COMMUNICATION-DAILY ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS - 2

 “Excuse me! - Bothering people

This one is a general collection of expressions to use when you must bother someone for ANY particular reason…

Such as…

…asking people to be quiet
…conversation openers
…permission and requests
…thanking and replying
…getting somebody’s attention

Asking people to be quiet

Less polite

• Shut up! [impolite]
• Quiet! / kwaöWt / Be quiet!
• Shh!

More polite

• Could you be quiet, please?

Conversation openers

• Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?
• Sorry, have you got the time, please?
• I think we’ve met before, haven’t we?
• It’s really hot, isn’t it?
• Are you going all the way to San Francisco?

Permission and requests

• Could I use your pen?
• Do you mind if I borrow your dictionary?
• (‘Do you mind if I…?’ means ‘Is it a problem for you if I…?’)

Getting somebody’s attention

• Excuse me, have you got a moment?                                 
• Sorry to bother you, but could I just ask you something? 
• Excuse me, can you spare a minute or two?                      
• Excuse me, are you in a hurry?                                          
• Sure.Go ahead.
• It depends what it is.
• Sorry, I’m late already.

Expressing Goodbyes and Farewells in English

There are many ways of saying good-bye, just as there are many of saying hello, and it is important to use an expression of the appropriate tone and register. In the end, it’s all up to your judgement but remember that using a very formal expression with someone who is your friend, as it may sound sarcastic.

Goodbye Expressions in English Audio Jukebox

• Simple good-byes (Formal)
• Good-bye
• Stay in touch.
• It was nice meeting you.
• I hope to see you soon.

Simple good-byes (Informal)

• Bye.
• See you.
• Talk to you later.
• Catch up with you later.
• Nice seeing you.

Leaving a place (Formal)

• I have to leave here by noon.
• Is it okay if we leave your home at 9pm?
• What do you say we leave work a little earlier today?
• Would you mind if I leave the dinner before it ends?
• I need to depart for the airport in one hour.

Leaving a place (Informal)

• I got to go now.
• I’ll be leaving from the office in 20 minutes.
• How about we jet off to the shops now?
• I’m afraid I have to head off now.
• Let’s get off work early.

 

Getting to know you! Polite topics when meeting for the first time

There are certain topics that are polite to discuss when getting to know someone. Here are some of them:

Talking about your background

• Originally I’m from….
• I was (born and) brought up in…
• I come from a (sporty/musical) family.
• My proudest moment was…-ing
• I’ve always dreamt of –ing/ wanted to +verb

Describing your language ability

• I’m fluent in Polish.
• I speak Spanish reasonably well.
• I can get by in Portuguese.
• I speak French but it is a bit rusty.
• I know a few words of Japanese.
• I wish I could speak Italian.

like, such as, and that sort of thing

• I like music such as opera, choral music, and classical music.
• I really love modern music like house, rap, reggae, and hip hop.

After one or two examples, we can use an expression meaning ‘et cetera’.

• I’m fond of opera, and that sort of thing.
• I like jazz, rock, and that sort of thing.

Showing a lot of interest

• Wow!
• Really?
• (That’s) interesting!
• (That’s) fantastic

Paraphrasing Expressions

Paraphrasing means repeating things in a different way. You use the technique to:

• check that you have understood what someone means.
• emphasize a point, or make sure that your meaning is clear. This is useful when speaking to people whose first language is not English.

Introducing paraphrasing

• So you mean….
• What you mean is…
• What you’re saying is…
• So what you mean to say is…
• Let me get this clear…
• Let me get this straight,…

 

English Interrupting Expressions- How to interrupt someone

When you want to stop someone interrupting, don’t pause for too long, don’t lower your voice, and (if you want) you can refuse to be interrupted.
You can use the following phrases to interrupt politely:

How to interrupt

• Actually…
• Excuse me…
• I’m sorry, but…
• I just want to say…
• May I interrupt here?
• Do you mind if I say something?

 

Weekends - Asking about what people did?

People often like to ask each other how they spent their holidays or weekend. There are a number of ways to both ask and answer questions about it.

How was...?

How was your weekend?

It was lovely. How was yours?            (great)
It was terrible.                                      (really bad)
It was nice.                                           (fine)
A bit boring.                                         (not very interesting)

Link words: then / after that

• We had a drink. Then we went to the cinema.
• OR We had a drink, and then we went to the cinema.
• I went shopping. After that I met my sister.
• OR I went shopping, and after that, I met my sister.

Anyway, so anyway

In spoken English, you use anyway or so anyway when you want to begin the next part of the story, or go back to then main story.

• Janet didn’t know about it. So anyway, we got in the helicopter, and…
• We drank the champagne. Anyway, we landed and…

Realize, remember, find out

The past perfect is often used after the verbs realize, remember and  find out.

 

Telephone Expressions

There are certain expressions that are always used while talking on the telephone. Even though it is not impossible to use more general conversation terminology, it is still preferable to stick with the accepted phone language: it will sound more professional. Here are some basics:

Phone greetings

		more informal
identifying the listener	Is that Bruno Zola? Could I speak to Bruno Zola, please?	Is that Bruno? Are you Bruno? Is that you, Bruno?
saying who you are	(Yes,) speaking.	Yes (it is).
introducing yourself	My name’s Elena Luma.	It’s Elena. I’m Elena. This is Elena. Here is Elena.

Asking people to speak slowly/speak up

Sorry, could you speak slowly, please?        Yes, sure.
Could you speak up, please?                         Yes, of course.

Ending a phone conversation

When you phone for information, you can often end with phrases like this:

• OK, I think that’s everything I need.
• OK, I think I’ve got all the details
• Thanks. You’ve been very helpful.
• Thanks very much for your help.
• Bye bye. Goodbye.