Bye.

Variations are possible.

While giving your name Hello. This is Alice. / Hello. My name is Alice.

While stating the time

It is nine o’clock in the morning / evening.

It is 10 am.

It is half past three in the afternoon.

It is about noon.

While stating the reason for calling I am calling to find out if you are free this evening.

I am ringing to see if are interested in coming over for lunch with us.

I am calling to let you know that I won’t be able to meet you tomorrow.

I am calling to tell you that I have just received a call from your landlord.

Make a request to call you back Could you call / ring me back?

Could you call / ring me back at / on 370 2854?

Would you mind calling me back?

Leaving your number My number is 670 8932.

You can call me at / on 670 8932.

I can be reached at / on 670 8932.

Telling time

There are two common ways of saying what time it is.

6:05 - six (oh) five or five past six
6:10 - six ten or ten past six
6:15 - six fifteen or a quarter past six
6:25 - six twenty five or twenty five past six
6:30 - six thirty or half past six
6:45 - six forty five or a quarter to seven
6:50 - six fifty or ten to seven
7:00 - seven o'clock

The expression o'clock is used only at the hour.

Compare

Wake me at six (o'clock).
Wake me at ten past six. (NOT ... ten past six o'clock.)

In American English after is often used instead of past. It is also possible to use of, before and till instead of to.

Ten past six (= 6:10, Great Britain)
Ten after six (= 6:10, US)
Ten to nine (= 8:50, GB)
Ten of nine (= 8:50, US)

Asking what time it is You can use any of the following expressions.

What time is it?
What is the time?
Have you got the time? (Informal)
Could you tell me the time?
What time is it by your watch?

Asking about health

When we meet people we know, we often ask politely about their health or their general situation.

Some expressions commonly used are given below.

How are you?
How are you today?
What's wrong with you?
What's the matter with you?
Are you all right?
Are you not feeling well?
How is it going?

Formal answers are:

Very well, thank you. And you?
Fine, thank you.

Informal answers are:

Fine, thanks.
Not too bad.
OK
All right.
I am tired.
I have got a cold.
I feel quite better today.
I have a slight headache.

Asking people to repeat

If you did not hear or understand what is said, you may ask people to repeat it. British people usually say 'Sorry?' to request people to repeat. In an informal style you can say 'What?' Americans usually say '(I beg your) pardon?' or 'Pardon me?'

'Anne wants to leave.' 'Sorry?' 'Anne wants to leave.'
'There is one Mike on the phone.' 'Pardon?' 'I said there's one Mike on the phone.'
Excuse me, I'm afraid I didn't understand. Could you repeat that? (formal)
I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

Getting people's attention and offering apologies

British people usually say 'Excuse me!' to attract somebody's attention. In American English, it is more common to use 'I beg your pardon!'

Excuse me! Can you tell me where John lives?

I beg your pardon! Can you direct me to the manager's cabin?

Interrupting

Excuse me! is also used to apologize before interrupting or disturbing somebody. This is common in British English.

Excuse me! Could you move a bit?

Excuse me, could I have a look at your papers?

Sorry, do you think I could lend you pen?

Excuse me, do you know where John lives?

I beg your pardon, could you help me? (formal)

You may say Sorry after interrupting or disturbing somebody.

Oh, sorry, did I hurt you?

I beg your pardon! is a more formal way of saying Sorry.

I beg your pardon! I didn't realize I was standing on your foot.

Asking Someone to Repeat

Here are phrases commonly used to ask someone to repeat what he has said:

Excuse me, I'm afraid I didn't understand. Could you repeat that? (formal)

I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

Names and titles

We use names and titles both when talking about people and when talking to them.

Talking about people

First name

To talk about our friends, relatives and children we use the first name. This is informal.

I saw John yesterday.
Where is Alice?

First name + surname

In a neutral style - neither formal nor informal - you can use first name + surname.

Mark Twain was an eminent writer.
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, is a great philanthropist.

Title + surname

When we talk about people we do not know, we use title + surname. It is also a way of showing respect and being polite.

There is a Mr Hawkins on the phone.
Can I speak to Ms Sullivan, please?

Surname only

People use just the surname to talk about public figures like politicians, actors, writers etc.

Have you read the novels of Hemingway?

Talking to people

In an informal style, we call people by their first names.

Hi, Ann, how are you?

In a formal style you can use title + surname.

Good morning, Miss Sanders.

Note that we do not usually use both the first name and the surname of a person that we are talking to. It would be unusual to say ‘Hello, John Matthews’, for example.

Notes

1. Titles are not generally used alone.

Excuse me, could you move a bit? (NOT Excuse me, Mr or Excuse me, Ms)

2. Doctor is an exception to this rule.

Doctor, I have got a bad headache.

3. Employees often call their male employers Sir and female employers Madam. Students may also call their teachers Sir or Miss. In other situations British people do not normally use Sir or Madam when they talk to people. In American English, it is quite common to use Sir and Madam when addressing people.

4. Mrs is used to address a married woman and Miss to address an unmarried woman. You can use Ms to address a woman when you do not know whether she is married or not.

4. Two titles are not normally combined together.

Wishing people

Wishing people a good journey

Common ways of wishing people a good journey are:

Long trips, vacations etc.

Have a good trip.

Have a good journey. (GB)

Safe journey home. (GB)

Enjoy your holidays.(GB)

Enjoy your vacation.(US)

Have a good time in (destination city).

Short Outings

Enjoy! (American English)

Have a good time at (destination place such as a restaurant)

Have a good time in (destination city)

When your friends or family return home it is common to use one of the following phrases:

How was your vacation? (holiday in British English)

Did you enjoy your time in (destination)?

Did you have a good journey/trip/flight?

How was the journey/trip/flight?

If somebody is leaving for an evening out or some kind of pleasant event, you may wish them saying Have a good time! or Enjoy yourself! In American English, just Enjoy! is sometimes possible.

Good luck! is used to wish people before examinations or difficult events.

Holidays

Before somebody starts a holiday, we may say:

Have a good holiday.

Have a good time.

Have a good vacation. (US)

Sending good wishes

Common expressions are given below.

Give my best wishes to X

Give my regards to X

Give my greetings to X

Give my love to X

Remember me to X

Americans often say Say hello to X for me.

Birthdays

Happy birthday!

Best wishes/Good luck on your thirtieth (age - use an ordinal number) birthday!

Many happy returns!

Wedding / Anniversary

Congratulations!

Best wishes / good luck on your tenth (number - use an ordinal number) anniversary!

Here's to many more happy years together (used when making a toast)

Special Holidays

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year/Easter/Ramadan/Diwali etc.

All the best for a happy New Year/Easter/Diwali/Ramadan etc.

When making special greetings to children on their birthday and at Christmas, it is also common to ask them what they received:

Merry Christmas! What did you get from Santa Claus?

Happy Birthday! What did your Daddy get for you?

Special Occasions

Congratulations on your promotion!

All the best for your ...

I'm so proud of you!

Thanks and thank you

Thank you is more formal than thanks.

Thank you. (NOT Thanks you.)
Thanks a lot. (NOT Thank you a lot.)
Thank you very much.
Thanks very much.
Thank God it’s Friday. (NOT Thanks God …)
Thank you very much indeed. (BUT NOT Thank you indeed.)

Thank you for/ thanks for can be followed by an –ing form.

Thank you for coming.
Thanks for everything.

We often use Thank you/Thanks to accept offers.

‘Would you like some coffee?’ ‘Thank you.’

To refuse an offer, you can say No thank you/ No thanks.

‘Another cake?’ ‘No, thanks. I have eaten too many already.’

Replies to thanks

British people, do not usually answer when they are thanked for small things. If a reply is a necessary, we can say Not at all (formal), You are welcome, Don’t mention it, That’s quite all right or That’s OK (informal).

‘Here is your coat.’ ‘Thanks.’ (no answer)
‘Thanks so much for looking after the children.’ ‘That’s all right.’ (answer necessary)

Saying Please

We use please to make a request more polite.

Would you move a bit, please?
Could you open the window, please?
‘Would you like some help?’ ‘Yes, please.’

Please do is a rather formal answer to a request for permission.

‘Do you mind if I open the window?’ ‘Please do.’

Situations where please is not used

We do not use please to ask people what they have said.

‘I have got a bit of a headache.’ ‘I beg your pardon?’ (NOT … Please?)
‘John is on the phone.’ ‘Sorry?’ (NOT …Please?)

Please is not used as an answer to Thank you.

‘Thanks a lot.’ ‘That’s OK.’ (NOT … ‘Please.’)

Meals, drinking

There are no fixed expressions for the beginning and ends of meals. Some religious people say a short prayer before and after meals. It is common for guests and family members to say something complimentary about the food during the deal (for example This is very nice). After the meal you can say: That was lovely/delicious; thank you very much.

Drinking

When people begin drinking alcoholic drinks socially, they often raise their glasses and say something. Common expressions are Cheers! (GB) and Your health!

When we drink to celebrate an occasion (a birthday, a promotion or a wedding), we often say Here’s to …!

Here is to Alice!
Here is to the new job!
Here is to the happy couple!

Small Talk - Some Polite Phrases !new

Situation

Some polite phrases to use if you failed to turn up on a specified date or at a specified time

I am sorry, I couldn’t make it that day.

I am sorry, I got a little late.

I am sorry, I couldn’t make it in time.

Some polite phrases to use if you did something wrong or offended somebody

I am very sorry.

It was my mistake. Please excuse me.

I beg your pardon.

Sorry to have disturbed you.

Some polite phrases to use if you need a favour

May I have your attention please?

Will you please permit me to speak?

Will you please move a bit?

Will you mind my smoking?

Will you mind if I smoke?

Could you speak a bit louder?

Small Talk - Some Exclamatory Phrases !new

Expressing ideas such as joy, admiration, surprise and wonder

Marvellous!

Well Done! Bravo!

Done wonderfully!

Excellent!

How joyful!

Hurrah! I have won!

What a great victory!

How sweet!

How lovely!

What a surprise!

Wonderful!

Congratulations!

What an idea!

What a pleasant surprise!

Expressing ideas such as fear, anger, disappointment, disgust etc.

Oh!

Oh! No!

Woe!

How bad!

How terrible!

How disgraceful!

How absurd!

What a shame!

What nonsense!

How disgusting!

What a pity!

How tragic!

Exclamatory phrases with God

Thank God!

O God!

My God!

Good Heavens!

My Goodness!

By God’s grace!

May God bless you!

Question Words What, Who and How

The interrogative pronoun what is used to ask about things. The sentences given below should help you learn the correct usage of what.

What do you want?

I want a glass of water.

What is he doing now?

He is sleeping.

What do you want to say?

Nothing.

What is her name?

Her name is Alice.

What is she?

She is a teacher.

What is her brother’s name?

Her brother’s name is Peter.

Who

The question word who is used to ask about people. Read the following sentences carefully and learn the correct usage of who.

Who is she?

She is Alice.

Who are they?

They are our friends.

Who broke the window?

Harry broke the window.

Whom do you want to see?

I want to see the manager.

Who will go to the market?

I will go to the market.

Who can do this?

I can do this.

Who wants to come with me?

Alice wants to come with you.

How

The question word how is used to introduce questions. It is also used to introduce the answers to questions.

How do you go to school?

I go to school by bus.

How does he go to office?

He goes to office by train.

How is your grandfather?

He is not feeling very well.

How did you do it?

Let me show how I did it.

How much do you weigh?

I weigh around 50 kg.

How old are your parents?

My parents are in their sixties.

How often do you visit your parents?

I visit my parents every now and then.

How old is your son?

My son is six years old.

Miss Sianturi

Senin, 19 November 2012