Talk E

Identify understand integrate
Greeting and General Things

1.Greeting - Basic
2. Greeting Someone you Know
3. Greeting - Example Conversations
4. Greeting - Interactive Practice
5. Bored - General Phrases
6. Bored - Calling Someone
7. Bored - Boring Work
8. Bored - Interactive Practice
9. How is your Day - General Statements
10. How is your day - Example Conversation
11. How is your day - Interactive Practice
12. Tomorrow's Plan - I am going to
13. Tomorrow's Plan - Questions and Answers
14. Tomorrow's Plan - Example Conversation
15. Tomorrow's Plan - Interactive Practice
16. Yesterday - The Past - General Statements
17. Yesterday - The Past - Questions and Answers
18. Yesterday - The Past - Example Conversation
19. Yesterday - The Past - Interactive Practice
20. Weather - Summer and Autumn
21. Weather - Winter
22. Weather - Fahrenheit and Celsius
23. Weather - Questions and Answers
24. Weather - Long Description
25. Weather - Interactive Practice
Greeting - Basic
There are many ways to greet someone. We'll learn about the most common way to
greet someone in this lesson. I'll give a variety of example sentences.
Greeting someone you never met:
"Hi, my name is Steve. It's nice to meet you."
You can respond to this by saying,
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jack."

Another common question to ask is
"What do you do for a living?"
You can respond to this by saying,
"I work at a restaurant."
"I work at a bank."
"I work in a software company."
"I'm a dentist."
Usually, you will not need to ask for a name. It is implied that each person should
say their name. But in case they don't, you can ask,
"What is your name?"
Many times, I don't hear the name. If you would like for them to repeat their name,
you can say,
"What was that again?"
"Excuse me?"
"Pardon me?"
Greeting Someone you Know

"Hey John, how have you been?"
"Hi Bob, how are you?"
"Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
"Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"
If you meet someone unexpectedly, you can say,
"Hey Jack, it's good to see you. What are you doing here?"
or
"What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
If you see the person at a restaurant, you can say, "Do you come to this restaurant
often?"
Or at the movie theatre, "What movie did you come to see?"
Appropriate responses:
"Hi Steve, my name is Mike. It is nice to meet you as well."
"I heard a lot about you from John. He had a lot of good things to say."
"Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty well.
How about you?"
A typical response to this type of greeting is simple.
"Not too bad."
If asked what you have been up to, you can respond with, "Same ole same ole." Or,
"The same as usual."
Here are some other example responses.
"I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
"I'm doing very well."
"I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and I'm so
relieved that I'm done with it."
Restaurant Responses
"I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."
"I come pretty often. This is my favorite restaurant."
"I can't believe we haven't seen each other before. I come here at least twice a
week."
Movie Response
"I came here to see Matrix Revolution. How about you?"
Greeting - Example Conversations

Let's look at several example conversations. Then we can move on to the practice
section.
Person A: "Hi, my name is Steve. It's nice to meet you."
Person B: "I'm Jack. It's a pleasure to meet you, Steve."
Person A: "What do you do for a living Jack?"

Person B: "I work at the bank."
Person A: "What is your name?"
Person B: "Jackson."
Person A: "What was that again?"
Person A: "Hey John, how have you been?"
Person B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
Person A: "I'm doing very well. How about you?"
Person B: "I finally have some free time. I just finished taking a big examination, and
I'm so relieved that I'm done with it."
Person A: "Hi Nancy, what have you been up to?"
Person B: "The same ole same ole." Or, "The same as usual. How about you?"
Person A: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"

B: "What a surprise. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?"
A: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
B: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis."
The next lesson is the interactive practice section. If you would like to repeat this
lesson or previous lessons, feel free to go back and study as many times as you
need. When you are ready, go to the practice section.
Greeting - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire
conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear
only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the
sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is
native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast
for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.
1
Listen All | Person A | Person B
A: "Hi, how are you doing?"

B: "I'm doing great. How about you?"
A: "Not too bad."
B: "Do you come to this restaurant often?"
A: "I've been here a couple of times, but I don't come on a regular basis. What have
you been up to?"
B: "I'm pretty busy at work these days, but otherwise, everything is great."
A: "Well, have a good evening."
B: "You too."
2
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Jack."

"I'm Steve. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"What was your name again?"
"Steve."
"So Steve, What do you do for a living?"
"I work at the public library. How about you?"
"I'm a University student."
"That's great. It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah. It was a pleasure meeting you."
3
A: "Hey Jack, it's good to see you."
B: "Wow. How long has it been? It seems like more than a year. I'm doing pretty
well. How about you?"
A: "Not too bad."
B: "What movie did you come to see?"
A: "I came here to see Matrix Revolution. How about you?"
B: "I'm going to watch Finding Nemo."
Bored - General Phrases
Being bored means having nothing to do. When someone is bored, they often call
people and try to entertain themselves or try to find something to do with a friend.
So being bored is a good starting point for conversational English.
There are a couple of situations you can express to someone that you are bored.
Most commonly, you will call a friend and tell them that you are bored or ask them
to do something together. The other time is when someone asks you how you are
doing. We will cover both situations in this session.
General Phrases
"I'm dying from boredom."
"I hate being bored."
"I don't have anything to do."
"My life is so boring."
"Life is so boring."
"I'm just watching TV until I find something to do."
"I was bored all weekend."
"I am so bored today."
"I get bored very easily."
"I get bored all the time."
A common place to get bored is when you have to visit family members.
"It's always boring whenever we go to our relatives."
"It's nice to visit my grandmother, but it gets boring after a couple of hours."
"My cousins are so boring. All they do is watch tv."
"There's nothing to do in the country side. I'm always bored there."
If you think you are a boring person, here is a way to say that you are boring.
"I think I'm a little boring."
"I'm a boring person."
Boring can be used to describe someone.
"He is a boring person."
"His personality is very boring."
"It's boring whenever she's around."
Using bored to answer a question is very common. Here are some general questions
that someone might ask.
"How
"How
"How
"How
"How
"How
was
was
was
was
was
was
your trip?"
your vacation?"
your weekend?"
the lecture?"
the class?"
the game?"
Any of these types of questions can be answered with a simple answer.

"It was pretty boring."
"It was boring. I didn't do much."
"It wasn't as fun as I thought. It was a little boring."
"I was bored most of the time."
"Because it was disorganized, we had too much extra time. I was bored during our
free time."
Bored - Calling Someone

The conversation when you call someone might sound something like this.
"Hello"
"Hi Jane, this is Jill. Do you have time to talk?"
"Hi Jill, sure, I was just watching TV."
"What are you watching?"
"I was just watching a re-run of friends. How about you? What are you doing?"
"Nothing much. I really wanted to start studying for the Psychology test coming up,
but I can't seem to motivate myself."
As you can see, Even though Jill is very bored, she didn't say that she was bored. To
sensitive people, they can misinterpret the situation. If I am bored and I call you,
then that could mean that I am only calling you because I have nothing better to do.
So if you are not very close friends, it is better to say something like, 'nothing much'
instead of 'I am bored.'
If you are very close friends with someone, then the conversation can be more
direct and honest.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm doing the laundry."
"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."
"Why don't you come over and help me with the laundry?"
"I'd rather do my own house chores. Hey, you wanna take a break from your house
work and have coffee at Starbucks with me?"
"Sure, that sounds great. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes."
Bored - Boring Work

A different situation you can tell someone you are bored is when you are simply
talking with a friend concerning a part of your life that is boring. For example, if you
have a boring job, you can explain to your friend how boring it is.
"How is your work these days?"
"Work is so boring that I'm going crazy."
"I ran out of things to do and management is too busy to give me more work. I tried
to find things to do with no luck. I'm basically sitting in my chair pretending to
work."
"That sounds so boring."
"Tell me about it. Time goes so slow when you're bored. I'd rather be busy. Then at
least the day would go by faster."
Similar type of boring work is when doing something that is routine. Some
sentences expressing boring work are:
"I'm doing the same thing over and over again."
"My work is so repetitious that I am getting bored of it."
"My work does not interest me."
"I'm only working to pay the bills."
"I wish I had your job."
Because some people are so busy, they envy people who have nothing to do at
work.
"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do at work. I just surf the Internet all day long."
"Dang! I'm so busy at work, it's driving me crazy. I really wish I had your job."
Bored - Interactive Practice
1
A: "Hey there. What have you been up to?"
B: "Nothing really."
A: "How about your work?"
B: "It's so boring there. I really wish I had a different job."
A: "Is it really that bad?"
B: "Yeah. Most of the time, I have nothing to do. But whenever I have something to
do, it's boring work because it is the same old thing."
A: "Why don't you find a different job then?"
B: "Maybe I should."
2
A: "Hi Steve, what's your plan for tonight?"
B: "I don't have any plans. Are you doing anything special?"
A: "Well, if you're bored, let's plan on meeting up tonight."
B: "That sounds like a good idea. Should we invite Bob?"
A: "He's a little boring."
B: "What do you mean?"
A: "Well, he doesn't drink, play video games, pool, or really anything. The only thing
he talks about is history."
B: "You do have a point. We'll leave him out tonight."
A: "Aright. Let's meet at 8:30 in front of the university bookstore."
B: "Perfect. I'll see you later tonight."
3
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
"Hello"
"Hi Jane"
"Oh, hi Jill."
"What are you doing?"
"I'm doing the laundry."
B: "I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."

A: "Why don't you come over and help me with the laundry?"
B: "I'd rather do my own house chores. Hey, you wanna take a break from your
house work and have coffee at Starbucks with me?"
A: "Sure, that sounds great. I'll meet you there in thirty minutes."
How is your Day - General Statements

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to communicate to someone using the
present tense. However, because this isn't a site teaching grammar, I do not want
to spend too much time on details. I wanted to include this section primarily to show
many different sentences using present tense and to have a dedicated practice
section with only present tense sentences.
This lesson is a little shorter than others because speaking in the present tense is
not as common as speaking in the future or past tense. Although speaking in the
future tense or the past tense is more common, it is still important to know how to
communicate in the present tense. Here are some example sentences:
"I see Bob over there by the newspaper stand."
"I'm going to the library."
"I'm on my way home."
"I'm going to the bus stop."
"Jack is going to the store."
"Jill is stopping by now."
"The meeting is starting now."
"The manager is waiting for you in her office."
"Tell the receptionist that you are here to see Mr. Hwang."
Questions:
A very common question you will run into is,
"How are you doing?"
"How is your day going?"
"What are you doing now?"
To answer these types of question, you must remember that you are talking about
what is currently going on now, so you must use the present tense.
Here are some ways to answer the above question.

"I'm
"I'm
"I'm
"I'm
enjoying the beautiful weather without any worries in the world."

playing a video game on my computer because I have nothing to do."
at the grocery store buying ingredients for tonight's dinner."
at the gym working out."
As you can see, each sentence is starting with, 'I am' instead of 'I will be' or 'I was.'
We will discuss past tense and future tense in the next sessions.
More descriptive answers you can give are the following:
"I'm pretty busy right now. I'm doing my homework because I have an exam
tomorrow."
"My project deadline is coming up, so I'm currently in the process of finishing my
tasks."
"I'm taking the day off from work today because I have so many errands. I'm going
to the post office to send some packages to my friends."
"I'm looking for a job. The job market does not look that great, but I can't give up."
"I'm applying for a job at a consulting firm in Taiwan."
"I'm listening to music while thinking about my situation."
How is your day - Example Conversation

The present tense is more common in writing. As you can see by all the
explanations I am giving, they are all written in the present tense. That is because it
is instructional. Instructional writing is more commonly written in present tense.
However, stories in novels are written in past tense.
The reason past and future tense is used more commonly than present tense when
speaking is because usually you are telling someone what you have done or what
you plan on doing. Speaking in the present tense is used primarily to tell someone
what you are currently doing.
As in previous lessons in 'Bored and Greeting' it is very common to have a
conversation using the present tense when you run into somebody or when you
make or receive a phone call.
Let's use this time now to incorporate what we have learned so far.
Person
Person
Person
Person
up."
A: "Hi Jack. What are you doing?"

B: "Hi Mary. I'm filling out a job application."
A: "Are you finished with school already?"
B: "No. I have one more semester, but it would be great to have a job lined
Person A: "How is your day going?"

Person B: "Quite busy. I'm preparing for my presentation tomorrow on our marketing
strategy. I'm not even half done yet."
Person A: "You must feel stressed out now."
Person B: "That's an understatement."
Person A: "What are you doing now?"
Person B: "I'm playing pool with my friends at a pool hall."
Person A: "I didn't know you play pool. Are you having fun?"
Person B: "I'm having a great time. How about you? What are you doing?"
Person A: "I'm taking a break from my homework. There seems to be no end to the
amount of work I have to do."
Person B: "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."
How is your day - Example Conversation

The present tense is more common in writing. As you can see by all the
explanations I am giving, they are all written in the present tense. That is because it
is instructional. Instructional writing is more commonly written in present tense.
However, stories in novels are written in past tense.
The reason past and future tense is used more commonly than present tense when
speaking is because usually you are telling someone what you have done or what
you plan on doing. Speaking in the present tense is used primarily to tell someone
what you are currently doing.
As in previous lessons in 'Bored and Greeting' it is very common to have a
conversation using the present tense when you run into somebody or when you
make or receive a phone call.
Let's use this time now to incorporate what we have learned so far.
Person A: "Hi Jack. What are you doing?"
Person B: "Hi Mary. I'm filling out a job application."
Person A: "Are you finished with school already?"
Person B: "No. I have one more semester, but it would be great to have a job lined
up."
Person A: "How is your day going?"
Person B: "Quite busy. I'm preparing for my presentation tomorrow on our marketing
strategy. I'm not even half done yet."
Person A: "You must feel stressed out now."
Person B: "That's an understatement."
Person A: "What are you doing now?"
Person B: "I'm playing pool with my friends at a pool hall."
Person A: "I didn't know you play pool. Are you having fun?"
Person B: "I'm having a great time. How about you? What are you doing?"
Person A: "I'm taking a break from my homework. There seems to be no end to the
amount of work I have to do."
Person B: "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."
How is your day - Interactive Practice

1
A: "What are you doing now?"
B: "I'm watching TV."
A: "What are you watching?"
B: "I'm watching Friends. What are you doing?"
A: "I'm doing my homework, but I really need to take a break."
B: "You want to do something?"
A: "Yes. But I shouldn't. I got to finish my assignment now."
B: "Alright. Call me later then."
A: "OK. Bye."
2
A: "Where are you going now?"

B: "I'm going to the bank."
A: "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
B: "I'm working now. I'm making a deposit for our company."
A: "Where do you work?"
B: "I work for a restaurant as a controller."
A: "Wow. That's great."
B: "Great seeing you. I have to go now. I'll talk to you later."
3
A: "Hi Steve. What are you doing here?"
B: "I'm meeting a friend here for dinner. How about you?"
A: "I'm on my way home but I needed to stop by the book store to buy a text book."
B: "Didn't you finish school yet?"
A: "I have one more year, and then I'm done."
B: "What are you majoring in?"
A: "I'm majoring in Sociology"
B: "How do you like your major?"
A: "I really find the subject very interesting. I'm enjoying all my classes."
B: "That's great."
A: "I better go now. I don't want to miss the bus."
B: "Aright, I'll talk to you later."
A: "Okay. See you later."
Tomorrow's Plan - I am going to

Talking about the future is something that is done very frequently. Whether we are
talking about our dreams or simply telling someone what we will do tomorrow is all
spoken in the future tense. As in the previous lesson, this isn't a grammar lesson.
This lesson is to provide many different sentences using the future tense.
In the previous lesson, we concentrated on present tense using 'I am'
When we speak in the future tense, we can still use 'I am' but it is important what
follows the two words that will make it future tense. Here are a couple of examples.
"I'm going to see Bob tomorrow"
"I'm
"I'm
"I'm
"I'm
going
going
going
going
to
to
to
to
meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight"

go home in an hour"
go to the bus stop right after class"
do that tomorrow"
When using 'going to' after 'I am' it is important that a future indicator is present.
For example, if I say, 'I am going to meet John', this can also be present tense that
we practiced previously. But if you add a future indicator like 'at 6 O'clock tonight'
then it becomes future tense.
Other future tense indicators are:
'going to go'
'going to be'
'I will'
'I have to'
Let's practice using these words:
"I'm going to be dead if I don't finish this project by tomorrow"
"I'm going to go home next week"
"I'll meet you there at five"
"I can't go tonight because I have to work late"
Tomorrow's Plan - Questions and Answers

When asking questions about the future, you can ask questions like:
"What are you going to do tonight?"
"What are you doing next week?"
"When do you plan on doing your homework?"
"When are you going to eat dinner?"
"What time do we have to leave for the airport?"
"What should we do tonight?"
There are many different questions you can ask. By changing a few words, you can
make numerous questions properly about the future.
When you are answering questions that relate to the future, remember to use the
future tense. Here are some ways to answer the questions directly above:
"I plan on meeting John after dinner. We're going to go to a night club."
"I'm going to go to take my girlfriend out to dinner. And if we have time, we might
try to see a movie."
"Since I'm on vacation next week, I plan on going to Pusan to visit some friends
down there."
"Next week I have to go shopping for all the Christmas presents. I have to buy a
present for my dad, mom, and my two sisters."
"I think I'm going to do my homework after I watch the world cup. I don't think I'll be
able to concentrate until after the game is over."
"I'm so unmotivated to do my homework. But I'll eventually have to do it, so I'll get
around to them probably after dinner."
"What time do you have to leave for the airport?"
"The flight comes in at 4:30, so I plan on leaving at about 3:30"
"The security is pretty tight so I should get there early. I plan on arriving there 2
hours before my flight leaves."
"After dinner, let's go grab a couple of beers. Then we can go shopping for a couple
of hours, and afterwards, we can rent a video and watch it at my place."
"I'm pretty busy tonight. I have to do the laundry, vacuum, and then make dinner,
so I won't be able to meet you tonight."
Tomorrow's Plan - Example Conversation

Let's use this time to incorporate what we have learned so far.
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "Bob is in the hospital, did you get a chance to visit him?"

B: "I'm going to see Bob tomorrow"
A: "I thought you had to meet John tomorrow?"
B: "I'm going to meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight"
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "I'm going home now, do you want to head out together?"

B: "No Thanks. I'm going to go home in about an hour"
A: "Didn't you need to buy a present for you brother's birthday?"
B: "I'm going to do that tomorrow"
Person A: "I'm going to go to the bus stop right after class, so I won't have time to
meet you"
Person B: "That's OK. We can always get together tomorrow."
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "Why do you look so stressed?"

B: "I'm going to be dead if I don't finish this project by tomorrow"
A: "I thought you had 2 weeks to finish this project"
B: "I don't have time to explain now. I'll talk to you later."
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "Since we are done with school, when are you going back home?"
B: "I'm going to go home next week"
A: "Me too. Do you want to meet at the train station on Sunday?"
B: "Sure. I'll meet you there at five"
Practice asking questions:

"When are you going to eat dinner?"
"What time do we have to leave for the airport?"
Tomorrow's Plan - Interactive Practice

1
A: "Do you have any plans tonight?"
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
"I have class until 5 O'clock, but I'm free after that."
"Do you want to grab dinner?"
"I don't have any dinner plans so that sounds great."
"What time should we meet?"
"I need to go to the book store first, so let's meet at 6 O'clock."
2
A: "Let's go to Everland next week"
B: "I can't. I'm way too busy."
A: "What are you doing next week?"
B: "On Monday, I'm going to meet my professor. Tuesday, I have a job interview.
Wednesday, I'm going to the dentist. And on Thursday, I have to go visit my
parents."
A: "Why are you so busy?"
B: "I've been procrastinating for a long time."
3
A: "What are you doing over the weekend?"
B: "I'm going to exercise, meet some friends, and then watch tv."
A: "Who are you going to meet?"
B: "My friend from middle school is visiting, so we are going to have dinner on
Saturday."
A: "How long is he going to stay?"
B: "He is only here for a day."
A: "Where are you going to eat dinner?"
B: "I plan on taking him to an Italian restaurant."
Yesterday - The Past - General Statements

In daily conversation, talking about the past is done very frequently. Whenever you
meet a friend, you always tell each other what you have been doing recently.
Friends are always interested in each other so they want to know how you have
been spending your time in the past.
Today's lesson is going to target past tense communication. This goes hand in hand
with the last two lessons and changing a few words around can make a future or
present tense sentence into a past tense sentence.
To begin, here are a couple of sentences that are common to say:

"I went to the airport yesterday."
"I met Bob last week."
"I was an hour late for my meeting."
"I went to the bus stop, but I was 30 seconds late. A person on the street told me
the bus just went by."
"I completed that task this morning."
Speaking in the past requires past tense words. Let's take a closer examination for
the sentences above.
Past Tense
Present Tense
Future Tense
Went
Go
Going to go
Met
Meet
Will meet
Was
Am
Going to be
Completed
Complete
Will complete
As you can see by some of the examples in the chart, some words change when
speaking in the past tense.
Besides some words that change, many times a word with the letter 'd' or 'ed' at the
end changes the word to past tense. Here are some examples:
"I was being polite so I opened the door for him."
"I stapled the papers together to keep them organized."
"The paper ripped on the bottom, so I taped them together."
"I switched the presents around because I found out Jane doesn't like red lipstick."
"I was very interested in the topic so I paid close attention."
The tricky part is to know when to add a 'd' to the end of a word to make it past
tense. There are exceptions that can cause confusion, for example,
"I rode my bike to school." It would be incorrect to say, 'I rided...'
"I built the house from scratch." Incorrect way is to say, 'I builded...'
"I sat on the chair next to the emergency exit." Incorrect way is to say, 'sitted...'
So remember to use past tense words correctly or the other person might not
understand what you are saying.
Yesterday - The Past - Questions and Answers

When asking questions about the past, you can ask questions like:
"How did you enjoy the movie?"
"What time did you get home last night?"
"How was your date with Jackie?"
"How was the traffic going to the airport?"
"What have you been up to?"
"What did you do last weekend?"
"How was the party?"
"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"
"How did your presentation go?"
Here are some ways you can answer these types of questions. Remember to use
past tense because these actions already occurred.
"How did you enjoy the movie?"
"It was a long movie, but overall, the movie was great."
"I really didn't like the movie. It was slow and boring."
"I enjoyed the movie so much that I saw it again."
"What time did you get home last night?"
"I got home at two in the morning."
"I didn't make it home until eleven last night."
"I made it home at midnight."
"How was your date with Jackie?"
"The date went so well. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant. And then we saw a
movie together."
"I don't think it went too well. We hardly had anything to talk about. I really thought
Jackie was bored to death."
"The date was alright. She called me this morning to go out again, but I haven't
responded yet."
"What have you been up to?"
"I just graduated from school so I'm happy that I'm done."
"I met Jackie yesterday and we spent the evening together in a nice restaurant."
"The only thing I have done in the last three months is computer games."

"Last weekend, I visited my parents."
"I went golfing on Saturday. I shot a great score."
"I stayed home and watched TV all weekend long."
"How come you didn't come to class yesterday?"
"I was very sick yesterday."
"I missed the bus and by the time I got to campus, class was already over."
"I slept in because I didn't hear the alarm ring."
"How did your presentation go?"
"It went ok. A few of the people asked some tough questions, but overall it was
good."
"I messed up so bad. I brought the wrong folder from my office so I didn't have any
notes."
"It was the best presentation of the day. My boss told me I was organized, focused,
and spoke clearly."
Yesterday - The Past - Example Conversation

Study some examples and then we will be at the practice session.
Person A: "Why didn't you come to my party last night?"
Person B: "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I had to go visit my grandmother at the
hospital."
Person A: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is she doing ok?"
Person B: "They just completed a small operation and the doctors said she should
recover."
Person A: "Did you get a chance to go to that new restaurant down the street?"
Person B: "Yeah. I ordered the special, but the server screwed up my order."
Person A: "That sucks. So what ended up happening?"
Person B: "They finally got my steak out, but it was overcooked. It was a terrible
experience."
Person A: "What did you do last weekend?"
Person B: "I went on a date with Sammy."
Person A: "Really? How was it?"
Person B: "I couldn't ask for a better night. We talked all throughout our two hour
dinner, and then we sat by the river and cuddled in the night."
Person A: "Didn't you finish finals week?"
Person B: "Don't remind me. I think I failed most of the exams."
Person A: "Why did you do so terrible?"

Person B: "My mind just went blank. I think I overloaded my brain. I just couldn't
concentrate during the exams."
Yesterday - The Past - Interactive Practice

1
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
"What did you do last night?"

"I met some friends and we had some drinks at a bar."
"Did you drink a lot?"
"I got so drunk that I don't remember how I got home."
"Why did you drink so much?"
"I was so depressed. I just wanted to forget about everything."
2
A: "How was the airplane ride?"
B: "It was a twelve hour flight. It was so boring. I tried to sleep but it was too
uncomfortable on the plane."
A: "How about the movies they play on international flights?"
B: "I saw both movies they played. I was just unlucky?"
A: "Did you take a book with you?"
B: "I accidentally packed it with my luggage that I checked in."
3
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:

"I went to a party."
"How was the party?"
"It was way too crowed and the food was gone before I got there."
"What time did you get home?"
B: "It was pretty boring so I left at ten and got home before eleven."
Weather - Summer and Autumn

In this section, we will learn about the four different seasons along with the
difference between Celsius and Fahrenheit. Also, we will learn about weather in
different parts of the world. In the next session, we will practice more dialog. But
this is a good starting point when learning to hold a conversation about the weather.
Summer:
Depending on the location, summer can be warm and pleasant or unbearably hot
and humid. Although you will describe summer in one particular way, you should be
aware of how other people describe summer in different parts of the world.
In Nevada, Arizona, Egypt, or other places that are like deserts, people might say,
"Summer is very hot and dry. It's not so bad when we are in the shade."
"Summer is extremely hot. The sun will burn you if you don't wear sunscreen."
"Because it's not humid, it is easy to get used to."
In Seattle, the summer is the best season,
"Summer is the only time of year that it doesn't rain much."
"Summer is like paradise in Seattle."
"If summer wasn't so good here, I would move to a different city."
In New York, Korea, or other hot and humid places, people can say,
"Summer is both hot and humid here."
"I am always sticky because I sweat so much during the summer."
"Without air conditioning, I don't know how I would survive."
Spring and Fall / Autumn
From my perception, I noticed that spring and autumn are generally pleasant
seasons for many areas of the world. I haven't heard enough to say one way or
another, so I can only write down what I know.
"My favorite season is autumn."
"The only reason I don't like the fall is due to all the leaves I have to rake up."
"Fall is so beautiful because of all the different color leaves everywhere."
"It rains a lot around here during the fall."
"It gets cold in late autumn."
"In our country, autumn is just like summer. It's hot and humid."
"My favorite season is spring because of the budding flowers."
"I love the spring because it's not cold nor hot."
"The spring season here causes a lot of people to sneeze due to all the flowers
appearing. Many people with allergies hate the spring."
Weather - Fahrenheit and Celsius

It's unfortunate that some countries still use the Fahrenheit system. It would be so
much easier if everything was in Celsius. But because the United States still uses
the Fahrenheit system, knowing the conversion of Celsius to Fahrenheit will help
when speaking to Americans.
"How do you convert Fahrenheit to Celsius?"
"Well, you subtract 32 from Fahrenheit, multiply by 5 and then divide by 9."
"How do you convert Celsius to Fahrenheit?"
"You multiply Celsius by 9, divide by 5, then add 32."
Here is an example dialog.
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "What is the average temperature in Seoul during June?"

B: "It is usually about 26 degrees Celsius during June."
A: "What is that in Fahrenheit?"
B: "That would be about 80 degrees Fahrenheit."
Usually, it takes some time to convert degrees using the conversion method. So it's
easier to have general temperatures already memorized. Here is a small table so
you can quickly respond when talking with a foreigner about the temperature.
Fahrenheit
Celsius
100
37.8
90
32.2
85
28.4
80
26.7
75
23.9
70
21.1
65
18.3
60
15.6
50
10
40
4.4
32
20
-6.7
10
-12.2
-17.8
You don't need to remember everything. But if you know a couple of numbers you
can just change the other number slightly. For example, if you know that 80 degrees
is about 27 degrees Celsius, then if the temperature is 77 degrees, you can figure
that it will be about 25 degrees Celsius. Also, you don't have to be very accurate. In
conversation, many people just want general numbers and being off by a half a
degree will not do any harm.
Finally, during the winter months, it gets so cold that the temperature goes below 0
degrees Celsius. Let's practice a few sentences using negative numbers.
"How cold does it usually get in Korea?"
"Usually around minus 5 degrees Celsius, but sometimes it gets as cold as minus 12
degrees."
"How cold does it get in Alaska?"
"Depending on the area, but it's common for the temperature to be below 0."
"Is that in Fahrenheit or Celsius?"
"Fahrenheit."
"That means it's 20 below zero!"
Remember, although numbers below zero are negative numbers, it's not common
to say, 'Negative 2 degrees.' It's not wrong to say it and everyone will understand,
however, when speaking to many people, almost everyone says 'minus 2 degrees.'
Another common way to say it is below zero is to say, '2 below' as in the example
above.
Weather - Questions and Answers

In this session, we are primarily going to practice speaking key sentences that will
help you carry a conversation about the weather.
Asking about the weather:
"Do you know what the weather will be like tomorrow?"
"Do you know if it's going to rain tomorrow?"
"Did you see the weather forecast?"
"What is the weather like in Korea/Seattle/Los Angeles?"
"How is the climate in Korea?"
"Does it rain much in Denver?"
"How different is the weather between Pusan and Seoul?"
"What is your favorite season of the year?"
Answering questions about the weather:
"The weather is supposed to be sunny and warm tomorrow."
"It's supposed to rain for the next several days."
"I didn't see the news yesterday so I don't know what the weather is going to be
like."
"Weather in Los Angeles is usually hot in the summer and mild in the winter. It never
really gets that cold."
"The weather in Pusan is very similar to Seoul. The main difference is that Seoul
gets a little more snow in the winter and a little hotter in the summer. This is
primarily because Pusan is right next to the water."
"My favorite season of the year is Spring. It's not too cold and the anticipation of a
good summer puts me in a good mood."
Statements about the weather:
"I heard Seattle is a very gloomy city with so many clouds."
"The weather is beautiful this time of year."
"I hate the rain. It makes me feel depressed."
"Autumn is a great season."
"The summer months are so humid in Korea."
"I can't stand the cold winter months."
"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?"
"I wish the weather was like this everyday."
"It's been raining for 5 days straight. I wonder when it will stop raining."
"I hate the snow. The roads are dangerous to drive in, and when it melts, the streets
are very dirty."
"I love snowboarding so I always look forward to the winter."
"The winter months are tolerable because I don't mind the cold."
"Korea has four distinct seasons."
Weather - Long Description

Being able to speak specific sentences is good, however, it is more important to be
able to say a whole paragraph when talking about topics such as the weather. I'll
have a specific lesson about putting sentences together in a future lesson. But I'll
give one advice now. Basically, make about 10 sentences. After you know your ten
sentences about this question, you can say all of them one after the other so it is a
long answer. The ten sentences should be in a list format.
We will learn how to speak longer in a future lesson, but if you want to give it a try
now, here are two examples.
Question: "What is the weather like in Korea?"
Answer: "Well, the weather in Korea is unique with four distinct seasons. In the
winter, the temperature is about zero degrees Celsius. But, because it doesn't rain
much in the winter, there isn't much snow and the air is very dry. In spring, the days
warm up significantly but the night gets a little chilly. The summer has two
characteristics. It is very hot and humid most of the time, and for about 3 weeks or
so, we have a rainy season called monsoon. It gets very rainy and windy during that
time period. But we all look forward to autumn. It is a beautiful time of year and the
temperature is very pleasant. If you plan on visiting Korea, I highly recommend
visiting during autumn."
Question: "Which season do you like the most?"
Answer: "I like summer the most, but at the same time, I hate it. I like summer
because it's warm. I don't mind the heat and I like the longer days. So, I can do
more activities like swimming, bicycling, rollerblading, and many other outdoor
activities. I usually take a short vacation during the summer so I always look forward
to that. However, the part about summer I hate the most is during the monsoon
season. I can tolerate the humidity, but when it gets hot and humid along with the
rain and the wind, then it gets terrible."
Weather - Interactive Practice

1
A: "Hey John, it's beautiful out today, isn't it?"
B: "Yeah. I wish it would be like this everyday."
A: "Did you see the weather forecast?"
B: "Unfortunately, it's supposed to start raining tomorrow night."
2
A: "Do you know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow?"
B: "It's supposed to be the same as today. I don't think the weather will change
much for the next week or so."
A: "That's great."
B: "Why are you so happy? Do you have anything planned?"
A: "Yeah, I'm going to Everland with my family this weekend so I was hoping for
good weather."
3
A: "I can't believe it is raining so much."
B: "It's not that bad. Last year we had floods in 4 different areas of the city."
A: "Really? Does it always rain so much during this time of year?"
B: "This is not as bad as usual. During the monsoon season, we usually have rain
for 3 weeks."
Weather - Winter
Winter has many differences between locations. Some places might be extremely
cold like Korea, New York, Alaska, Greenland, etc, and some places might be perfect
like Hawaii, Los Angeles, Mexico and other hot places.
Hot places that enjoy pleasant summer warmth:

"I don't think we have a winter here. During the winter months, it's still 80 degrees.
So everyone loves the winter months because it's not too hot."
"Winter time is the best time to visit because the temperature is the best during
January."
"I like to go to Hawaii for my winter vacations because it's so cold in my home city."
Cold places:
"It's freezing out."
"It doesn't snow often, but when it does, it stays around for several weeks because
it stays cold."
"For 3 months, this city will be covered with a layer of snow because it will never
melt."
"It doesn't get too cold here, but it's always raining and very gloomy."
"The winter here is cold and dry. We hardly get any precipitation."
Greeting and General Things II

1. Small Talk
2. Small Talk - Two Example Dialogs
3. Small Talk - Interactive Practice
4. Movies - Asking Friend
5. Movies - Example Conversation
6. Movies - Interactive Practice
7. Movies Types - Action and Drama
8. Movie Types - Comedy and Horror
9. Movie Types - Other Types
10. Movie Types - Interactive Practice
11. Movie Discussion - General Statements
12. Movie Discussion - Describing a Movie
13. Movie Discussion - Example Dialog
14. Favorite - What's your Favorite
15. Favorite - Answering Questions
16. Favorite - Interactive Practice
17. Hobby - Questions and Answers
18. Hobby - Various Q&A
19. Hobby - Interactive Practice
20. Exercise - Questions
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
Exercise - Walking Jogging and More

Exercise - US Culture
Exercise - Interactive Practice
Exercise Gym - Lifting Weights
Exercise Gym - Questions and Answers
Exercise Gym - Other Methods
Exercise Gym - Interactive Practice
Intro and General Things Review
Intro and General Things Review - Interactive Practice
Small Talk
Many people believe small talk is very boring and not personable. Although that is
true, there are many places where small talk is very important. In the western
culture, strangers talk to other strangers frequently. On the other hand, small talk is
not so common in the eastern culture. Because strangers are friendly to one
another in the western culture, small talk is very important to master in regards to
learning English. One other place small talk is important is in an interview. That is
why this session will be important to learn.
The best way to learn small talk is to provide many examples. So this lesson will be
taught using an example format.
Small talk involves many different topics. We will have several sessions on small
talk once we have covered other subjects such as sports, jobs, school, etc. But for
now, we will go through the basics of small talk conversation. To initiate small talk,
we can use what we have learned from our previous several sessions:
One: "Hi Bill, how are you doing?"
Two: "I'm doing great. How are you doing?"
One: "I'm doing well myself."
Wasn't that simple? If you studied the material in prior sessions, this should be real
easy for you. Now that we have initiated the small talk, it's your responsibility to
keep the conversation going. In order to do so, you can talk about anything that is
not too personal. Let's first ask what the other person has been doing lately.
One: "What have you been up to lately?"
Two: "Well, I just started to work at the bank so I'm pretty busy learning everything."
You can elaborate on what you have learned to keep the conversation alive. In this
example, you are going to ask more questions about school and work.
One: "Does that mean you already finished school? I thought you had 1 more
semester left."
Two: "I took summer courses, so I finished one semester early."
One: "It's great that you got a job. I'm really happy for you."
Two: "Thanks."
As you can now tell, the conversation is getting old. You have a choice of ending the
conversation, or changing the topic. Let's practice ending the conversation.
One: "We should get together for lunch sometime."
Two: "Yeah, that would be great."
One: "I'll call you sometime."
Two: "Ok. I'll see you later."
One: "Alright. See ya."
Small Talk - Two Example Dialogs

In this conversation, we initiated the conversation and talked about the other
person. However, sometimes you will not have anything to talk about. In order to
keep the conversation alive, you should think about topics such as the weather.
One: "Hi Mary."
Two: "Oh, hi."
One: "How are you doing?"
Two: "I'm doing alright. How about you?"
One: "Not too bad. The weather is great isn't it?"
Two: "Yes. It's absolutely beautiful today."
One: "I wish it was like this more frequently."
Two: "Me too."
One: "So where are you going now?"

Two: "I'm going to meet a friend of mine at the department store."
One: "Going to do a little shopping?"
Two: "Yeah, I have to buy some presents for my parents."
One: "What's the occasion?"
Two: "It's their anniversary."
One: "That's great. Well, you better get going. You don't want to be late."
Two: "I'll see you next time."
One: "Sure. Bye."
This example is when you run into someone. This is an easy type of small talk
because when you run out of things to say, you can always say bye. There are times
when you don't have that option. Let's practice a situation where you cannot leave,
such as an interview. I go into depth about interview communication in a different
section. For now, I am going to emphasize the small talk portion of an interview.
There are times when you will not have an opportunity for small talk, but in other
cases, you might have to talk about general things.
Them: "Hi. My name is Josh. It's a pleasure to meet you."
You: "Hi Josh. I'm glad to be here."
Them: "Did you have any problems finding this place."
You: "I didn't have any problems. I found directions on the internet so it was pretty
easy to find. However, the traffic was not that great."
Them: "Traffic is never good around here."
You: "I agree. It would be great if there was a train or a subway line that went
through here."
Them: "That would be so great. I would definitely take the train if they had it."
You: "Trains are great because you can read a book or get a little rest instead of
having to fight the traffic."
Them: "Very true. Well, let me begin by telling you about our company..."
This is a good example of small talk. It shows that you are easy to speak with, and
most importantly, you found a small connection even though it was about a small
topic such as the traffic problem. In this type of situation, don't feel that you have to
constantly talk. If it is not relevant to the topic, it might be better not to say
anything. But if you can add on to the topic, it's a good thing. The person who is
giving the interview has the control, and that person will direct the small talk to the
interview when the time is right. In my example above, I made a small transition
from the traffic and started the interview process. If you are interested about
interview, please go to the Interview Section. You may now move on to the practice
session.
Small Talk - Interactive Practice

1
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
"Hey Paul. What are you doing here?"

"How's it going? I'm meeting up with a friend here."
"How have you been man?"
"Not too bad. I'm still in school and having a little fun."
"How are you enjoying Mr. Lee's history class?"
"It's so boring."
"Tell me about it. If it wasn't a requirement, I wouldn't have taken it."
"How about you? What have you been up to?"
"I finished school last spring. I'm searching for a job now, but I'm slacking off."
"I heard the job market is not that hot right now."
"I could always take a low end job, but I'm not that desperate yet."
"Well, good luck to you."
"Thanks. It was good seeing you again."
"Yeah. I'll catch you later."
"Have a good night."
2
A: "You're John right?"
B: "Yes. Oh, you're in my English class right?"
A: "Yeah. I'm Martha."
B: "Well it's good to finally meet you."
A: "How are you enjoying the class?"
B: "I'm not sure. Some days it seems ok, but other days I am totally bored in class."
A: "I know what you mean. Do you know what is wrong with the weather these
days? I haven't seen the sun in 2 weeks."
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
A:
B:
"The weather has been pretty terrible recently."

"I'm really hoping the weather gets better."
"Do you have something coming up?"
"To tell you the truth, it's just depressing seeing so much rain."
"I don't blame you. It has been pretty gloomy for sometime now."
"This is my stop. I'll see you later."
"I'll see you in class. Bye."
Movies - Asking Friend

In this section we will work on the planning aspect of watching a movie. In other
Movie sections, we will cover discussing a movie, types of movies, etc.
Since this is the first Movie section, let me take a quick minute to explain how to
find out movie times and how to pay for tickets in America. It's very similar and
simple.
First, you need to find out what time a show is playing. In most cases, this is done
by checking the internet. Usually, you type in the zip code and all the theatres in
that area will display all the movies and movie times for that week. After you have
chosen the movie to see, you need to buy the ticket. There are some places you can
buy on-line, but it isn't that popular yet. You can go to the theatre before the movie
starts and buy it at the theatre. The only thing you need to know how to say is the
movie name and the movie time. Here is a quick example. Let's say you are
watching the Titanic at 3:00. You walk up to the counter and say, 'Titanic. Three
o'clock.' Wasn't that easy? Finally, big block buster movies usually sell out of tickets
very quickly. So if you want to see it on opening day, it is wise to go to the theatre
right when it opens and buy the tickets in advance.
Before you watch a movie, you need to plan ahead with friends. Either you are
asking a friend to watch a movie, or you are answering. In either case, we will cover
it here.
The following questions and statements are used when asking a friend to watch a
movie.
"Hey John, do you want to (wanna) go see a movie tonight?"
"I'm going to watch Terminator 2. Do you wanna join?"
"Let's go see The Matrix tomorrow."
"What time should we meet at the theatre?"

"Let's watch a movie after dinner."
"The Titanic is coming out this Friday. Let's go see it."
If there are not enough details, a response can be in a question form. Here are a
couple of examples.
"Who is all going?"
"Who are you watching it with?"
"Where are you watching it?"
"What time are you watching the movie?"
Normal answers:
"That sounds great."
"I always wanted to see that. Let's go."
"Let's meet at the theatre at four o'clock."
"Sure. Do you wanna eat lunch together before the movie?"
"I've already seen that movie. What else is playing?"
"I can't. I have to work that night."
"That movie sounds scary. I don't like horror movies."
"I really don't like the actors. I'm going to pass."
Movies - Example Conversation

Let's look at a couple of example conversations before going to the practice section.
Person A: "Hey John, I'm going to see The Matrix with Peter and Brad. Do you wanna
come?"
Person B: "When are you guys going?"
Person A: "We're going to see the eight O'clock showing."
Person B: "That would be great. Where are you guys meeting?"
Person A: "We're meeting at the theatre at seven thirty."
Person B: "Great. I'll meet you guys there."
Person
Person
Person
Person
Person
A: "Hey Jill."
B: "What's up Mike?"
A: "I was wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow night."
B: "Umm... I don't think I have anything special for tomorrow. Why?"
A: "Do you want to see The Titanic with me?"
Person
Person
Person
Person
B: "I wanted to see that. Yeah. Let's go."

A: "What time is good for you?"
B: "How about seven thirty."
A: "Sure. I'll meet you at the theatre at seven.
Movies - Interactive Practice

1
A: "I hear Batman is supposed to be good. Do you want to go see it tomorrow?"
B: "I have to eat dinner with my family tomorrow."
A: "We can watch the late show. I think it starts at nine forty five."
B: "That would be great."
A: "What time can you be at the theatre by?"
B: "I can be there by 9:15."
A: "Ok. I'll meet you there."
2
A: "What are you doing tomorrow?"
B: "Nothing really."
A: "Let's watch a movie or something."
B: "What's on these days?"
A: "I think they're playing Lord of the Rings"
B: "That sounds pretty good. Let's watch that."
A: "Where should we meet?"
B: "How about at the subway entrance."
A: "Aright. I'll meet you there at one o'clock."
3
A: "Hey Steve, what are you doing these days?"

B: "Just working. The same as usual."
A: "Have you seen Shiri?"
B: "No. I haven't seen that yet."
A: "Let's go watch it tomorrow. It's a weekend and you should take a break."
B: "Well, to think of it, that sounds great."
A: "I'll give you a call tomorrow about noon and let you know the time."
B: "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow."
A: "See you."
4
A: "What should we do this Saturday?"
B: "Rocky six is suppose to come out this Friday."
A: "Yeah, but I don't know if it is going to be any good."
B: "The only reason I want to see it is because I have seen the previous five."
A: "True. Ok. Let's see it this Saturday."
B: "How about we hook up for lunch at 12:00, and then go see the movie
afterwards."
A: "Sounds like a plan. Let's meet in front of Tower Records at 12:00."
Movies Types - Action and Drama

In the next three movie sections, we are going to learn about different movie types.
Afterwards, we will cover having discussions about movies that you recently saw.
But for now, let's work on movie types.
There are many different types of movies. You probably know them all in your
language, but let's learn what they are in English. Also, we will learn how to say a
couple of sentences related to a movie type. If you disagree with a sentence, feel
free to change some words around so they fit what you want to say.
Although there are many categories, we will learn the most basic 10 types of
movies.
Action
Drama
Comedy
Romantic comedy
Horror
Science fiction
Suspense (Thriller)
Western
Commentary / Non-Fiction
Action: Movies with lots of fighting, shooting, exploding, etc.
"What kind of movie do you like?"
"I like action movies because they are fast paced."
"Action movies are my favorite."
"I like all the action movies with a lot of guns."
"I like fight scenes that are choreographed."
Drama: Everyone knows drama. Like Titanic and Schindler's List
"What type of movies do you like?"
"I like all sorts of drama."
"I like movies that play with my emotion."
"Drama movies are great because they are the most realistic."
"The sad drama movies that make me cry."
Movie Types - Comedy and Horror

Comedy: Funny movies with many jokes or actors acting in a funny way.
"I love all types of comedy because I love to laugh."
"Comedy is my favorite because it is very entertaining to me."
"I like comedy that makes fun of political things."
"Comedy is so hilarious that I always enjoy watching them."
Romantic Comedy: Funny movies with a strong romantic theme. Opposite to
action because usually guys like action and the ladies like Romantic comedies.
"Many people view romantic comedy movies as chick-flicks."
Chick = girl
Flick = movie
Chick-Flick = a girly type of movie; a movie a girl will like; 'take your girlfriend to'
type of movie... or something like that.

"Romantic comedy is funny movies that involve a lot of romance."
"I love all the story lines of romantic comedy movies."
Horror: Scary movies that will give you nightmares for 3 months.
"When I was a little kid, I couldn't sleep because of horror movies."
"Horror movies are not scary anymore."
"I have yet to see a movie that really scares me."
"I hate horror movies because I cannot sleep."
"I always have nightmares after watching horror movies so I try to avoid them."
Movie Types - Other Types

Science Fiction: Futuristic movies like star wars, star trek, theme of time travel,
superhuman powers, etc.
"Many science fiction movies are about the future."
"The success of a science fiction movie is usually dependent on how much they
spend on special effects."
"After watching a science fiction movie such as star wars, I always wish I lived in the
future."
"Gene Rodenberry and George Lucas are two great people in the Science Fiction
world."
Suspense (Thriller): A movie that intentionally keeps you in a heightened state.
"I am always on the edge of my seat when I watch suspenseful movies."
"I can't stand to watch suspenseful movies because my stomach always gets
upset."
"The suspense just kills me."
"It's so exciting to watch a suspense movie."
Western: Old time cowboy movies
"Western movies are not so popular anymore."
"Client Eastwood was a popular western actor."
"Western movies show a little bit about the United States during the early years."
"After watching The Last Samurai, I always hoped an Asian country will make a
movie called The Last Cowboy."
Commentary / Non-Fiction: Educational and true.

"Commentaries and non-fiction films are usually educational."
"Non-profit organizations usually create commentaries supported by the
government."
"Popular non-fiction films are about chimpanzees and gorillas"
"Sometimes non-fiction films are sad because of the hidden truth that is revealed."
Movie Discussion - General Statements

In this movie section, we are going to have discussions about movies that we
already saw. This is useful because whenever we come out of a movie theatre, we
always ask our friends what we thought about the movie. Sometimes, it's a simple
answer such as, 'It was alright.' But sometimes, a good discussion can arise from a
great movie. Let's get started...
Every time I finish watching a movie, I either ask someone, or someone asks me,
"What did you think about the movie?" For the most part, the answer is a simple
one line sentence:
"It was alright."
"It could have been better."
"It was pretty good."
"I liked it."
"It was entertaining."
"It was so stupid I almost fell asleep."
"Lame"
"Boring"
"Too unrealistic"
I can go on for a long time describing movies. I have listed a few so you get an idea
how to answer simple movie questions.
Besides simple one line answers, there are a few reasons we need to say other
things. It is because either we didn't understand something, want to describe a
scene we liked, want to describe a scene that was stupid, or simply go on and on
about how great the movie was.
Movie Discussion - Describing a Movie

Didn't understand:
"Do you remember the scene when Mary walked into the dining room? Why was she
carrying a knife? She didn't use it and the cameras focused on it."
"I can't understand why she betrayed him. The whole movie concentrated on her
trust and loyalty. It just doesn't make sense."
Good Scene:
"I love the scene when Russell Crowe showed his face to the emperor after the first
gladiator fight."
"What did you think about the last fight scene between Neo and Agent Smith in the
rain?"
"The courtroom scene between Jodie Foster and Richard Gere was absolutely
amazing."
Great Movie:
"That was such a cool movie. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time."
"Anytime I see a great movie I tend to look at my watch often. That's because I
don't want the movie to end."
"The movie was great. I liked everything about it. I'm definitely going to buy the
dvd."
Situational questions:
"What would you have done? Would you have taken the million dollars and give up
your wife for a night?"
"Would you choose money and fame, or family and stability?"
Some movies are known to be 'based on a true story.' These types of movies are
very interesting because they actually happened. The only reason they are not
considered to be a non-fiction movie is because the director or writer will add some
scenes that didn't happen, or change some facts around so the movie is more
appealing to the masses.
A conversation can start from movies such as Schindler's List. When coming out of a
theatre, I heard a couple talk briefly about this.
"What did you think about the movie?"
"I thought it was great. It was very powerful."
"How much of it do you think was true?"
"I learned about Germany and World War II in one of my classes, and this movie
showed everything I learned from class."
"Wow. It's amazing that these things have happened in our history."
Movie Discussion - Example Dialog

As of this writing, the latest movie I saw was The Last Samurai. After the movie, I
had a meal with a couple of people. We had a good discussion due to this movie. It
is difficult to specifically teach what you will need to know about movie
conversations because every movie will require different words and sentences. The
only thing I can do here is to give ideas and couple of examples about movie
conversations. So this is not really going to be a practice section, but a chance to
hear a real conversation from a movie. You can click on each individual sentence, or
you can click on the link provided below to hear a real life conversation.
Listen to the conversation
A: "Did you like the movie?"
B: "It was better than I thought."
C: "I liked it."
A: "The movie didn't have many cheesy or stupid scenes."
B: "Yeah. I'm glad that they didn't have any love scenes. Sometimes a love scene
destroys a good movie."
C: "I thought the scene where the girl was washing her hair and Tom Cruise came to
say good bye was stupid. Why did they have that there? It didn't make sense."
B: "I agree. They didn't need that scene."
A: "I don't see the harm in that scene. They didn't do anything or show anything.
What's the big deal?"
C: "When you are talking about good movies versus great movies, each and every
scene counts."
A: "That's true."
B: "But besides those one or two scenes, the movie was great."
A: "I liked everything about it. I really liked the samurai that was beating up Cruise
in the beginning of the movie. The guy second in command. He was cool too."
B: "Every movie has a guy like him. They try to make him awesome even though
they don't say much."
C: "I don't understand why Tom Cruise went back to that village. If he was the only
survivor, wouldn't that make everyone suspicious about where his loyalty lies?"
A: "It was clear in the movie that he loved the place and the samurais. Clearly
everyone knows that he isn't a traitor. I would have done the same thing in his
position."
B: "I think so too."
C: "But isn't it suspicious that he is the only survivor."
A: "Well, all the samurais were looking for a death in battle. Cruise wasn't."
C: "But only the boss received the satisfaction of being killed with the sword.
Nobody else did."
A: "True."
B: "What are we going to order?"
C: "I am going to have a chicken burger because of the Mad Cow disease."
A: "Me too."
B: "I'm just having a soup and salad."
Favorite - What's your Favorite

The word favorite is used a lot in spoken English. It is very common to talk about
your favorite things with your friends or acquaintances. Topics can range from
favorite movies, favorite TV shows, favorite food, favorite cars, etc. Since there are
so many favorite things in the world, you should pay close attention to this lesson.
Asking questions is the most common way to use the word favorite:
"Who
"Who
"Who
"Who
"Who
is your favorite singer?"

is your favorite person?"
is your favorite athlete?"
was your favorite ex-girlfriend?"
was your favorite elementary teacher?"
Are you following me? It's very easy. Just change the word at the end and you can
make dozens of sentences.
"What
"What
"What
"What
"What
"What
"What
"What
is your favorite show?"

is your favorite movie?"
is your favorite dessert?"
is your favorite program?"
is your favorite class?"
is your favorite game?"
was the title of your favorite song?"
was the name of your favorite sit-com?"
We used 'who' and 'what' in our sentences. It's possible to use 'where', 'how', and
'when', but the most common is 'what' and 'who'.
I'll provide a couple of sentences for the other words.
"Where is your favorite vacation spot?"

"When is your favorite time of day?"
"How is your favorite noodles cooked?"
It's not common, because even though it is grammatically incorrect, you can ask the
same question with 'what'
"What is your favorite vacation spot?"
"What is your favorite time of day?"
Nobody is really going to notice and it's not a big deal. After this lesson is over, I
suggest practicing with 'what' and 'who', but don't bother with the others. It's not as
important.
Favorite - Answering Questions

To answer these types of questions, it is very easy. All you have to do is change
'your' to 'my', repeat the last portion of the question and add your answer. We'll
practice a couple of times.
"What is your favorite show?"
"My favorite show is Smurfs."
"What is your favorite movie?"
"My favorite movie is Matrix."
"What is your favorite dessert?"
"My favorite dessert is cheesecake."
"Who is your favorite singer?"
"My favorite singer is Josh Groban."
"Who is your favorite athlete?"
"My favorite athlete is Tiger Woods."
"Who was your favorite elementary teacher?"
"My favorite elementary teacher was Mrs. Smouse."
Different ways to ask about favorite things
You don't necessarily have to use the word favorite. Favorite basically means what
you like the most. So, you can ask favorite questions without the word favorite.
"What do you like to eat the most?"
"My favorite food is ice cream."
"What is a childhood memory that stands out?"
"My favorite childhood memory is a time I went fishing with my dad."
"Which professor do you like the most?"
"My favorite professor is Professor Kim."
Likewise, you can answer questions without using the word favorite.
"What is your favorite baseball team?"
"I like Seattle Mariners the most."
"What is your favorite type of food?"
"I love Italian food... especially pasta. They are so good."
"Who is your favorite music group?"
"I really enjoy listening to Depeche Mode."
Favorite - Interactive Practice

1
A: "What are you doing tomorrow?"
B: "I'm going to stay home and watch the video."
A: "What are you going to watch?"
B: "I rented Last of the Mohican. Have you seen it?"
A: "That was one of my favorite movies. You will not be disappointed."

2
A: "What's your favorite food?"
B: "I like Chinese food the most."
A: "Have you been to the Chinese restaurant on 44th street."
B: "No I haven't. Is it any good?"
A: "It's my favorite Chinese restaurant. I believe you will like it."
B: "That sounds great. Let's go."
3
A: "Hey Jack. How were your classes this semester?"
B: "They were not too bad. I really dig/liked my poli-science class."
A: "Would you consider it your favorite class?"
B: "I don't know if I would call it my favorite, but it ranks up there."
A: "What class was your favorite then?"
B: "I took a business communication class last year and it was terrific."
A: "I never took that yet. If that was your favorite, I think I will check it out."
Hobby - Questions and Answers

Hobbies are a hot topic anytime. Similar to favorite things, hobbies are favorite
things that you do. This is a small section so let's get started.
Questions you can ask:
"What are your hobbies?"
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"What do you like to do?"
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"If you had extra time, what would you do with it?"
There is not much else you can say. Remember that we can create many different
sentences, but we want to use what is most common in spoken English. So we need
to stay with the most common words.
Answering questions:
"My hobbies consist of golfing, reading novels, and watching movies."
"I like to play computer games in my free time."
"If I'm not working, then I'm busy chatting with people on the Internet."
"During my spare time, I like to cook."
"I like to read magazines."
"In the summer I play golf, and in the winter, I go skiing."
"I love every type of sports."
Making statements:
"I need to find a hobby. I have nothing to do all day."
"Maybe you wouldn't be so lonely if you had a hobby."
"Hobbies are great because it allows you to do what you enjoy."
"Although I have many hobbies, I wish I had more time to do more."
"I love to go snowboarding. It's exhilarating."
"I would go skiing more often, but it takes such a long time to go up to the
mountains."
"I wish golfing wasn't so expensive. I would golf almost everyday if I could afford it."
Hobby - Various Q&A

"If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?"
"I would probably find some hobbies and join an organization that works for a good
cause."
"You just stay home most of the week. Don't you ever get bored?"
"A lot of my hobbies are things I do by myself such as oil painting, sculpting, and
drawing. So actually, I have a lot to do with not enough time."
"I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."
"Maybe you should start thinking about some hobbies."
"Is studying considered a hobby?"
"Studying is usually associated with school and work, so it's not usually considered
a hobby. But if it's not for these purposes, then I guess it can be a hobby. That's just
my opinion though."
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"I do a lot of writing, so I write every chance I get."

Like many topics in English, a conversation will go towards the content of the
conversation. So let's review with longer dialogs in practice.
Hobby - Interactive Practice

1
A: "Hey Bob. Whatcha you doing?"
B: "I'm at home painting."
A: "I didn't know you paint. What type of painting is it?"
B: "I enjoy oil painting. I learned it in one of my extra classes in college."
A: "That sounds so interesting. I wish I learned a hobby."
B: "Hobbies are never too late to learn. They offer a variety of classes at the local
community college. You should look into it."
A: "I think I will. Thanks for the info."
2
A: "Hey Joanne. What are you up to?"
B: "I'm just watching some television."
A: "I'm so bored. I don't know what I'm going to do today and it is only ten in the
morning."
B: "Me too. Do you think we are boring people?"
A: "I don't think we are boring. It's just that we don't have any hobbies."
B: "That's right. What do you think we should do as a hobby?"
A: "That all depends on what you like to do. For example, I like to doodle on the
notepad, so I'm thinking about doing some real drawings."
B: "I like to play the piano for fun."
A: "Yeah. That can be a good hobby."
B: "Hobbies are great. I'm going to make a list of all the things I like to do."
A: "That's a great idea. I'm going to do the same."
Exercise - Questions
There are various types of exercise. Some people might think walking is exercise,
and some other people will think weight lifting is exercise. In the next couple of
lessons, we will take a closer look at various types of exercise.
Exercising can be done in many different ways. Here is a small list to get us started:
Walking
Jogging
Running
Sports
Aerobics
Rowing (boat)
Commuting to work
Etc.
Here are some questions.
"Do you exercise at all?"
"Do you work out?"
"What type of exercising do you do?"
"Where is a good place to exercise?"
"Why don't you exercise?"
"Where do you usually jog?"
"How long do you take a walk for?"
"How often do you jog?"
"Where do you do aerobics?"
"How long do you usually run for everyday?"
Exercise - Walking Jogging and More

Walking:
"Every morning right when I get up, I like to take a thirty minute walk."
"I like to take walks with my dog."
"Golf is a healthy sport because of all the walking it requires."

"I heard from some doctors that walking is the healthiest form of exercise."
"There's a trail by my house that is a perfect 20 minute walk."
"We usually go to a nearby lake and walk around it."
Jogging:
"Every night, I go to an elementary school across from my house and jog a few laps
around the playground."
"I go jogging in the morning when the air is still fresh."
"Some people find jogging stressful, but I find it as a way to relieve some of my
stress."
"It feels so good after jogging for half an hour."
"I usually jog on a treadmill because it's convenient."
Sports: We will have another more comprehensive lesson on sports in a different
lesson.
"I usually play a lot of basketball"
"I get enough exercise from soccer."
"I like to play sports because it is a good form of exercise and allows me to have fun
all at the same time."
"Although bowling is a sport, I don't consider it a form of exercise."
"I play volleyball a couple hours a day."
"I practice baseball with my school team everyday."
"I'm in my high school's track and field team. I'm a long distance runner."
"I don't play soccer because it requires too much running."
"Running constantly is a hard thing to do."
Others:
"Aerobics is an excellent form of exercise."
"I use a video at home to do my aerobic sessions."
"I like to do aerobics because it targets specific areas."
"I get my exercise from rowing. I'm on the junior varsity crew team."
"I ride my bicycle to work every day."
"I take the stairs because it gives me a little bit of a work out."
"I go to the local park and ride my rollerblades."
Exercise Gym - Lifting Weights

Popular types of exercising are conducted in the gym or health club. When I refer to
a gym, I am implying a health club. Two common types of exercising in the gym are
working out / lifting weights, or using machines such as treadmills, bicycle
machines, step machines, etc. It's common for guys to get together and talk about
lifting weights. Likewise, girls get together and discuss the best methods to lose
weight. In this lesson, we are going to lay the ground work on talking about
exercising in the gym.
Lifting weights
Professional weight lifters are called body builders. But since the number of body
builders are not significant, we are going to concentrate more on regular weight
lifting.
I don't lift weights, but when I see a friend who is noticeably bigger due to lifting
weights, these are the types of things I say.
"Have you been lifting?"
You do not need to say lifting weights. When you say lifting, it's understood that you
are talking about weights.
"You got big man."
"How long have you been lifting?"
Other terminologies for lifting weights are:
Pumping Iron
Pressing Iron
Pressing Weights
Working Out
Weight Training
Hitting the Gym
Exercise Gym - Other Methods

Other ways to work out in a health club
Many people lift weights in the health club, but many people also go to lose weight
using machines such as the treadmill and bicycle machines.
Here are some things you can say in a conversation if you fall into this category.
"When I go to the health club, I usually spend 30 minutes on the treadmill, 20
minutes on the bicycle, and finally 10 minutes on the step master."

"There is no place to run in the city, so I have to do my running on the treadmill."
"It always rains around here so I like to exercise in the gym."
"I usually use the treadmill, but I try to work on the nautilus machines at least twice
a week."
"My wife exercises four times a week."
"My husband can't last 10 minutes on the step machine."
Intro and General Things Review

This review section is going to incorporate every lesson we had so far.
We are not learning anything new here, but the sentences and topics will be selected randomly
from previous lessons. If you feel you have done poorly after the first grouping of questions,
please stop and go through the lessons you failed to answer. The only way you will completely
master English is through persistence, hard work, and repetition. You are judging yourself, so be
honest. The rule of thumb is that if you cannot answer a question relatively quickly, you need
more practice.
General Things Review - Interactive Practice

1
A: "How are you doing?"
B: "I'm doing great."
A: "What movies have you seen lately?"
B: "I saw Forrest Gump the other day."

A: "What type of movie is that?"
B: "The movie type is drama."
A: "I can't believe you are watching movies. The weather is great. You should be
outside."
B: "I hate the hot weather. I'd rather stay indoors with the air conditioner."
A: "What else do you like to do besides watching movies?"
B: "I like to play computer games, read books, go shopping, and play pool."
A: "Out of those what is your favorite?"
B: "My favorite is to play computer games."
A: "What is your favorite computer game?"
B: "My favorite is Diablo. It used to be Star Craft, but it is getting a little old."
A: "If you like to play so much, when do you ever exercise?"
B: "Although I hate to exercise, I go jogging at least twice a week."
A: "That's pretty good. By the way, what are you doing next Saturday?"
B: "I am going to go to the bookstore."
A: "I am having a party Saturday night at my house. If you have time, you should
come."
B: "That sounds like fun."
A: "Great. I'll see you on Saturday."
B: "Ok. See you later."
2
A: "Hello?"
B: "Hi Steve. This is Mike. What are you doing?"
A: "Oh, hi. I was just watching TV."
B: "There's nothing to watch right now."
A: "I know. I was watching a re-run. I have nothing to do and I was bored."
B: "Me too. Let's get together and do something."
A: "I'd like to, but I have to meet my parents in an hour for dinner. How about
tomorrow?"
B: "Yeah. Let's plan something tomorrow."
A: "Did you hear the weather forecast for tomorrow?"
B: "I think it is going to be the same as today. Clear and sunny."
A: "That's great. We can do something outdoors then."
B: "Are there any special events going on tomorrow?"
A: "Yeah. I think there's a live outdoor concert by the river tomorrow."
B: "Oh yeah. I heard about that too. Let's go check it out."
A: "Do you know what time it starts?"
B: "It starts at one PM."
A: "Let's meet for lunch at eleven thirty and afterwards, we can head over there."
B: "Perfect. I'll see you in front of the apartment at eleven thirty."

3
A: "Steve. Is that you?"
B: "Yeah. What's going on?"
A: "Not much. What a surprise to see you here."
B: "Yeah. It's been a couple of months since I saw you."
A: "What have you been up to?"
B: "I just started working out."
A: "Really? Where do you work out at?"
B: "I joined the Samsung Health Club last month."
A: "What do you mostly do during your workout?"
B: "I concentrate mostly on my legs, chest, arms and stomach."
A: "I should start exercising more."
B: "It's hard work while exercising, but it is a great feeling when I get done."
A: "I have a running machine at home. I used to use it, but I already got sick of it."
B: "Exercising at home is hard. The environment is not suited for exercising."
A: "If I want to exercise, I will need to join a gym."
B: "I have a couple of guest passes. You want to check out my health club."
A: "That's a good idea. Let's go over the weekend."
B: "Great. I'll call you Saturday morning."
A: "Aright. I'll talk to you later."
B: "Ok. Bye."
4
A: "The weather is terrible."
B: "Yeah. It's been raining a lot these days."
A: "I have been watching a lot of videos at home because of the constant rain."
B: "Have you heard when it's supposed to get better?"
A: "I saw the weather report, and it's going to rain for the next eight days."
B: "That sucks so much. What are we going to do?"
A: "I'm getting pretty bored. We should do something despite the rain."
B: "I'm with you. What do you have in mind?"
A: "I haven't been to the Mall in a long time. Let's go there."
B: "That sounds good. They have a movie theatre there, so if we get bored, we can
watch a movie."
A: "Great. I'll stop by your place now."
B: "Ok. Don't forget to bring your umbrella. The rain can start up again anytime."
Feelings and Emotions
1. Happy and Feeling Good

2. Happy and Feeling Good - Questions
3. Happy and Feeling Good - Other Sentences
4. Happy and Feeling Good - Interactive Practice
5. Anger
6. Anger - Understanding
7. Anger - Confronting
8. Anger - Other
9. Anger - Interactive Practice
10. Excited - General Sentences
11. Excited - Other Expressions
12. Excited - Interactive Practice
13. Being Worried
14. Worry - Serious Situation
15. Being Worried - Talking to a Worried Person
16. Worry - Worried about Family
17. Worry - Interactive Practice
18. Stress - School
19. Stress - Work
20. Stress - Questions and Answers
21. Stress - General
22. Stress - Interactive Practice
Happy and Feeling Good

It's common to talk to friends and family when you are happy. Most of the time, you
want to express why you are happy and share with close people how you feel. In
this lesson, let's take a look at many different ways you can express yourself when
you are happy.
General statements are usually short. Here are a few examples.
"I'm very happy right now."
"I'm happy."
"I haven't been this happy in a long time."
"I don't think I can be any happier right now."
"He is very happy."
"She is so happy right now."
"My wife is pretty happy."
"My husband is happy."
These sentences are very basic. Most of the time, you will be explaining why you
are happy. Let's incorporate the reason into the sentence.
"I'm so happy I got a job offer."
"I was happy when I received an A for my final report."
"I'll be happy when that happens."
"This semester is such a headache. I'll be so happy when it's over."
"My brother was happy after passing the examination."
"I think my mother was happier than I was when I got into the University."
"If you find a job you are happy with, then that is the perfect job for you."
"It's more important to be happy with your job then what other people think."
"I don't think she will be happy if you do that."
"My parents won't be happy if I drop out of school."
"I think my professor was happy with my essay."
"My grandmother is always happy when I come visit her."
"My grandfather is always happy to see me."
"I'm so happy for you. That's wonderful news."
"Congratulations on your engagement, I'm so happy for you."
"I want to find a gift that she will be happy with."
"He never likes his presents, but he is happy with the fact that we tried."
"Happiness is probably the most important thing in life."
"My goal in life is to make other people happy."
Happy and Feeling Good - Questions

Questions you might ask someone
"Do you think he will be happy with this present?"
"Do you believe money can buy happiness?"
"Do you think she will be happy if I show up?"
"What would make you happy?"
"Was your brother happy with the results?"
"When was your happiest time period?"
"How can you put a price tag on happiness?"
"How much money do you need to be happy?"
"Would you be happy if that happened to you?"
"Why are you so happy right now?"
"Why are you in such a good mood?"
"Did something good happen? You look so happy?"
"Why do you have such a big smile on your face?"
Happy and Feeling Good - Other Sentences

There are other ways to express you are happy without using the word happy. In the
last half of this lesson, let's look at some of these sentences.
"I'm feeling pretty good right now."
"I'm in a very good mood."
"I feel great!"
"I'm so glad I didn't have to go to work today."
"It feels so good taking a long vacation."
"This is so awesome. I can't believe this happened."
"I got everything I ever wanted. I feel so blessed."
"My brother was jumping around everywhere when he heard he got into Stanford."
Here are some slang terms you might hear.

"I'm so stoked."
Stoked basically means to be happy or to be excited.
"I'm on cloud nine right now."
This terminology represents feeling high. High is usually associated with drugs, but
if something good happens and you are so happy, it can make you feel better than
being on drugs. That is where this terminology came from.
"I
"I
"I
"I
"I
feel
feel
feel
feel
feel
like I'm in paradise."

like I'm on top of the world."
like a king."
like a champion."
invincible."
Happy and Feeling Good - Interactive Practice

1
A: "Hey John. I have some great news."
B: "What happened?"
A: "I got a job offer from Dell."
B: "That's great. I thought you said you didn't get the job."
A: "I thought I did bad on the interview, but I guess I was wrong. I'm so happy right
now."
B: "I bet. That's great news. I'm very happy for you."
A: "Thanks. I feel like celebrating. Let's go have a beer. It's on me."
B: "Sounds good."
2
A: "Mike, did you win the lottery or something? Why the big smile?"
B: "I'm so relieved. I just passed the bar exam."
A: "You did? That's great! You must be very happy now?"
B: "That's an understatement. I'm on cloud nine. I couldn't be any happier."
A: "Did you tell your parents yet?"
B: "Not yet. I didn't get a hold of them. I'll try to call them again tonight."
A: "They're probably going to be so happy."
B: "I think so. It's turning out to be a great day."
3
A: "Life's so boring."
B: "Well, most of the time it is, I guess."
A: "What do you think will make you happy?"
B: "I think money will make me happy."
A: "You heard people say that money doesn't guarantee happiness."
B: "It will for me. Then I can do all the things I want to do."
A: "You'll get bored eventually."
B: "Then I can find something new to do. If I don't have to worry about money, then
I don't have to work."
A: "That's true, I guess. If I didn't have to work, I think I would be happy."
B: "You see... money doesn't equal happiness, but it takes away a lot of
responsibilities."
Anger
Different people react in different ways when they are angry. In this lesson, we will
look at a variety of sentences people use when they are angry. When someone is
angry in the real world, they use a lot of profanity or curse words. Because of this
fact, this lesson will contain bad words.
There are many ways a person can get angry. Let's first look at the situation where
it involved a different person.
"I'm so pissed. Roger just stabbed me in the back."
"What was he thinking! I thought we were friends too."
"I don't know what I'm going to do when I see him. I found out that he's been
sleeping with my girlfriend."
"Matt is dating my ex-girlfriend. I'm pretty upset about that. He knows I still have
feelings for her."
"Whenever I think about him, I get pissed. He treats his friends like crap."
"I can't believe he was talking behind my back. Whenever he talks to me, he acts
like we're close friends."
"Matt borrowed my car and put a dent in it. He claims he didn't do it. I'm never
trusting him again."
"I told Scott a secret and made sure he never tells anyone. The next week, I heard it
from three different people. I was so pissed."
Anger - Understanding
There are only a few things you need to say when someone is talking to you about
anger. The best thing to do is understand their feeling.
"I can't believe that happened. I'd be so pissed."
"I know how you feel. I was so angry when that happened to me."
"I can't imagine how angry you must feel. That has never happened to me."
"If that happened to me, I'd get revenge."
"What are you going to do to get him back?"
"That totally sucks, but I'm not surprised. I always knew he was a back stabber."
"The best thing to do is stop being his friend. He doesn't deserve to have any
friends."
Anger - Confronting
When you are talking to the person that made you angry, it is common to lose
control and say a lot of things. Here are some common sentences.
"I thought you were a friend. I had so much trust in you. I can't believe you did this
to me."
"What were you thinking when you stabbed me in the back. Did it feel good?"
"Why'd you do it?"
"You know I still have feelings for Mandy. You didn't even consider my feelings.
What? Am I not a friend or something?"
"You're not the only one hurting for money. You owe me five hundred dollars. I need
it now."
"You didn't have to tell my parents that I owed you money. I said I would pay you
back when I got my paycheck. I can't believe you would do this."
Sentences you can ask or say if you feel a friend is angry with you
"Are you mad at me?"
"Are you angry?"
"You're not disappointed are you?"
"Don't be angry with me. I really didn't mean it."
"I didn't know you were involved. I hope you're not mad at me."
"I really didn't know it was going to make you upset."
Anger - Other
If you make good friends, you can avoid these types of scenarios. However, there
are times when the situation was out of your control. For example, a friend of mine
had to landscape his back yard for his house, so he called a company to delivery a
lot of top soil. As the driver was driving back to the house, he hit my friends house
and damaged a pipeline. The driver claimed it wasn't his fault and said he wouldn't
pay for the damages. When things like this happen, we use the court system to get
payment. But my friend was so angry because they were not accepting fault. Here
are some of the things I heard.
"I was so pissed for a couple of weeks. During that time, I thought of twenty
different ways I could hurt his business."
"I'm going to screw with him so much."
In the end, everything worked out. They went to court and my friend won.
There are a couple of other emotions that are similar to being angry. I'll cover some
of them here.
"I'm so frustrated."
"It's so frustrating working with him."
"I was so frustrated, I stopped caring about the outcome."
"He gets frustrated pretty easily."
"It's easy to get frustrated when things are not fair."
"I'm not really mad, just a little disappointed."

"That really hurt me. I'm so disappointed."
"I'm really disappointed in you. I didn't know you could stoop to that level."
In boxing, a low blow is a hit below the belt that is considered unfair. The term low
blow became widely used when someone did something unfair. Here are some
sentences to give you an idea.
"That was low."
"I can't believe Jackie would do something so low."
Now that we know what low means, stooping to that level means to do something
that is low. You are basically lowering yourself to perform a bad or unfair task.
Anger - Interactive Practice

1
A: "What happened to your car?"
B: "A tow truck was towing my car and put all those dents in my car."
A: "Are they going to pay you for the damages?"
B: "They're saying it was already there."
A: "What the hell. That doesn't make sense. What are you going to do."
B: "I have to go to court. A cop was there so he can prove that the damage wasn't
there."
A: "That sucks. I'd be pissed if that happened to me."
B: I got an estimate and it's four thousand dollars."
A: "Oh my gosh. Damn... screw the court, I would burn down their store."
B: "We'll see what happens after court."
2
A: "Jack, what's wrong?"

B: "You!"
A: "What are you talking about? What did I do?"
B: "You told Martha that I was on a date? What was that all about?"
A: "No... that's not what I meant. I didn't mean that. She asked me where you were
and I jokingly said that you were on a date with Sara. I thought Martha knew that
you and Sara were just friends."
B: "She started feeling suspicious after you said that."
A: "I'm sorry man. I didn't know. I didn't mean to screw anything up."
B: "Martha gets jealous easily and it took a while to convince her that Sara was just
a friend. Now, I have to explain to Sara that I can't hang around her because of
you."
A: "Look. I really didn't mean to, and next time I see Martha, I'll really tell her that
you and Sara are really just friends."
B: "Don't bother."
Excited - General Sentences

Being excited is another positive emotion. I'm sure everyone knows what it feels like
to be excited, so let's get right into learning sentences.
The day before a big event, many people get excited. Here are some sentences you
can use.
"I'm getting excited for golf tomorrow."
"I'm too excited to go to sleep now. Our trip tomorrow is going to be so fun."
"We're leaving for our camping trip tomorrow. I'm getting really excited."
"Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day."
"We're finally moving into our first house. It's a very exciting time for us."
"I have an interview tomorrow. Although I am scared, it's an exciting opportunity."
Regular sentences
"I'm excited to be here."
"Your sister must be really excited about starting law school."
"It's really exciting thinking about the benefits people will gain from our project."
"It's exciting starting a small business."
"I get excited thinking about how many people I will help."
"Don't get too excited. It's not guaranteed yet."
"I wouldn't get excited yet. You still have one more match to play."
"You didn't get the job yet, so don't get too excited about it."
Questions
"I'm pretty fired up about tomorrow. Aren't you excited too?"
"Are you feeling excited or scared about your interview tomorrow?"
"Do you get excited every time you get a phone number from a girl?"
"Is your brother excited about starting work?"
"Are you excited about your date tomorrow?"
Excited - Other Expressions

Sometimes, being too excited can be negative. Here are some examples.
"I don't know what's wrong with him. He's always excited for no reason."
"He's too hyper. I don't know why he's excited about every little thing."
Hyper is usually used when someone has too much energy.
"If you feel too excited, you won't be able to sleep. Then you won't perform that well
tomorrow."
"Calm down. You're over reacting."
"My friend can never go to sleep the day before we go skiing. He always gets too
excited."
"My dog gets excited whenever the doorbell rings."
"People with heart problems shouldn't get excited too often."
"You should feel excited about this opportunity."
"I don't understand why you're unhappy with your situation. I'd feel excited to have
your opportunity."
"Going to a concert is very exciting. There are many people there with so much
energy and it's very fun."
"It's exciting to see a great singer perform so powerfully."
"I'm excited about my trip to Europe. It's going to be so fun."
Being pumped up is another way you can say you are excited.
"I'm pretty pumped up about my trip to Australia. I'm really looking forward to it."
"I'm pumped up about working out. I joined a health club and set a good schedule to
follow."
Being thrilled about something is another way to say you are excited.
"It's so thrilling skiing down the mountain real fast."
"I'm thrilled thinking about buying a new car."
When you are referring to an exciting person, the word most commonly used is
enthusiastic.
"He's a very enthusiastic person."
"I wish I had as much enthusiasm as he does."
"It's always fun to be around an enthusiastic person."
Excited - Interactive Practice

1
A: "I can't wait to go skiing tomorrow."
B: "I know. It's going to be so much fun."
A: "I always get excited the day before."
B: "I used to be like that. But I go skiing so often that I don't get excited anymore."
A: "I only go skiing twice a year, so it's a real treat for me."
B: "That makes sense."
A: "What things make you excited?"
B: "Whenever I go to Vegas, I get really excited."
A: "Oh... that makes me excited too!"
B: "Looks like anything fun makes you excited."
2
A: "Hey Jack. Are you excited about starting work?"
B: "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to it."
A: "What was more exciting, starting college or starting work?"

B: "They're pretty similar, but in different ways. I really can't decide. How about
you?"
A: "For me, I think starting school was more exciting."
B: "Does that mean work isn't that great?"
A: "It's different for everyone, but because I knew school was going to be so much
fun, I really got excited about it."
B: "But work is a huge portion of our lives. I'm looking forward to making it fun."
A: "That's a great attitude to have. I don't think you'll have any problems in the
workforce."
B: "I hope you're right."
3
A: "Hey Suzie. Guess what? I'm having a baby!"
B: "Really? That's so great. Congratulations."
A: "Thanks. I'm so excited. We've been trying for 8 months now."
B: "That's really exciting. How many months are you pregnant?"
A: "Three months."
B: "Are you going to find out if it is a boy or a girl?"
A: "I want to, but Bob doesn't. He wants to be surprised like the old fashioned way."
B: "Maybe it's more exciting not knowing."
A: "I'd rather know and buy all the baby things ahead of time."
B: "There are so many things you have to prepare for."
A: "I know I am going to be busy, but I know I can handle it. I have been looking
forward to this day for a long long time."
B: "It really must be an exciting time for you guys."
A: "Thank you so much."
Being Worried
Some people might say worrying is useless, but it is an emotion that everyone has.
Worrying doesn't help the situation, but we can't help to feel worried when
something happens. Let's look at some sentences that are commonly used.
"I'm
"I'm
"I'm
"I'm
worried about my son."

worried about the situation."
so worried."
a little worried."
"He's very worried about work."

"He's worrying about his financial situation."
"She's worried about her dog."
"Our dog has been missing for 2 days. My wife is very worried."
"Our son slipped and hit his head. It's going to be a couple of days before we know
how serious it is. I can't help but worry about it."
"I'd be worried if I was in that situation."
"I bet she's really worried."
"The doctor said something was wrong with my wife's blood test. I'm so worried."
"I lost my job and I'm having a hard time finding another one. I'm beginning to
worry about how I'm going to take care of my family."
"My husband lost his job. Although I'm worried, I can't put pressure on him because
he feels really bad."
Worry - Serious Situation

Sometimes, a person might not take a situation seriously. If something bad
happened and they don't think it is bad, then a popular comment is to say
something like this.
"I would worry if I were you."
"Do you think this is a joke? This is pretty serious."
"This is one of your last chances. Aren't you worried at all?"
When we are worried, the word doesn't have to be used to express that we are
worried. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about.
"I don't know how I'm going to pay for the medical bills."
"I have so much debt. I don't know what to do."
"I just took the exam and I don't know if I passed or not."
"I only applied for three schools. What's going to happen if I don't get into any of
them?"
"I just had my interview. I don't know if I got it or not."
"I hope they come out with the results soon. I hate the waiting."
"The doctor said there are some complications with the pregnancy. I'm praying
nothing bad happens."
"My mother got into a car accident. She's in critical condition. I don't know what's
going to happen."
"So many people are counting on me. What if I let them down?"
Stress - School
Unfortunately, stress is a common emotion that we all experience. Most of the time,
stress is caused by pressure placed on us. We experience stress trying to live up to
someone else's expectations. This is the same for school and work. We are given
work to do and if there is so much, we experience stress.
School
"I'm stressing out. I have a mid term tomorrow and I haven't studied yet."
"I have a paper due tomorrow and I didn't even read the book. I'm so stressed."
"I always get stressed out during finals week. Even if I study a lot, there are always
unexpected questions I don't know about."
"My parents give me so much stress. They expect me to get straight A's all the
time."
"I would enjoy school a lot more if my parents didn't put so much pressure on me."
"My dad gave me a beating when I brought home a C on my report card."
"I'm so stressed. I'm taking the CPA exam next week and I'm not confident."
"I've been stressed like this for two weeks now. I'll be happy when this semester is
over."
"I took too many classes this semester. I shouldn't have tried to do so much. Now
I'm stressing like crazy."
"My English professor is stressing me out. He wants me to help him write his
article."
"I'm having a lot of trouble in my political science class. It's stressing me out."
Stress - Work
"I get a lot of stress from work."

"I'm sick of all the stress I have to deal with."
"The project I'm working on is giving me a lot of stress."
"I have a lot of stress because of my manager. He wants me to finish my project in
four days."
"The most stressful thing about work is always making sure my manager is happy."
"If I don't butt kiss, I might get fired. It's so stressful living like this."
"Work is so stressful."
"There's this guy at work. He's the biggest butt kisser. It's stressful competing
against this guy."
"I get a lot of stress from my coworkers. They're all way too competitive."
"I volunteered for another project and it's stressful to say the least. I'm working 14
hours a day."
"My company is over working me. They expect way too much from everybody."
"If the work doesn't kill me, the stress will."
Stress - General
"My parents are putting pressure on me to get married. It's so stressful."
"My husband wants to have a baby. I don't want one yet. It's very stressful."
"I get so much stress before interviews."
"I feel a lot of stress when I have to talk in front of a large group."
"Learning English is the most stressful thing I ever had to deal with."
"I get stress every time I think about speaking English."
"He is always late with his work. It's beginning to stress me out."
"It's stressful because if anything goes wrong, our whole project will be ruined."
"It's so stressful because of the importance. So many people are dependent on our
success."
Sad or Depressed
It's unfortunate that there seems to be more negative emotion than positive ones.
Being sad and depressed is a common emotion that we must deal with. While
dealing with these negative emotions, it is good to talk about how you feel. Let's get
started so you can say how bad you feel in English.
I'm not going to cover feeling sad or depressed due to a broken heart in this lesson.
Having a broken heart is a large topic so I will dedicate a whole lesson to the broken
heart.
There are several ways to express you are sad by using different words. Here is a
small list of different words you might hear.
Sad
Down
Gloomy
Feeling Blue
Depressed
Let's use these words in sentences.
"He's a little sad that Mark didn't invite him to his birthday party."
"She's sad that she wasn't selected as the representative."
"I always cry during sad movies."
"I'm feeling a little down."
"I got a bad grade in my final. I'm just a little down."
"Jack is feeling pretty down. Let's take him out for a night of fun."
"I feel so gloomy all the time."
"I wish I was happy. I'm sick of feeling gloomy."
"Let's go to a bar. I'm feeling a bit gloomy."
"I'm feeling a little blue right now."
"Jack hasn't come out in a long time. He's feeling a little blue. Let's try to cheer him
up."
"I didn't get my promotion from work. It's depressing me."
"Let's go get drunk tonight. I'm feeling depressed."
"Sometimes I feel depressed for no reason."
Sad or Depressed - Reactions
Crying is one reaction to being sad. When someone is crying, you know it is because
they are sad for some reason. Here are some questions you can ask.
"Why are you crying?"
"What's wrong?"
"Why are you sad?"
"What's bothering you?"
"Why do you feel so bad?"
"Why are you depressed?"
"What's making you feel like this?"
Because there are so many things in the world that can make us sad, it is hard to
cover everything. I can only cover the tip of the iceberg on this subject. But feel free
to ask any specific questions and we will let you know the proper sentence for your
situation.
"Our team lost the final match. We were second place."
"My mother is very sick right now. I'm worried and sad."
"My grandmother is in the hospital. I don't think she's going to make it."
"My uncle was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors don't expect him to make it."
"My cousin was killed in a car accident. It was the saddest thing in my life."
"I trained so hard, but I didn't make the wrestling team. I'm a little down."
"I didn't get into that University. I'm so depressed and my parents are going to be so
disappointed."
"My grandfather just passed away. I was so close to him."
Sometimes sadness can turn into anger. For example, when the US gets away with
gold medals at the cost of Koreans or other countries, it's sad to see. After the initial
feeling, it turns into anger.
"Korea lost the gold medal to the US. It was so depressing watching the US get away
with another gold medal."
"I'm getting sick of watching Korea get screwed by the Americans. It's really
discouraging."
Sad or Depressed - Situational Depression

Depression is classified as a disease. Many people suffer from depression and it is
good to know how to say some sentences whether it is you or someone else.
Situational depression
When someone first comes to the United States, it is common to be depressed. This
is usually due to loneliness, boredom, or feeling sad because you miss your friends
and family.
"I think I'm depressed because I have nothing to do here."
"I'm depressed because I don't have anything here."
"I'm so lonely here. I left all my friends to come here."
Usually time heals these types of problems. Sometimes, whatever you say doesn't
really help. They know the problem, but they can't control how they feel.
Regardless, saying that you understand can show them that you care.
"It must be really tough leaving your friends and family behind."
"I have never experienced that, but I imagine it must be really hard."
"Starting a new life someplace different is really hard. It's normal to feel this way. I
think you'll get better with time."
"If you surround yourself with people, you might find new friends."
"Why don't you go to church. You can find peace there and even find great friends."
Sad or Depressed - Doctor and Friend

Things to say to a doctor
"I'm always depressed for no reason."
"I suffer from depression constantly."
"I'm always depressed and I don't know why."
Depression can be so bad that suicidal thoughts can arise. That's what doctors are
there for and they can really help. But it is important to let someone know about
how you feel.
"I'm so depressed that I don't know if it's worth living any longer."
"Can you do anything to help my depression?"
If a friend talks to you about these things, here are some sentences you can say.
"It's not your fault and this is pretty serious. I think you should go see a doctor. I can
go with you."
"I think a doctor can really help your situation. We should go in and talk to one."
"You know they have medication to help depression. I'll help you look into it. What
do you say?"
Love - Family
There are several types of love. There is the love you have for your parents or
children, the love you have for your wife or husband, the love you feel for a new
girlfriend or a boyfriend, and the love you have for a friend. These are the primary
things I will cover here. If you are curious about other types, feel free to ask specific
questions and we will tell you the English equivalent. For now, let's talk about love.
Family love
I heard that the most unselfish love is the love from the mother to her child. It must
be powerful and if you are a mother, you will probably understand. It's not common
to talk to your mother or father about how much they love you. It is more common
to talk to friends about this. Here are some sentences for this conversation.
Talking to friends about parents
"I can't believe how much parents love their children."
"Although my mother always nags at me, I know she loves me so much."
"I'm amazed at how much my parents gave up to give me a better life."
"I'm such a bad daughter. After realizing how much my parents gave me, I feel so
sad that I didn't show my appreciation."
"I think you will understand how much your parents love you when you get your
own children."
"When my parents can't take care of themselves, I will feel happy to take care of
them. It's the least I can do to repay all that they gave me."
Talking to friends about children
"I don't know what I would do if I lost my child."
"I finally understand how easy it was for my parents to give me so much after I got
my daughter."
"I love my son so much. I don't know what I would do without him."
"Love is so powerful. Even before my son was born, I had this bond with him that I
couldn't understand."
"I'm going to do everything for my child."
Love - Infatuation or Love
Between a new boyfriend or girlfriend

Many people mistake infatuation for love. When you first meet someone and you
feel you are in love with that person, it's not really love. Love takes time to grow.
Your infatuation and lust can turn into love after you get to know one another. But if
you feel this bubbly sensation inside and can't think about anything except the
other person, then it's merely infatuation. However, this infatuation is so powerful
that it drives people crazy. The next section will provide many different example
sentences. Let's take a look at this powerful feeling.
Things initially said
"My days are empty without you by my side."
"I can't say I love you because what I feel inside is more than love."
"I don't think it's possible to feel more love than I have for you."
"My feelings are so strong that even when we are apart, I think you can feel my love
for you."
"In the cold lonely night, the sound of your name comforts me."
"My eyes are fixed on your picture when we are apart."
"I take you everywhere with me. In my heart you are there."
"I love you more than I love life. You mean more to me than you can understand."
"I want you so much. I need you so much. I love you so much."
"I think I'm in love. Whenever I'm not with her, I feel so weak."
"I can't think of anything besides her."
"She is the first thing on my mind, and the last thing before I sleep. Even in my
sleep, I am with her."
"I find myself banging a wall controlled by a strong desire to be with her."
Love - Talking to Friend

Questions and Answers
"When was your first love?"
"I fell in love for the first time in high school. We only dated for 3 months, but I had
the strongest feeling for her."
"My first love was in college. We were together for 2 years. I loved him a lot, but it's
over now."
"My first love was in college. We ended up getting married."
"What was your first love like?"
"My first love experience was so powerful. It drove me crazy. I don't know if I could
handle it again, but it was definitely an amazing experience."
"My first love can be described like a romantic fairy tale. I would speak poems into
her ear and kiss passionately in the night."
General Statements
"I think I'm in love with her."
"I met this girl last week. We've been talking on the phone every night. I think I'm
falling in love."
"I'm crazy about her. What do you think I should do?"
There are many more things to say about this subject. I encourage you to write
down what you feel. If you are uncertain if it is grammatically correct, feel free to
ask us. We will answer all your questions. For now, let's move on to practice.
Broken Heart - Expressions

The most painful time period in my life was when my heart was broken by my first
love. Even though I call it my first love, I don't know if it was love or not. I just know
it was a powerful feeling. Especially when it ended. I was devastated. In this lesson,
we will cover sentences you will need when you talk to people about your broken
heart.
Expressions
"I wish I could sleep and not wake up. I can't take the pain any longer."
"Sleeping is the only comfort I have. It's my only escape."
"I wish God would take my life away. I wish I wasn't living anymore."
"I'm never going to get over her. Even after 10 years, I'll still be thinking about her."
"There's a hole in my heart and I don't think it's going to heal."
"My heart is so heavy. It's so hard to even walk."
"I don't have the strength to move. I can't stand up."
"I lost my appetite and I can't fall asleep."
"Maybe if she knew how much I loved her, she would come back to me."
"Make it go away. Make the pain go away!"
"I loved her so much. I loved her more than anything."
"No. You don't understand. You don't understand how I feel."
"Right when I came home from school, I would start to cry. I wouldn't even make it
up the first step. I would fall on the ground and cry."
"I remember in school, some classmates kept asking me if I was sick. That's how
bad I looked. I was really sick in the heart."
"I was crying one day and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I still had tears rolling down
my face."
Broken Heart - Talking to Person with Broken Heart

Talking to someone with a broken heart
"Time is the only thing that can heal your heart."
"It takes a while, but eventually, you'll be yourself again."
"I know it's painful, but it's only temporary."
"It's normal to feel this way. It's one of the most painful things."
"You have to move on."
"You need to get over him."
"There are plenty of girls for you."
"There are a lot of fish in the sea. You shouldn't feel bad about losing one."
"I'm confident that you'll find a better guy."
If your friend is trying to get over a person, it is good to concentrate on the bad
things.
"He wasn't good to you. It's actually better that you guys broke up."
"I know you're hurting, but it was for the better."
"He was a jerk. You must realize that your situation is much better without him."
"I don't know what you saw in her. She wasn't good to you."
"I also know you must still have strong feelings for her, but try to think of the bad
things. You know she didn't treat you that well. Is that the person you want to spend
the rest of your life with?"
It is also good to talk about your experience and how you overcame the pain. If they
see that you experienced it too, they will be more receptive to what you have to
say.
"I remember my first break up. It was the worst feeling in the world. I was crying
everyday for three months. And slowly, it got better. I know you'll feel better too."
"My first break up was pretty painful. It took me two years to get over her. I was still
crying after 6 months. But it felt good to move on. I knew there was a better girl for
me. I know there is a better girl for you."

"I sometimes had bad thoughts too. I thought that it would be easier to die than live
with the pain. But you know it's wrong. I'm so glad that I dealt with the pain. I'm
now a stronger and better person."
Broken Heart - Asking Questions

Asking Questions
"How long will I feel like this?"
"When do you think I'll be over her?"
"How long does the pain last?"
"How am I supposed to go on without her?"
"What am I supposed to do now that he's gone?"
"What did you do to get over your first love?"
"Do you still think about your first love?"
"I can't do anything except cry. Is this normal?"
"Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?"
"Why did she leave me?"
"What did I do wrong?"
"Why doesn't he love me?"
"Does he not know how much I love him?"
"Why did this happen to me? It's not fair."
"Should I ask her to come back to me?"
"I'm willing to beg. I'm willing to do anything. Do you think it will help?"
Afraid or Scared
Some people really don't get scared that much. Others get scared all the time.
Usually ladies will get more scared than the guys. But even if you don't get scared
that much, it is still good to learn this lesson because you might be talking to
someone who gets scared easily. Let's begin.
There are several synonyms for scared that are commonly used.
Frightened
Freaked out
Terrified
Afraid
Fear
"I'm scared."
"I get scared when I'm alone at night."
"I get scared pretty easily."
"I get scared watching a horror movie."
"It's frightening walking home at night."
"I didn't know the mirror was there so I was frightened when I saw my reflection."
"My little daughter gets frightened easily, so we keep the light on for her until she
goes to sleep."
Freaked out is more of a slang term used among the guys. My friends think it is a
little girlish to say they are scared. So instead, they use the word freaked out.
"When I was at a public bath room, three guys surrounded my stall waiting for me to
leave. I was so freaked out."
"I got freaked out when I saw the bat fly across the room."
"It's freaky walking through a dark park at night."
"She was so terrified that she turned blue for a second."
"It was a terrifying experience. We were both freaking out."
"I was terrified watching that movie."
"If you're afraid, then you don't have to do it."
"My wife is afraid of the dark."
"When I was little, I was afraid of everything."
"I'm not afraid of death."
"I fear that we'll lose the war."
"I fear that he'll get away."
"You shouldn't let fear control you."
"He fears that you will be mad."
Afraid or Scared - General Sentences

Questions
"Do you get scared easily?"
"Do you get scared watching horror movies?"
"Are you afraid of the dark?"

"What was the most terrifying experience you ever had?"
"Do you get scared when you are at home by yourself?"
"What do you do when you feel scared?"
"Are you afraid of death?"
"Hey Theresa, I just watched a movie and I'm scared. Do you want to get together?"
"If you're not busy, do you want to come over? I just watched a movie and I'm afraid
to be alone."
General Sentences
"My dog gets scared during fourth of July."
"My dog gets scared when he hears a loud noise."
"My wife hates watching scary movies. She's afraid of ghosts."
"My little brother is afraid of his own room. He thinks there's a monster in the
closet."
"My sister is terrified of spiders. She screams every time she sees one."
"I'm not afraid of ghosts and monsters. They're all fake."
"When I was young, I used to get scared, but it all changed when I grew up."
"I remember being afraid of a lot of things when I was younger."
"The whole country was scared after the 9/11 attack."
"The leaders of America said we shouldn't live in fear."
When someone is scared, one instinct is to run away from the situation. The phrase,
'running scared' is used this way.
"Why is he running scared?"
"Is the government running scared?"
"The revealed secret had the CEO running scared."
Being scared does not always imply being frightened or afraid of monsters. A grown
person can use this word if he or she is worried about something. Here are some
examples.
"My company is downsizing. It's a little scary going through this. I don't know if I will
have a job next month."
"I'm afraid my company is going to lay off our whole department."
"It's a little scary waiting for the test results. This is so important to me. I really hope
I pass."
"If I tell her, I'm afraid she's going to blow up."

"I'm afraid to tell her because she's going to be mad."
Other Emotions - Emotional

In this lesson, we will cover several emotions we didn't cover yet. The ones I want to
talk about are, being emotional, feeling no emotions, restlessness, proud, and
anxiety. If you have questions concerning any emotion we didn't cover, feel free to
ask questions anytime.
Emotional
If your emotions change easily, then you are an emotional person. An emotional
person can also be described as one who is affected by things such as sad movies,
criticism, or easily angered. In this lesson, we will go through some sentences
talking about emotional people.
"I know a lot of artists and many of them are emotional. I think it helps them with
their creativity."
"I saw a guy cry in a movie. He must be very emotional."
"Emotional girls are high maintenance. It's really a headache dealing with them."
"My last boyfriend was so emotional. His emotions would change drastically in the
same day."
When someone is way too emotional and it affects how they act in a negative way,
some people will call them a psycho.
"Your ex-girlfriend was a total psycho man."
"He's a psycho. I saw him stalking you for a week."
"My last girlfriend was a psycho. She would get upset at nothing and start crying the
next minute."
"I had a jealous boyfriend. He followed me around everywhere. I thought he was
emotional because he would cry when I would yell at him, but I now think he's a
psycho."
Some people are only emotional when it is about something they are passionate
about. If a person only gets emotional talking about one subject, then they are not
an emotional person, rather, they are emotional about that topic.
"He's pretty emotional about that topic."
"I wouldn't say anything negative about blind people. She's very emotional about
it."
"Anytime we talk about it, he gets very emotional."
"His voice started getting louder when we were talking about the war. I didn't know
he was emotional about it."
"My father had a friend who was killed in the Korean war. He gets emotional thinking
about it."
Other Emotions - Feeling Nothing

No emotions
Feeling no emotions is one of the worst emotions. Many times it is described as
being dead on the inside. Without emotions, it is hard to tell if you are a person.
Here are some sentences I heard people say.
"I don't feel anything. I don't know if I'm alive."
"I hurt myself because it makes me feel alive."
"I'd rather feel pain than feel nothing at all."
"Not feeling anything is so depressing."
"When my younger brother died, I didn't feel anything. It was worse than feeling
sad."
"I've never seen that guy laugh or cry. He's so emotionless."
"I wonder if she feels anything. She's so cold."
Other Emotions - Restless

Restless
Being restless is an uncomfortable feeling. You feel like you want to do something,
but there is nothing to do. It's hard to sit still and you have too much negative
energy.
"Being restless is having too much negative energy."
"Being restless is terrible because it's being bored when your body wants to do
something."
"I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm so restless."
"I can't fall asleep. I'm too restless."

"I'm either bored or restless. I can't tell."
"I gotta find something to do, or I'll die."
"It's hard for me to relax when I'm restless."
"He gets restless very frequently."
"Why are you moving around so much? Are you restless?"
Other Emotions - Proud

Proud
You can either be proud of yourself or someone you care about, such as your
children. When you are proud, it is the result of accomplishing something. Here are
some sentences you can use.
"I'm so proud of you."
"I'm very proud of you."
"You did a great job. I'm so proud of you."
"My mother always tells me that she's proud of me."
"I bet your parents are proud of you."
"You should feel proud of your accomplishment."
"That was awesome. You should feel proud of yourself."
"I'm very proud of you, son."
"I'm proud of my little brother. He did a great job."
Proud can be used in a negative way. Proud can be seen as cocky or overconfident.
"I don't know why he's so proud of himself."
Other Emotions - Anxious and Anxiety

Anxiety / Anxious
Anxiety is a pretty serious emotional problem. When you feel many different
emotions or awkward emotions and can't control them, it is referred to as having an
anxiety disorder. Many people suffer from this problem.
"I feel weird all the time. I'm anxious about everything."
"I feel anxious anytime I'm faced with uncertainty."

"I heard it's very uncomfortable feeling anxious about everything."
"I need to see a doctor about my anxiety problem."
"Mike went to see a doctor and she told him that he has an anxiety disorder."
"There are medication for anxiety disorders. You should ask your doctor about it."
There are times you can use the word anxious and not refer to a medical or serious
condition.
"It's going to be fun. I'm anxious to get started."
"The project is going to be great. I'm anxious to start on it."
"Jill was anxious to start classes on Monday. She really likes school."
"Jack is anxious to play. Let's have him go first."
Health
Health
Health is an important part of life so it is useful to know how to speak about this
topic. We will cover eating, and general health statements you will need to know.
Eating
"What type of food is healthy to eat?"
"Are hamburgers healthy for you?"
"Is drinking coke bad for you?"
"Do vitamins really work?"
"If you eat better, you will be healthier."
"If you want to be healthy, you should eat better."
"Eating ramen and drinking beer everyday is not healthy for you."
"Eating vegetables is good for you."
"Eating a variety of food is good for you."
"I take vitamins everyday."

"Even though eating cereal in the morning is boring, it's quite healthy."
"If you want to be healthy, you should eat better and start exercising."
General statements
"I need to start thinking about my health."
"I get sick very often these days. I think I need to start worrying about my health."
"It is very important to take care of your health while you are young."
"Trying to regain your health when you are old is more difficult than people think.
That is why it is important to take preventive measures early."
"Smoking and drinking is bad for your health."
"You're ruining your health."
"Now that I am thirty years old, I should really start thinking about my health."
"You need to take care of yourself more."
Questions regarding health
"What made you decide to start working out?"
"I want to get healthier."
"You never used to eat spinach. Did you acquire a taste for them?"
"No. I just heard it's healthy for you."
"You run so often. Do you like jogging?"
"I hate jogging, but I do it because it's very healthy."
Health - Family
If you are young and pretty healthy, then you do not need to say many different
things. What we have covered so far is a good starting point in health discussions.
For the next section, I am going to go into good and bad health of older people such
as parents or grandparents.
If a person is very old and does not have any sickness, then the usual comment is to
mention how healthy that person is.
"My grandfather can't move that much because of leg pains. But besides that, he is
very healthy."
"She's quite healthy for her age."

"My mother always complains about some pain, but the doctor can never find any
wrong with her."
"My grandmother is in a nursing home. She's pretty healthy but can't walk that
well."
Often times we ask about the health of a new born baby. Here are some sentences
you can say.
"I just had my baby."
"Oh really? Is the baby healthy?"
"He's a healthy little boy."
"I'm so blessed with healthy children."
"I'm so happy that my children are all healthy."
"I wish I was rich, but I can't complain. I have a job, my children are healthy, and
most of all, we are all happy."
Although it is fortunate to have healthy relatives, we are sometimes in a situation
where health is a problem in the family.
"My uncle died from stomach cancer. The doctors say it is mostly hereditary but I
think it was due to all the spicy food he ate."
"My father is very unhealthy. He says it is because he didn't take care of his body
when he was young."
"My sister is always sick. I'm really concerned about her health."
"My brother is tired all the time. I think he is unhealthy."
Health - Interactive Practice

1
A: "Hi Mike. What have you been up to?"
B: "Not much. I started exercising."

A: "Trying to get in shape?"
B: "Yeah, and I need to start improving my health."
A: "Me too. What are you doing besides exercising?"
B: "That's about all."
A: "I think if you eat better, it will help tremendously."
B: "Sleep is good too. I heard people who sleep an average of eight hours a day
have less health problems."
A: "Looks like there are a lot of things to do to stay healthy."
B: "True. But I think it is worth it. When you get old, you want to be healthy and
active."
2
A: "Did your wife give birth yet?"
B: "Yeah. She's a healthy beautiful girl."
A: "Congratulations. How is your wife doing?"
B: "She is tired, but getting a lot of rest now."
A: "That's good to hear."
B: "I'm just glad there were no complications."
A: "If your wife and baby are both happy, what more can you ask for?"
B: "It's been a week, and I haven't slept that well."
A: "That's normal for anyone with a newborn."
B: "Yeah, but it's so hard. I have to work, and then go home and take care of my
wife and the baby. I'm going to get sick at this rate."
A: "You'll get used to it. After everything stabilizes, you can regain your health."
B: "That's true. I should make sure my wife and baby stay healthy during this time."
3
A: "I haven't seen your father in like 5 years. How is he doing?"
B: "He's not doing too well."
A: "Why? What's wrong?"
B: "About a year ago, he started feeling weak all the time."
A: "Is it due to old age or is he sick."
B: "Maybe a little of both. The doctor's can't point out anything specifically. I think it
is because he didn't take care of himself during his youth."
A: "That makes sense. It's important to take care of your health early in life."
B: "That's what my father tells me almost everyday."
A: "Well, I hope he starts feeling better. Say hi to him for me."
B: "Thanks. I'll let him know."
Body Parts
I'm not going to talk about every body part in this lesson. For information
concerning detailed body parts, I would suggest a book that is solely covering body
parts. Instead, we are going to cover various types of conversations and sentences
most commonly used in standard English communication.
Let's first list the different body parts I will cover in this lesson:
Arm, Forearm, Elbow, Wrist, Hand, Finger, Knuckles
Leg, Calf, Thigh, Knee, Ankle, Toes
Head, Ear, Mouth, Nose, Eyes
Neck, Chest, Stomach, Back, Groin, Butt, Shoulder
The arm area
Here is a list of sentences most commonly used
"My arm hurts"
Remember you can change the word of arm to any of the other body parts.
"My wrist is sore."
"I sprained my wrist while I was playing tennis."
Sprain is to hurt the ligaments of a joint. It is different than breaking a bone.
Breaking a bone is hurting the bone itself, and sprain is hurting the tissue that
connects the bone.
"I can't bend my elbow that well."
"Your fingers are so long."
"My fingers are short and stubby."
"I like to crack my knuckles."
"My grandmother has arthritis so she can't move her hands well."
"I got a flu shot on my arm yesterday."
"I hate people who don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom."
"I broke my finger when I fell down the stairs."
Body Parts - Leg and Head Area

The leg area
"I went jogging yesterday so my legs are all sore."
"Your legs will be very sore after you go skiing."
"I hate it when I get cramps."
"I usually get cramps on my calf."
"I banged my toe against the coffee table."
"These shoes hurt my feet a lot."
"I got a bruise on my thigh after he gave me a charley horse."
Charley horse is most widely used to describe as stiffness or a muscle ache of the
upper leg after being hit. So if I hit someone in the thigh, then that is called giving
someone a Charley horse.
"I banged my knee against the door and it hurts."
"I got this scar on my knee when I was little."
"Twisting your knee is so painful."
"I broke my ankle playing volleyball."
"My ankle was swollen after I sprained it."
"I like shoes that support my ankles."
The head area
"My ears are so cold."
"My nose turns red when I'm cold."
"I always get a runny nose during the winter time."
"I get a runny nose during allergy season."
"Your whole face is turning red."
"I usually turn red when I drink alcohol."
"Don't pick your nose."
"My eyes are itchy."
"I have a cold sore on my lips."
"I have a canker sore in my mouth."
"I hit my head on the desk after picking up a pen."
"How did you get a black eye?"
"What happened to your face?"
"How did you get that cut on your cheek?"
"Did you have acne problems when you were young?"
Acne is another terminology for pimples.

"I used to get a lot of pimples when I was young."
"My mouth always waters when I smell steak."
"I got my ear pierced yesterday."
Body Parts - Body Area

The body area
"I got a whiplash after the car accident."
"My father hurt his neck when he turned his head too quickly before sneezing."
"He has a big Adam's apple."
Adam's apple is the bump in the neck most common among guys.
"I've been getting chest pain recently."
"When I get asthma, it feels like someone is pressing on my chest and squeezing
my lungs."
Asthma is a respiratory disease that makes it difficult to breath
"He bumped me on my shoulder as he was walking by."
"I feel like a big load has been taken off my shoulder."
"He has broad shoulders."
"Many girls like guys with broad shoulders."
"I want to get rid of the fat on my stomach."
"I have a beer belly."
Beer belly is a terminology used to describe a stomach that sticks out from
excessive beer drinking.
"I get a stomach ache if I eat spicy food."
"I have an upset stomach."
"My stomach hurts."
"You must be hungry. I can hear your stomach rumble."
"I want a six pack."
Six pack is a terminology used to describe a flat stomach with six or eight lines
showing the muscle lines. You can also use washboard, "His stomach is like a
washboard."
"He hit me in the groin."

Groin is the area between the legs. It can also mean the crotch area, but crotch is
more specific to the personal area, where groin can mean the general vicinity.
Vicinity means area
"I pulled my groin when I was doing sprints."
Sprint is running as fast as you can.
"She has such a big butt."
"Her butt is so flat though."
"If you go snowboarding, your butt will hurt the next day."
Saying Goodbye after party/event/function/Date
Finally, when the date is over, you can say a couple of things depending on how the
date went.
If it went bad,
You can lie and say,
"I had a good time. I'll call you sometime."
Or you can not lie and say,
"The dinner and movie was great. Have a good night."
Mike is not lying. He is saying the dinner and movie was good but didn't say
anything about the date.
If you had a good time, say,
"I had a great time tonight. Can I call you again?"

"We should do this again."
"I really enjoyed spending time with you."
Common courtesy sentences,
"Make sure to drive safely. If you have any problems, feel free to give me a call."
"I hope you had a good time. Drive home safely and have a good night."
Idioms and Phrases
Bored to death
"I have nothing to do. I'm bored to death."

"I hate it when I'm bored to death."
"Would you rather be super busy or bored to death?"
A: "Hey Seth, what are you doing?"
B: "I'm reading a book. What are you doing?"
A: "I'm bored to death. Let's do something."
B: "Sure. Come over and we can play some games."
Other Common Sentences
"I'm so bored, I could die."
"I'm dying of boredom."
You've got to be kidding
A: "Hey Jared. Mom told me to tell you that you shouldn't stay out too late."
B: "You've got to be kidding me. I'm 30 years old."
A: "Patrick won the school election by two votes."
B: "He's not that popular how did this happen?"
A: "Nobody voted because they expected Jason to win."
B: "You've got to be kidding me."
"I really hope you're wrong."
"Please tell me it ain't so."
Sick and Tired
"I'm sick and tired of eating the same thing for lunch everyday."
"I'm getting sick and tired of this song. They play it way too often at this club."
"I'm sick and tired of listening to him nag all the time."
A: "Where are you going for lunch today?"
B: "I don't know... how about a burger?"
A: "No. I eat that almost everyday. I'm getting sick and tired of them."
B: "Let's go eat teriyaki then."
"I'm getting sick of this phone. I think I'll buy a new one."
"I'm tired of the same routine. I need to find something new and different."
Call it a day
"Let's call it a day. I'm too tired to continue working."

"We can't continue working without Mike, so let's call it a day."
"It's already nine o'clock. Let's call it a day."
A: "How much more work do we have for tonight?"
B: "I think we finished everything for the day."
A: "Good. Let's call it a day then."

"Let's turn in for the night."
"I think we should pick it up from the morning."
pick it up = continue
Get on one's nerves
"You're beginning to get on my nerves."

"Will you please stop doing that? It's getting on my nerves."
"His whining is getting on my nerves."
A: "He doesn't like his birthday present."
B: "He's starting to get on my nerves. It's one thing to not like it, but it's another
to complain about it. We tried our best to get him a good present."
A: "Yeah. It's bothering me too."
"You're beginning to annoy me."
"His complaints are starting to bother me."
Couch potato
"My husband is a couch potato. He sits in front of the TV all day long."
"You have a huge belly because you're a couch potato."
"I should be more active and less of a couch potato."
A: "James. We're going to play basketball. Do you want to play?"
B: "No, I'm going to watch TV today."
A: "You did that all day yesterday. You better stop being a couch potato or you're
going to get a big fat belly."
"Good luck trying to get his attention. He's glued to the television."
Read one's mind
"You read my mind."

"I was going to suggest that. You must have read my mind."
A: "Do you want to go play pool?"
B: "You read my mind. That's exactly what I was thinking too."
Feel blue
"What a gloomy day. It makes me feel blue."

"Whenever I feel blue, I like to listen to upbeat music."
"Matt's feeling a little blue right now. Let's go cheer him up."
A: "Where is Matt these days? I haven't seen him in a while."
B: "He feels a little blue because he can't find a girlfriend."
A: "Let's go cheer him up."
"I feel a little depressed right now."
"I don't know why, but I just feel sad."
"Even though it's a nice day, I feel gloomy inside."
Fender bender
"I got into a small accident. It was just a fender-bender."

"I got into a fender bender in the parking lot."
"I cant believe the damage is going to cost me 800 bucks. It was just a fender
bender."
A: "I got into a car accident."
B: "That sucks. You didnt get hurt did you?"
A: "No. It was just a fender bender."
"It was a small accident."
"I rear ended him, but luckily there was no damage."
Get foot in the door
"It's not a great position, but at least my foot is in the door."

"I need to find a way to get my foot in the door."
"I'm doing an internship for SK Telecom. It's an opportunity to get my foot in the
door."
A: "Did you find a job yet?"
B: "No. I'm still looking."
A: "With the sagging economy, it's hard to find a job."
B: "Yeah. I'm even considering a lower position. At least I'll have my foot in the
door."
"I'm working in the mail room. But I'm hoping I can change positions now that I'm in
the company."
"I hate my position, but it's the only way I could start in this company."
Chicken
"There's nothing to be scared of. Don't be a chicken."

"Everyone thinks I'm a chicken because I didn't go bungee jumping with them."
"Stop being a chicken and just go."
A: "Did you ask Martha on a date?"
B: "No. I was about to, but I got a little nervous."
A: "You're such a chicken."
"I didn't know you were afraid of insects. You're a scaredy cat."
"He's a coward. He wouldn't even go on the rollercoaster ride."
"Jack is scared of everything. He's such a sissy."
Give somebody a hard time
"Suzie gave him a hard time for not showing up to her recital."
"Stop giving me a hard time. There was nothing I could do about it."
"If you don't finish your project, the manager is going to give you a hard time."
A: "My mom gave me a hard time for one bad grade on my report card."
B: "That's a tough situation. My parents never gave me a hard time for bad
grades."

"Albert is making it difficult for me."
"He's getting on my case about my comment."
Make up one's mind
"We don't got all day, make up your mind."

"Make up your mind, we don't have much time."
"I can't make up my mind. Can you help me decide?"
"If you don't make up your mind, I'll choose for you."
"Both of them look really good. I can't make up my mind."
A: "I don't know which one to get."
B: "They're both pretty good, so just pick one."
A: "I always regret it when I pick the wrong one."
B: "You're picking between white chocolate or regular chocolate. There is no wrong
answer so hurry up and make up your mind."
"I can't decide which one to take."
"I don't know if I should get the Volvo or the Ford."
"I like both of them too much to decide."
Go Dutch
"You don't have to pay for me. Let's go dutch today."

"I can't believe John didn't pay for me. We ended up going dutch on the whole
date."
"I actually prefer going dutch because I don't want to feel indebt to anyone."
A: "How was your date with Sarah?"
B: "I'm not sure. It was just ok."
A: "Why do you say that?"
B: "She didn't let me pay for her share. She insisted that we go dutch for
everything."
"I'll pay half of it."
"Let's pay together."

"I didn't pay for her. We paid our own share."
Throw in the towel
"I was ready to throw in the towel, but I stayed with it."
"He's not a quitter, so he's not going to throw in the towel."
"I saw a fight last almost two hours before one guy threw in the towel."
A: "The boxing match is great."
B: "One guy is really getting beat up."
A: "Do you think he's going to give up?"
B: "He's not going to throw in the towel, they rarely do that these days."
"There's no chance for me to win. I'm calling it quits."
"I don't think I can win, so I'm going to give up."
"I'd rather surrender than get the hell beaten out of me."
Goose bumps
"I was so touched by the movie that I started getting goose bumps all over my
arms."
"When she told me that she loved me, I got goose bumps."
"I get goose bumps anytime I'm scared."
"John told us a story and everyone got goose bumps."
A: "Did you watch the speech?"
B: "No, I missed it. Was it good?"
A: "It was so touching that I got goose bumps everywhere."
"I was so inspired by the speech that I had a tingling sensation run across my body."
"I felt a jolt of excitement when I heard the good news."
"My arms were tingling when I heard that story."
Stay in touch
"Call me more often man. We got to stay in touch."

"I hope you stay in touch with me. I'll give you my contact information."
"Let's stay in touch. I'll email you whenever I can."
"Are you staying in touch with her, or are you guys not talking any more?"
A: "Since you are moving to England, I'm really going to miss you."
B: "Yeah. I'm going to miss you a lot too."
A: "You promise that you'll stay in touch?"
B: "Of course. We'll always keep in touch."
"Keep in touch. I'll want to know how you're doing."
"Julie told me that she would keep in touch with me."
Have the guts
"I don't have the guts to go bungee jumping."

"He doesn't have the guts to ask her on a date."
"He has a lot of guts to be hunting by himself."
A: "I heard you went to Sky Mountain Park. How was it."
B: "It was pretty fun."
A: "Did you go on the monster ride?"
B: "No. I didn't have the guts to go on that ride. It was too scary."
"He's very courageous."
"He's got balls to be doing that."
"He isn't afraid of anything."
Rain or Shine
"We're going camping this weekend rain or shine."

"Rain or shine, the protesters are out there every day."
"I don't care about the weather. I'm going golfing rain or shine."
A: "I'm going hiking this Saturday. Do you want to come?"
B: "That sounds good. Rain or shine, count me in."
A: "If it's raining, looks like you're going by yourself, because I'm staying home."

"I'm going to go even if it's a downpour."
"Are you still going to go even if it's raining cats and dogs?"
"Unless it's pouring out, let's meet at seven in the morning."
Easier said than done
"That's easier said than done."

"It's a lot tougher than that. It's one of those things that are easier said than
done."
"Michael thinks everything is so easy. He doesn't realize it's easier said than
done."
A: "Do you do any stock trading?"
B: "No, but how hard could it be. Just buy when it goes down and sell when it goes
up."
A: "It's easier said than done."
"It's harder than you think."
"It's not as easy as you think."
"If you think it's that easy, why don't you do it?"
It's about time
"It's about time."

"It's about time. I waited two hours for you."
"It's about time I got a chance to play."
A: "I've been waiting for 3 weeks to try out the new laptop. Isn't it my turn yet?"
B: "Yes. It's your turn. I'll get it for you."
A: "It's about time."
Jump to conclusions
"I incorrectly blamed Jeff for breaking my phone. I shouldn't have jumped to
conclusions."
"I thought you took my book. I shouldn't have accused you. I jumped to
conclusions."
"Will you stop jumping to conclusions. You should get all the facts before you
make any decisions."
A: "I'm so mad at Jake. I think he told my girlfriend that I was on a date."
B: "What makes you think Jake told her?"
A: "Because he's like that."
B: "He sometimes does stupid things, but you shouldn't jump to conclusions."
Keep an eye on
"Can you keep an eye on my daughter while I go get the car?"

"Don't worry about your luggage. I'll keep an eye on it."
"My mom will keep an eye on our equipment while we go get the truck."
A: "Excuse me sir."
B: "Yes."
A: "I have to go to the bathroom. Can you keep an eye on my suitcase for a
minute?"
B: "No problem."
"Can you watch my bag for me?"
"Can you watch my suitcase while I go to the bathroom."
Out of the blue
"He's pretty funny because he will crack a funny joke out of the blue."
"Grace started crying for no reason. It was totally out of the blue."
"I don't know why he started getting mad. It was out of the blue."
A: "Did you hear what happened with Tiffany?"
B: "She broke up with her boyfriend last night."
A: "What? I thought they had a great relationship."
B: "So did I. It was totally out of the blue."
"She showed up out of no where."
"He pulled a rabbit out of nowhere. That's why it was so impressive."
Know something inside out

"Ask Mary to help you with your homework. She knows calculus inside out."
"If you got the answer from Matt, I would trust it. He knows that stuff inside out."
A: "I'm having trouble with my car. I can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it."
B: "You should ask James about it."
A: "Does he know a lot about cars?"
B: "He's a mechanic. He knows the car engine inside out."
"I know that theory like the back of my hand."
"I can perform those steps with my eyes closed."
"I know each step by heart."
Give someone a hand
"Can you give me a hand setting up the dining table?"

"I'm going to need a hand changing the tire on the car."
"Are you going to have time to give me a hand tomorrow?"
"Let me know if you need help. I'll have time all day today to give you a hand."
A: "When are you going to move into your new apartment?"
B: "I want to, but I'm going to need some help."
A: "I have time this weekend. Do you want me to give you a hand?"
B: "That would be great."
"Can I get your help on this?"
"Can you help me out?"
"Do you need any help?"
"Let me know if you need any help."
Now and then
"I go on a hike every now and then."

"My mother calls me every now and then to see if I'm doing well."
"It's not something I can do all the time, but I do it every now and then."
A: "Do you like skiing?"

B: "I really enjoy skiing. It's one of my favorite sports."
A: "You must go very frequently then."
B: "I wish I could, but it's too expensive, so I only go every now and then."
"I like to go bowling once in a while."
"I can't go often, but I go golfing with my friends from time to time."
Nuke - Microwave
"Don't nuke an egg. It will explode in the microwave."

"If I can't finish my dinner at a restaurant, I just take it home and nuke it when I
want to eat it."
"The best way to heat up food is to nuke it."
A: "What are you going to eat for lunch?"
B: "I have some pasta in the fridge. You want some?"
A: "Sure. How are you going to cook it."
B: "It's already cooked. I'm just going to nuke it."
"Throw it in the microwave."
"The microwave will heat it up real fast."
"Do you like microwavable food?"
On the dot
"I don't want to be waiting for you, so you'd better be there at three o'clock on the
dot."
"He's supposed to show up at four on the dot. If he is late even a minute, I'm
taking off."
"You'd better be here by 1:30, because we're leaving at two o'clock on the dot."
A: "We have to go to Los Angeles tomorrow. What time should we meet?"
B: "We have to be at the airport at 4:00 o'clock, so let's meet at two o'clock on the
dot."

"Meet me at the bus station at six o'clock sharp."
"Let's meet at the book store exactly at 1:00."
Grab a bite
"When do you want to go grab a bite?"

"I don't have much time, so let's grab a quick bite."
"If you didn't have lunch yet, let's grab a bite to eat."
A: "Did you have lunch yet?"
B: "Not yet. I'm swamped with work."
A: "You have to eventually eat so let's just grab a bite somewhere close."
"Let's go eat."
"Where should we have lunch today?"
"Let's have lunch together."
Take it easy
"You're pushing yourself too hard. Take it easy."

"Take it easy man. You're putting too much pressure on yourself."
"I don't want to take it easy so stop telling me to take it easy."
A: "Work has me working seventy hours a week."
B: "You should take it easy. You're going to get sick at this rate."
A: "I wish I could, but I have deadlines to meet."
"Relax a little. You're overworked."
"Take a little break. You need it."
Go with the flow
"Why do you do everything differently? You should just go with the flow."
"If you don't know where the shuttle is, just go with the flow. Everyone is going in
that direction."
"If you don't want to stand out, go with the flow."
A: "I got a speeding ticket. Do you think I should go to court to fight it?"
B: "What are you going to tell the judge?"
A: "That I was basically going with the flow."
B: "That's not going to work. I would just pay the fine."
"Do it like everyone else does it."
"If you're unsure how to do it, see how everyone else is doing it."
"The best way not to stand out is to blend in with everyone.
Don't sweat it
"You can't do anything about it, so don't sweat it."

"You tried your best, so stop sweating it."
A: "I'm worried about my final examination."
B: "You didn't take it yet?"
A: "I took it yesterday. I'm not sure how I did."
B: "If you tried your best, there's nothing you can do about the results, so don't
sweat it."
"Don't worry about it."
"Nothing you can do about it."
Under the weather
"I'm going to stay home because I'm feeling under the weather today."
"I told my boss that I was under the weather. She told me to stay home for the
day."
"My wife is feeling under the weather, so I need to get home early today."
A: "Why didn't you come to school today?"
B: "I was under the weather this morning. I need to get some rest."
A: "Well, I hope you start feeling better."
Other Common Sentences:

"I'm feeling a little sick today."
"I don't feel too well."
"I'm not feeling that great. I think I should get some rest."
You can say that again
A: "Britney Spears is so hot!"

B: "You can say that again."
A: "It was a long year. We accomplished quite a bit."
B: "I'm just glad that we're almost done."
A: "You can say that again."
"I hear ya."
"You got that right."
"Damn right."
Broke
"I'm flat broke."

"I can't afford to buy that television. I'm totally broke."
"I can't pay my bills. I'm broke."
A: "Let's go see a movie."
B: "I can't. I barely have enough money for food. I'm broke until my next
paycheck."
"I don't have any money."
"I don't even have a dime to spare."
Beats Me
"It beats me how they finished before us."
"Beats me why he was so mean to you."
"Beats me how she found out we did it."

A. "So how did you and Tim do in your race?"
B. "I finished in third and Tim finished in second."
A. "You got third? How did Tim beat you?"
B. "Beats me, I guess he has been training really hard."
"I have no idea how to do this."
"I don't know what he's talking about."
I Don't Buy it
"He said he didn't do it but I don't buy it."
"Their prices are supposed to be better but I don't buy it."
"She said she was sorry but I don't buy it."
A. "So what were you guys arguing about?"
B. "He said some mean things to me the other day."
A. "Did he apologize to you?"
B. "Yes, but I don't buy it."
"I don't believe it."
Keep Your Cool

"I know you're upset but you have to keep your cool."
"Here she comes, keep your cool."
"Keep your cool. You don't want to mess this up."
A. "Are you ready for your job interview?"
B. "Yes, but I'm a bit nervous about it."
A. "Just keep your cool and you will do fine."
"You need to stay calm."
"Don't let it bother you."
Good For You

"Good for you, you finally passed your test."
"I heard you got accepted to college, good for you."
"I heard you got married recently, good for you."
A. "I was really surprised when I was offered the promotion."
B. "Why is that?"
A. "I just figured it would go to someone with more experience."
B. "Good for you, you deserve it as much as anyone."
"I am proud of you."
"All credit goes to you."
Shotgun
"Why does he always get to ride shotgun?"
"If we go to the store with mom I call shotgun."
"I am heading out to the party. Do you want to ride shotgun?"
A. "Hey James, mom said she would give us a ride home?"
B. "I call shotgun!"
A. "That's not fair you always sit in the front seat."
B. "You just need to say it before me next time."
"I will sit in the front passenger seat."
"I get to sit in the front seat next to the driver."
Sort Of
"Dinner was sort of expensive."

"I sort of like her."
"I sort of know how to cook."
A. "Do you know how to get to the airport?"
B. "Sort of. But it's hard for me to explain."
A. "Never mind then, I will just look the directions up."
B. "Sorry I couldn't be more help."
"A little bit."
"I kind of know."
Keeping my fingers crossed
"Their team is not favored to win. But I hope they do. I'm keeping my fingers
crossed."
"I have a one in ten chance of winning the television. I better keep my fingers
crossed."
"I hope it works. Let's cross our fingers."
A: "The championship game is tonight. Are you going to watch it?"
B: "Yeah. My favorite team lost their best player. I don't think they will win."
A: "You never know. They can get lucky."
B: "I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
Out of this world
"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's really out of this world."
"It's totally out of this world. You're going to be impressed."
"The concert was out of this world. It was an awesome experience."
A: "Did you see the new 3D movie at the IMAX theatre?"
B: "No. Was it any good?"
A: "It was better than good. It was out of this world."
"The movie totally blew me away. It was awesome."
"The essay was very creative and original. I was very impressed."
"I've never seen anything like that before."
Over one's head
"I don't know the answer to that problem. The subject is over my head."
"Don't bother explaining it to him. It's way over his head."
A: "I have to write a paper on the theory of relativity. Do you know anything about
it?"
B: "I won't be able to help you. The theory of relativity is way over my head."
"I don't understand the meaning. It might be too deep for me."
"It's beyond my comprehension, so don't bother trying to explain it."
Pain in the ass
"What a pain in the ass."

"I had a customer who kept asking easy questions. It was a total pain in the ass."
"I have a meeting at 7:00 in the morning. It's a pain the ass waking up that early."
"Having to deal with traffic every day is a pain in the ass."
A: "I have to go to the post office."
B: "I thought you went yesterday?"
A: "They made a mistake on the postage so the package was returned."
B: "What a pain in the ass."
"Going to get a health check up is a pain in the neck."
"I hate mowing the lawn. It's a real drag."
"I have to pick up my brother at the airport every week. It's a serious burden
because I'm busy these days."
Piece of cake
"You won't have any problems with it. It's a piece of cake."
"It's not that difficult. Actually, it's a piece of cake."
"Learning to type is a piece of cake. It just takes persistence."
"Sociology 101 is a piece of cake. You should get an A in that class."
A: "I have an interview for citizenship tomorrow. Do you know what they ask?"
B: "The only questions they ask are in the manual they provide."
A: "Was it difficult?"
B: "Since all the questions and answers are already provided, it was a piece of
cake."
"My homework today was as easy as pie."
"The assignment was a breeze."
Sooner or later
"Don't keep waiting for him to confess. He'll tell you sooner or later."
"He'll come to his senses sooner or later."
"She'll realize that she's doing something wrong sooner or later."
A: "Why does Sarah date so many guys. Doesn't she know most of them are jerks?"
B: "I know. She needs to get hurt before she'll realize what's going on."
A: "I guess she'll figure it out sooner or later."
B: "Yeah... but I'm hoping it is sooner than later."
"I'm not worried about it. He'll eventually return my CD."
"I'll graduate from school eventually."
Pull someone's leg
"You expect me to believe that? Stop pulling my leg."

"I'm just kidding. I was just pulling your leg."
"I didn't know you believed me. I was just pulling your leg."
A: "I was eating at a restaurant and this lady next to me started eating my food
right in front of me."
B: "What? You can't be serious. Nobody would ever do that."
A: You're not gullible at all. I was trying to pull your leg."
Put oneself in one's place
"What was I suppose to do? Try to put yourself in my place."

"It's easy to be understanding if you always put yourself in the other person's
place."
"If you put yourself in my place, you would understand why I did that."
A: "You know I didn't mean to hurt you, but I had no choice."
B: "That's no excuse for what you did to me."
A: "Try to put yourself in my place. What would you have done?"
B: "I see your point."
"If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing."
"I can't blame you because I would have done the same thing if I were in your
situation."
I can eat a horse
"I'm so hungry that I can eat a horse."

"I feel like I can eat a horse right now."
"If I didn't eat anything for two days, I would feel like I can eat a horse too."
A: "I didn't eat anything all day."
B: "You must be really hungry."
A: "I can eat a horse right now."
"I'm starving. I think I can eat a whale."
"I'm famished. I could eat anything right now."
Read between the lines
"If you read between the lines, you would have understood what he was
implying."
"Steve isn't very good at reading between the lines. You have to tell him exactly
what you want."
"Martha can read between the lines very well. She picks up on everything."
A: "Did you read chapter three for our English class?"
B: "Yeah. I think the author was indicating that he was supporting the war."
A: "Even though he said one thing, he meant another. You have to read between
the lines to fully understand his stance."

B: "That might be true. I should go read it again."
Rings a bell
"I can't put my finger on it, but it definitely rings a bell."

"It rings a bell, but I'm not one hundred percent sure."
"Oh, oh, oh... that rings a bell. Where did I see that from?"
A: "Did you go to Martha Lake High School?"
B: "Yeah. Why?"
A: "I met this girl. Her name is Jane Summerland. Do you know her?"
B: "That name rings a bell, but I don't remember for sure."
"That reminds me of something."
"That sounds so familiar."
"I know what you're talking about but I can't pin point it."
Bug
"I need to concentrate on this, so stop bugging me."

"I need to get out of the house. My little brother has been bugging me all day."
"Let's go bug John."
"If you bug me one more time, I'm going to kick your butt."
A: "Johnny, will you play Star Craft with me?"
B: "I can't. I'm doing my homework."
A: "Come on. I need someone to play with."
B: "Stop bugging me. I said I'm busy."
"Stop pestering me."
"Stop bothering me."
Sleep on it
"I've been thinking about this problem for two hours. I think I will sleep on it. It
might come to me in the morning."

"I don't think I can decide now. Let me sleep on it and I'll tell you my answer
tomorrow."
"I'm going to need to sleep on it. I don't want to rush my answer right now."
A: "Do you know if you are going to buy the leather set or the cashmere set?"
B: "I've been thinking about it for three hours. I really can't decide."
A: "Why don't you sleep on it."
Play it by ear
"I'll have to play it by ear because I don't know how long they want me to work."
"We'll have to play it by ear for next Friday because everything is uncertain."
"Should we plan something for this Saturday or should we play it by ear?"
A: "What are you doing next weekend?"
B: "Nothing. Did you want to do something?"
A: "Yeah, but I might have to give my dad a ride to the train station. I don't know
the exact time yet."
B: "Let's play it by ear then. Just call me when you find out for sure."
"I don't have any reservations tonight so let's just wing it."
"We'll just do things as they come along."
Speak of the devil
"I was at a party last night, and I saw Jake play the guitar in front of an audience...
speak of the devil, there's Jake right now."
"Joanne did great on her presentation. Speak of the devil... Hi Joanne."
A: "Andy was walking down the street and he tripped over beggar."
B: "I was there too. It was so funny. He just got up and pretended nothing
happened."
A: "Speak of the devil. There's Andy now."
Who Cares
"Who cares if they win or lose?"

"Who cares whether or not it rains."
"Who cares about what they think."
A. "Did you happen to watch the game last night?"
B. "No I was not home."
A. "I was just wondering who won?"
B. "Who cares, I don't really like either teams."
"It doesn't matter."
"I do not care."
Big Deal
"Passing my driver's test was no big deal."
"He thinks he is such a big deal."
"It's no big deal if we don't go tonight."
A. "I think I might have lost that screwdriver you let me borrow last week."
B. "It's no big deal, I have another one."
"He thinks he is all that matters."
"It's not that important."
What a Small World

"I didn't know that you knew my uncle. What a small world."
"You have family in Florida too? What a small world."
"I went to high school with his mom, what a small world."
A. "Do you see that guy over there?"
B. "Yes, what about him."
A. "We used to play football together in high school."
B. "Wow, what a small world!"
"What are the chances of that?"
What's going on?

"What's going on tonight?"
"I'm not sure why she is upset, what's going on?"
"What's going on with your job?"
A. "It seems like she is a bit upset."
B. "What's going on?"
A. "I think she got into an argument with her husband."
B. "That's too bad. Hopefully they can work things out."
"What is happening?"
Now You're Talking

"A cold drink sounds great, now you're talking!"
"Now you're talking, the beach sounds relaxing."
"Now you're talking, I would love to go out to the club tonight."
A. "I say instead of staying home for vacation we go to Mexico."
B. "Now you're talking!"
"I agree."
"I like what you're saying."
Over My Dead Body

"There is no way I will let you do that, not over my dead body."
"You want a tattoo? Over my dead body."
"You're moving in together? Over my dead body."
A. "So I hear your son wants to go on spring break with that girl Sally."
B. "I told him over my dead body."
"I won't let that happen."

"I will not allow it."
Coming Right Up
"Your order is coming right up."
"It's coming right up!"
"Your food is coming right up."
A. "Did you order the cheeseburger with french fries?"
B. "I sure did."
A. "It's coming right up."
"Your food will be right out."
"Your order is coming out quickly."
Good Thinking
"I am glad you brought an umbrella. That was good thinking."
"Good thinking to call ahead and reserve tickets."
"It was good thinking to send out invitations sooner than later."
A. "I hear the restaurant we are going to is really popular."
B. "It's pretty good... and I already reserved a table for us."
A. "Good thinking!"
"You did well remembering that."
"I'm glad you thought of that."
Shoot
"Shoot, I forgot my grocery list at home."
"Oh shoot that was awkward."
"Shoot, he asked Jenny to the prom instead of me."
A. "Didn't you say we need to go to the grocery?"
B. "Yes I did, do you want to come with me?"
A. "Sure, but did you make a grocery list to take with us?"
B. "Shoot I forgot. Hold on a few minutes while I make one for us."

"Oh no."
Come On
"Come on, you can tell me."
"Oh come on, you have to be kidding me."
"Come on man, be serious for once."
A. "I heard the movie is sold out for tonight."
B. "Oh come on! I've been waiting weeks to see it."
There are not many other sentences that are similar to this. The meaning is
basically to allure or attract.
Never mind
"Never mind what you were going to do, we need to leave now!"
"Never mind what I said before, I was wrong."
"Never mind cooking dinner for me, I will be home too late."
A. "So what would you like me to fix for dinner tonight?"
B. "Never mind cooking anything for me, I will not be home until late."
A. "OK I will just cook for myself and the kids then."
"You don't have to think about it."
If You Insist
"We will stay longer if you insist."
"We can go another night if you insist."
"I will call her if you insist."

A. "Thanks for meeting us out for dinner."
B. "It was nice of you to ask."
A. "Tonight is our treat. I insist."
B. "If you insist."
"If that's what you really want."
"If you are firm with your decision."
It's Nothing
"It's nothing. It didn't take long for me to do this."
"No need to thank me. It's nothing."
"Oh, it's nothing to call and let you know what I find out."
A. "I had no idea you guys were getting together tonight."
B. "Really? I sent an email inviting everyone."
A. "I didn't receive it."
B. "You're more than welcome to come. I will add you to my email list for next time."
A. "Thanks. I hope it's not too much to ask."
B. "No, it's nothing to add you on."
"No problem."
Down to Earth
"I really like them. They are so down to earth."
"They are really down to earth and easy to get along with."
"They live their life very down to earth."
A. "I really like how you handle different situations."
B. "I just try and deal with them the best I can."
A. "But you're so down to earth and deal with them very realistically."
B. "Thank you for your compliments."
"You are very sensible."
"You are very reasonable and realistic."
What gives?
"It's not like you to get so upset, what gives?"
"I had no idea you were leaving? What gives?"
"Your mom said you stopped taking piano lessons. What gives?"
A. "I heard that you did not pass your test?"
B. "Yeah, it was harder than I thought."
A. "You studied really hard for it though, what gives?"
B. "I guess I will just have to try harder next time.
"What's the problem?"
"What happened?"
Fair Enough
"It's a fair enough question for me to answer."
"You want a rematch because you were sick when you lost? Fair enough."
"Fair enough, I will try it once to see if I like it."
A. "If you do not finish your homework you will not be able to go outside to play."
B. "Fair enough."
"I agree with what you said."
Cat Got Your Tongue

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
"You're being awfully quiet, cat got your tongue?"
"She usually always has an opinion, cat must have gotten her tongue."
A. "What's the matter? You're usually full of advice. Cat got your tongue?"
B. "No I'm just keeping my opinions to myself."
"You have nothing to say?"
"Why are you so quiet?"
My Pleasure
"It is my pleasure to introduce you to our guests."
"It was my pleasure to work with you."
"It is my pleasure to be involved in something so important."
A. "I really appreciate all you did helping me finish my project."
B. "No problem at all, it was my pleasure."
"Don't mention it."
"No problem."
It Totally Slipped My Mind

"I was meaning to call you but it totally slipped my mind."
"There was something I needed to do today but it totally slipped my mind."
"Sorry I forgot about your birthday. It totally slipped my mind."
A. "Did you call your mom and dad and wish them Happy Anniversary?"
B. "Oh no! It totally slipped my mind."
"I completely forgot."
Give It to Me Straight
"Just give it to me straight, I can take the news."
"This is hard for me to say so I'm just going to give it to you straight."
"Just give it to me straight. How bad can it be?"
A. "I have your test results back."
B. "How bad is it? Just give it to me straight."
"I will tell you honestly."
"I will tell you directly."
Don't Be a Stranger
"It was really nice seeing you again. Don't be a stranger."
"We need to keep in touch. Don't be a stranger."
"Now that we live so close to one another don't be a stranger."
A. "Hey John, I don't see you around here these days."
B. "I moved down south several months ago."
A. "Keep in touch man. Don't be a stranger."
B. "Definitely. I'll buzz you every time I come up."
"Keep in touch."
"Ping me once in awhile."
Get a Life
"I wish Terry would get a life."
"Would you stop bothering me and get a life!"
"Come on! Get a life and start taking care of yourself."
A. "I noticed that man was bothering you. What did you say to him?"
B. "I told him to get a life and quit bothering people he does not know!"
"Go bother someone else."
"Start paying attention to other matters that are more important."
Don't Joke With Me

"He told me she likes me but I said don't joke with me."
"My sister told me I was in trouble and I told her don't joke with me."
"He said I had won a million dollars and I said don't joke with me!"
A. "I heard that Dave asked the new girl at work out on a date."
B. "Don't joke with me! You know I really like her."
"Stop messing around."
"Please be serious."
I'm Hosed
"I didn't finish my report on time. I'm hosed."
"I am hosed. My mom found out I skipped school last week."
"I'm hosed. My boss has given me tons of extra work to finish."
A. "So I hear you got in trouble for getting bad grades."
B. "Yeah, I'm hosed. I cannot drive my car until I get my grades up."
A. "That's too bad man."
B. "Looks like I'll just have to start studying more."
"I'm in a difficult situation."
"I'm not in a good situation."
Take a Hike
"He asked for my phone number and I told him to take a hike."
"He said he would only give me $200 for my car so I told him to take a hike."
"Take a hike, I am not interested."
A. "So I hear you tried to sell your car?"
B. "Yes, I had a few people look at it."
A. "Did anyone make you an offer?"
B. "Yes, one guy offered me $200 and I told him to take a hike."
"Get out of here."
"Go away."
I Can't Thank You Enough

"I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me."
"Thanks for everything. I can't thank you enough."
"You were a big help today watching the kids. I can't thank you enough."
A. "So how is your car running since I worked on it?"
B. "It is running great! I can't thank you enough. You were such a big help!"
"I really appreciate all that you have done."
"Thank you very much!"
My Two Cents
"I don't agree with what's happening. That's just my two cents."
"You didn't ask for my two cents but I'll tell you anyway."
"Just to add my two cents, but I believe changing the design will be a better idea."
A. "So you don't think I should spend that much money on a car?"
B. "You can spend whatever you want but that's my two cents."
"That's my opinion."
"That's what I think about it."
You Wish
"You want straight A's like her? You wish!"
"You think she'll go on a date with you? You wish!"
"You think you're going to beat my high score? Don't you wish."
A. "I really need to win the lottery so I can retire."
B. "Ha! You wish!"
"In your dreams."
"It's not going to happen."
That Figures
"He said he did not like your ideas? That figures."
"She only asked her closest friends to the party? That figures."
"He won't talk to you after that incident? That figures."
A. "Did I tell you what happened to John and Amy?"
B. "No you didn't, please tell me."
A. "They decided to get divorced!"
B. "That figures. They never seemed happy with each other anyways."
"That's no surprise
Do Tell
"You heard about that rumor already? Do tell."
"Martha and Jake are breaking up? Do tell."
"Do tell. I'm dying to know what he said about me."
A. "I heard a rumor the other day about what really happened at work."
B. "Oh do tell! I really want to know what happened."
"I want to know."
"Please tell me what you know."
No Sweat
"I can finish it for you, no sweat."
"No sweat. We can always get together another time."
"No sweat. It's not that big of a deal."
A. "Can you have my computer fixed by tomorrow? I really need it for work."
B. "No sweat. I should be able to have it to you by then."
"No problem."
"It's not a big deal."
I Blew It
"I really thought I was going to get the promotion, but I blew it."
"I thought he really liked me but I blew it."
"I was trying to surprise her for her birthday, but I blew it."
A. "How did your interview go?"
B. "Not so good, I was very nervous."
A. "Why were you nervous?"
B. "I think I might have messed up on a few questions so I think I blew it."
"I messed up."
"I missed my opportunity."
Maddening
"Trying to make you happy sometimes is maddening."
"Trying to figure out the answers to this test is maddening."
"There was a maddening delay at the train station."
A. "So what caused them to cancel flights at the airport?"
B. "I'm not sure but it was maddening! People were angry trying to figure out what
to do."
A. "I'm glad your flight finally made it."
B. "Me too, I could not stand to be in the airport any longer."
"It was frustrating."
"It was irritating."
I Messed Up
"I messed up. I got a ticket for speeding on the highway."
"I messed up, I lost my wallet at the airport."
"He is really upset with me. I messed up."
A. "Why did it take you so long to get here?"
B. "I messed up and got lost."
A. "Really, how did that happen?"
B. "I was not paying attention and took the wrong exit to get here."
"I made a mistake."
"I did the wrong thing."
I Beg to Differ
"I beg to differ. I don't think that is the right way to handle the situation."
"I beg to differ. You did a really nice job and deserved the promotion."
"I beg to differ. What he did was inexcusable."
A. "I still think we should get a new car."
B. "I beg to differ. The car we have works fine."
A. "I guess you're right. We can wait."

"I disagree with you."
"I politely disagree."
No Strings Attached
"We are giving away free t-shirts, no strings attached."
"He said he would finish the work for free, no strings attached."
"The grocery store is giving away free candy, no strings attached."
A. "Have you been to the new electronics store down the street?"
B. "No, I haven't been there yet, why?"
A. "If their prices are not the lowest they will give it to you for free! No strings
attached."
B. "Wow, that's a great deal. I will have to check them out."
"There are no hidden clauses."
"There is nothing you have to do."
I Couldn't Agree With You More

"I couldn't agree with you more, this place is beautiful."
"I couldn't agree with you more, spending more time with each other would be
nice."
"You didn't like that movie either? I couldn't agree with you more."
A. "I really don't like shopping around the holidays."
B. "I couldn't agree with you more. It's always so busy."
"I totally agree with you."
Hold On a Sec
"Hold on a sec, I thought you were staying home tonight?"
"Hold on a sec, are you serious?"
"Hold on a sec. This is different from what you told me yesterday."
A. "Chip is going to draft a quarterback in the first round?"
B. "Hold on a sec. I swore he was going to draft a running back first."

A. "It's a surprise for me too, but I'm pretty sure about it."
"Not so fast."
"On the contrary."
Back to the grind

"Ok everyone break time is over, get back to the grind."
"Back to the grind for me. I'll catch you later."
"Time to get back to the grind. I need to finish so I can leave on time."
A. "I really need to finish this project before my deadline."
B. "If that's the case, you'd better stop talking and get back to the grind."
A. "I agree, I need to finish it before I leave."
B. "Good luck."
"I better get back to work."
"You'd better get back to what you were working on."
It Serves You Right

"It serves you right. You were not nice to him."
"It serves him right. He can't expect to win when he cheats during the game."
"It serves you right. You got what you deserved."
A. "Can you believe Kim got fired from work?"
B. "Serves her right. She was always late or calling in sick."
A. "I guess you're right, but I hope she finds a new jo B."
B. "Me too."
"You got what you deserved."
Lighten Up
"Lighten up. Things could be worse."
"Lighten up. We can go to the movies another day."
"Lighten up. There will be another chance to play."

A. "I'm so upset that we didn't get to go to the game yesterday."
B. "Lighten up. We can go some other time."
A. "I know, I just feel bad I had to work."
B. "Like I said, it's ok. We can try again next week."
"Cheer up."
"Don't be so depressed."
ust My Luck
"That's just my luck, I never win at anything."
"Just my luck, my boss asked me to work late tonight."
"Just my luck, I got a speeding ticket on the way home."
A. "I hear you had to change your plans for this weekend?"
B. "Yeah, I have to work so we can't go to the beach with you."
A. "That's too bad."
B. "Yeah, it's just my luck."
"I am so unlucky."
"Something went wrong for me."
"I have back luck."
Hop In
"Hop in. You can ride with me to the grocery store."
"Hop in. We need to leave right away."
"If you need a ride home, hop on in."
A. "I can't believe my car broke down again."
B. "Hop in, and I'll give you a ride home."
A. "Thanks man."
B. "You're welcome."
"Get in the car."
"Jump in the car"
You Know Better Than That

"Mary said you were rude to her, you know better than that."
"You know better than that. Now pick up the mess you made before going
outside."
"Come on, you know better than that."
A. "Did you yell at your sister for playing with your toys?"
B. "Yes, she didn't ask me."
A. "Well you know better than that. Next time use your manners and ask her
nicely."
B. "Ok mom, I'm sorry."
"You know the right thing to do."
"You know what you were supposed to do."
Has Been Burned

"I don't know why he keeps calling her. He's been burned by her numerous times."
"I have been burned by making bad decisions before."
"I got burned on that used car we bought."
A. "So did you end up going on a date with her?"
B. "Man, I got burned! She ended up going out with someone else instead."
A. "That's too bad. Don't let it bother you."
B. "I won't, I didn't like her anyways."
"I've been swindled."
"I got a bad deal."
Keep Me in the Loop

"I really want to know what happens so keep me in the loop."
"Keep me in the loop so I'm included."
"Thanks for the update. Keep me in the loop."
A. "I am meeting with my boss tomorrow about the presentation."
B. "Keep me in the loop and let me know what he says."
A. "Ok, I will let you know."

"Keep me informed."
"Make sure I am included."
Interview English Lesson Categories
Basic Interview Questions I

Basic Interview Questions II
School Related Interview Q's
Work Related Interview Q's I
Work Related Interview Q's II
Work Related Interview Q's III
Working with People Interview Q's
Miscellaneous Interview Q's
1. Tell me a little about yourself.

2. What are your strengths?
3. What are your weaknesses?
4. What are your short term goals?
5. What are your long term goals?
6. What do you want to be doing five years from now?
7. If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be...
8. What does success mean to you?
9. What does failure mean to you?
10. Are you an organized person?
11. In what ways are you organized and disorganized?
12. Do you manage your time well?
13. How do you handle change?
14. How do you make important decisions?
15. Do you work well under pressure?
1. Are you better at anticipating or reacting to problems

2. Are you a risk taker or do you like to stay away from risks?
3. Why should I hire you?
4. Tell me about Q's... / Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
5. Tell me about a time you made a good decision.
6. Tell me about a time you made a poor decision.
7. Tell me about a time you fired someone.
8. Tell me about a time you hired someone.
9. Tell me about a time you failed to complete an assignment on time.
10. Tell me about a time you found a solution to save the company money.
11. Tell me about a time you aimed too high.
12. Tell me about a time you aimed too low.
13. Tell me about a time you made a great sale.
14. Tell me about a time you went over budget.
1. What extracurricular activities were you involved in?

2. Why did you choose your major?
3. If you redo college again, what would you major in?
4. What course did you like the most?
5. What course did you like the least?
6. How will your performance in your worst class affect your performance...
7. How would your best friend describe you?
8. How would your professor describe you?
9. How would your mother describe you?
10. Why are you applying for a job that you didnt major in?
11. During college, how did you spend your summer vacations?
12. What did you learn from your internship?
13. Did you do any internships?
14. If you could learn something such as a new skill, what would it be?
1. If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently?
2. During your performance reviews, what criticism do you hear the most?
3. Tell me about your last three positions?
4. Tell me about your last position?
5. What is your management philosophy?
6. What was your favorite job?
7. Tell me about the best manager you ever had.
8. Tell me about the worst manager you ever had.
9. What could you have done to improve your relationship with a manager...
10. What were the most memorable accomplishments in your last position?
11. Why do you want to leave your current job?

12. Where did you tell your boss you were going?
13. Are you currently employed at the last place listed on your resume?
14. What is the title of the person you report to?
15. In your previous position, how much time did you spend ...
16. If you dont leave your current job, what do you imagine you will be
doing...
17. If youre very happy with your current job, why do you want to leave?
1. Do you have any physical problems that may limit your ability to perform...
2. What do you do to stay in shape?
3. What do you like to do when youre not in the office?
4. Whats the most recent book you read?
5. What is the most recent movie you saw?
6. Did you have any trouble finding this place?
7. Will working on weekends be a problem?
8. How do you feel about overtime?
9. Have you filed for bankruptcy?
10. Do you own or rent your home?
11. Do you have any outside income?
12. Do you earn any income from investments or hobbies?
13. Are you willing to travel?
14. Are you willing to relocate?
15. May I contact your current employer?
16. May I contact your references?
17. Is there anything else you want to add?
18. What kind of salary are you looking for?
19. Thats a high salary for this position! Where did you come up with that...
20. How much do you currently get paid?
21. When are you able to start?
22. Are you considering any other offers right now?
23. Asking Questions
Regular English Lessons

Business English Lessons
Tell me a little about yourself.
Interview English Lessons
"Tell me a little about yourself."
Travel English Lessons

You should take this opportunity to show your communication skills by spea
Idioms and Phrasesan organized manner. Because there is no right or wrong answer for this que
appear friendly.
Special Topics
Full Lesson Index Short Answers
English Listening "I

Lessons
attended MIT where I majored in Electrical Engineering. My hobbies includ
and hiking."
Basic Listening Lessons
Intermediate Listening
"I grew up in Korea and studied accounting. I worked at an accounting firm f
Lessons
bicycling and jogging."
Advanced Listening Lessons

"Im an easy going person that works well with everyone. I enjoy being arou
and I like to always challenge myself to improve at everything I do.
Extra English Lessons
Pronunciation Lessons
"Im a hard worker and I like to take on a variety of challenges. I like pets, a
relax and read the newspaper."
English Grammar Basics
English Vocabulary
ESL Vocabulary Lessons

"Ive always liked being balanced. When I work, I want to work hard. And ou
NEW
in my personal activities such as golfing and fishing."
English Speaking Articles

Long Answer
5 Rules for Speaking Fluency
"I went to the University of Washington and majored in English Literature. I
Grammar for Speaking
because I really enjoyed learning. Afterwards, I started my career at Boeing
been there for 3 years now. Although my emphasis is in writing, I like numbe
Intonation and Speed
problems and riddles are quite fun. I also enjoy jogging, reading, and watch
What are Collocations
There is no right or wrong answer for this question. Most important thing yo
you deliver the message. The example above shows a short answer telling a
The answer went from education to career, and then to personal interests a
What are your strengths?

"What are your strengths?"
This is a popular interview question. They want to know what you think of yourself.
Although this is a general question, there is a wrong and right answer. The wrong
answer is a generic answer saying you are organized and friendly. Although it will
not hurt you during the interview, it will certainly not help you either. Answer this
question based on the type of job you are applying for.
Short Answers
"I believe my strongest trait is my attention to detail. This trait has helped me
tremendously in this field of work."
"I've always been a great team player. I'm good at keeping a team together and
producing quality work in a team environment."
"After having worked for a couple of years, I realized my strength is accomplishing a
large amount of work within a short period of time. I get things done on time and
my manager always appreciated it."
"My strongest trait is in customer service. I listen and pay close attention to my
customer's needs and I make sure they are more than satisfied."
Long Answers
Let's say I am interviewing for a management position. You should mention traits
that are important for managers.
"A couple strengths I have are planning and execution, and working with people.
I've always been very good at planning and detailing all the steps. Even in college, I
would spend time organizing my week and planning a strategy to tackle each class
or assignment. Executing a plan has always come easy for me as well. I believe it's
due to proper planning. I also work with people very well in a way where I use the
strengths of each individual in a team to produce the best results. Because of my
easy going personality, I've been told by my directs that it's easy to approach me."
If you are applying for an accounting position, you should mention strong traits an
accountant should have and claim them to be yours.
"I'm very detail oriented, good at managing time, and very honest. I always
incorporate managing time and being detailed together. By nature I've been detail
oriented, and that resulted in taking too much time on a particular task. After
incorporating time management into the mix, I found that my work and efficiency
increased dramatically. I plan better and produce higher quality work in a time
constraint environment. Finally, I'm a very honest person. When I was working as a
valet attendant during college, a lady gave me a twenty dollar bill to pay for the
three dollar fee. She almost drove off the lot, but I stopped her and said here is your
change. My co-workers said I should have considered the change as tip, but I know
what I did was honest and right. You can fool other people, but you can't fool
yourself. That's what I believe."
The second example can seem a little wordy. But the power of an example is greater
than any great words you can string together. Everyone can claim they are honest,
but with an example, it is much more believable.
What are your weaknesses?

"What are your weaknesses?"
For this answer, you should display a weakness that can be seen as a strength.
There are many types of answers that will work. Some answers will be good answers
for certain jobs, while the same answer will be a bad answer for a different job.
Select an answer that will work for the position you are applying for. Here are a few
examples.
Short Answers
"This might be bad, but in college I found that I procrastinated a lot. I realized this
problem, and I'm working on it by finishing my work ahead of schedule."
"I feel my weakness is not being detail oriented enough. I'm a person that wants to
accomplish as much as possible. I realized this hurts the quality and I'm currently
working on finding a balance between quantity and quality."
"I feel my English ability is my weakest trait. I know this is only a temporary
problem. I'm definitely studying hard to communicate more effectively."
"The weakest trait I struggled with was not asking for help. I always try to solve my
own problems instead of asking a co-worker who might know the answer. This would
save me more time and I would be more efficient. I'm working on knowing when it
would be beneficial to ask for help."
Long Answers
"I think my weakest trait is my impatience. Whenever I work in a team and a
member is not performing up to my expectations, I can get impatient and annoyed.
I understand if they are working hard and their portion is difficult, but sometimes a
person can't do the assignment due to incompetence or laziness. A while back I
would get frustrated and start complaining, but I realized that I can help out by
explaining things to some people and encouraging lazy people by reminding them
of deadlines. I know it's bad to be impatient, but I'm definitely working on it."
"I'm too detail oriented. I never want to leave anything out and I want everything to
be perfect. This is bad because it slows down my work. Initially, I tried to work faster
to compensate, but that only made me sloppy. So I decided to put more emphasis
on priority and planning. By doing so, I'm hoping that I can make the proper
decisions on what to work on and what to intentionally leave out."
Both of these examples show an answer that is acceptable. Although being
impatient is not good, it shows that you are a quick learner and that you like
efficiency. The second displays a person that is detail oriented, which can be seen
as a good trait. Finally, both answers identify the weakness and show the actions of
correcting it.
What are your short term goals?

"What are your short term goals?"
This question primarily depends on where you are in your career. A person with 5
years of experience will have different short term goals than a person with no work
experience. I'll give an example for both scenarios. But first, here are some short
answers.
Short Answers
"My short term goal is to find a position where I can use the knowledge and
strengths that I have. I want to partake in the growth and success of the company I
work for."
"I've learned the basics of marketing during my first two years. I want to take the
next step by taking on challenging projects. My short term goal is to grow as a
marketing analyst."
"As a program manager, it's important to understand all areas of the project.
Although I have the technical abilities to be successful in my job, I want to learn
different software applications that might help in work efficiency."
"My goal is to always perform at an exceptional level. But a short term goal I have
set for myself is to implement a process that increases work efficiency."
Long Answers
"My short term goal is to learn everything I can about marketing. I want to find a
position where I can contribute what I've learned through education and to gain real
life experience. I believe the next couple of years will be very important to me and
my immediate goal is to learn and become skilled in all aspects of marketing."
"My short term goal is to get into a management position. The last five years of my
career, I've concentrated on learning and acquiring all the skills needed to perform
excellent work. Recently, I've taken more responsibilities in management because I
eventually want to become a sales manager. I'm excited about the last few
assignments I completed because it involved working with vendors and partners
while managing a small group of workers. So I hope to be in a management position
within a year or two and I feel I'm doing a diligent job by volunteering for extra work
to gain more experience."
The first example is a person straight out of school. Learning is a good short term
goal to have because it shows that you will be trying hard in your job. The second
example is more detailed because that person has several years of experience.
Anybody can say they want a management position, but this candidate is taking it a
step further by showing the steps he is taking to achieve the short term goal. Thus,
it becomes a stronger answer.
What are your long term goals?

"What are your long term goals?"
This question is asked to see how serious a candidate is about his or her career.
Some people might not know their long term goals, and some people might have
long term goals of becoming rich and retiring early. Those are incorrect answers for
this question. The type of answer you want to give is an ambitious answer that
shows you really love your career. A good interviewer will read between the lines
and find out if a person is going to be a hard worker or just a mediocre one. Being
descriptive and shooting for a big goal is something interviewers want to hear.
Short Answer
"I would like to become a director or higher. This might be a little ambitious, but I
know I'm smart, and I'm willing to work hard."
"After a successful career, I would love to write a book on office efficiency. I think
working smart is important and I have many ideas. So after gaining more
experience, I'm going to try to write a book."
"I've always loved to teach. I like to grow newer employees and help co-workers
where ever I can. So in the future, I would love to be an instructor."
"I want to become a valued employee of a company. I want to make a difference
and I'm willing to work hard to achieve this goal. I don't want a regular career, I
want a special career that I can be proud of."

Long Answer
"My long term goal is to become a partner for a consulting firm. I know the hard
work involved in achieving this goal, and I know that many people fail to become a
partner. That's not going to stop me from working hard, learning everything I can,
and contributing to a company where I'll become a valuable asset. I know it's not a
guarantee, but becoming a partner is a long term goal of mine, and I going to work
towards this goal throughout my career."
This example shows a candidate with a big goal. This person identifies the difficulty
of the goal and shows the steps required to achieve this goal. Despite the difficulty,
this candidate shows he or she will not get discouraged with difficult situations and
will never give up. It is a short answer that goes a long way.
What do you want to be doing five years from now?

"What do you want to be doing five years from now?"
"Where do you see yourself in five years?"
This is a similar question to the short term question, but you should answer it a little
differently. Here are some examples.
Short Answers
"In five years, I see myself as a valued employee of a company. I want to be an
expert at my position and start training to be a manager."
"In five years, I want to be a senior analyst. I want my expertise to directly impact
the company in a positive way."
"My goal is to become a lead in five years. Although not everyone gets promoted to
this level, I believe I can achieve this goal through hard work."
"Although I really enjoy working hands on as a mechanical engineer, I want to
eventually become a manager. I want to continue gaining experience, and after
learning many different aspects, I see myself in management."
Long Answers
"Five years from now, I would like to see myself in a management position. I'm
going to be learning and gaining practical experience until then, but eventually, I
want to become a marketing manager. I know there are a lot of things to learn, but
I'm going to be working hard for the next five years. I believe opportunities come to
great workers and I'm going to try to be one of them."
"Five years from now, I want to be a senior sales manager. I'm currently training to
become a manager, and if I continue to work hard, I feel I'll have a management
position soon. After gaining several years of experience as a sales manager, I want
to be in a position where I can train and provide my expertise to newer sales
managers."
Both answers display characteristics of working hard. The second example also
mentions that he or she wants to train newer managers. This is a good answer
because it targets one good trait about upper management... the ability to train
managers.
If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be and why?
"If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be
and why?"
This question is another variation to the weakness question. You can provide a
similar type of question unless it is the same person asking them. To answer this
question, think of a person you respect and the trait they have that you really like. I
used to have a manager that was very patient and explained things very carefully. I
really liked this trait, so I'm going to provide the long answer by using this example.
But first, let's look at some short answers.
Short Answers
"I get easily frustrated at people who don't work very hard. But I know people have
different work styles and different work habits. So if I could change something, I
would like to be more understanding."
"I have high expectations and I have these expectations on others. I think if I was
more understanding, I could help other workers improve instead of being
disappointed."
"I would like to be more of a risk taker. I always do my work and complete it at an
exceptional level, but sometimes taking a risk can make the work even better. I'm
working on this by thinking the issue through and weighing the pros and cons."
"I would like to be more of an extrovert. I'm a little quiet and a little closer to the
introvert side. I would like to change this because I would appear more friendly."
Long Answer
"I wish I was more patient with people. I remember a manager I had a couple of
years ago. He was very patient with everyone. Even workers that were not that
smart and failed to understand a concept to perform the job. I remember thinking
how can this person who can't understand this concept continue to work here. My
manager took a different approach. He was understanding of this worker and

explained the concept in a different way. He even explained how to view problems
from a different perspective. That helped this worker and in time that worker
became a strong contributor. So if I could change one thing about me, I would like to
be more patient and understanding. I'm taking the steps to change for the better by
remembering the actions of my past manager whenever I'm in a similar situation."
This is a little long, but if you can speak smoothly, it shows off your communication
skills. Also, the content of the answer is not that bad. They want a personality
problem, and this answer is showing impatience while indicating that you
understand difficult concepts easily. It also shows that you are working on correcting
the bad behavior.
What does success mean to you?

"What does success mean to you?"
There are many things you can say. This type of question doesn't have a wrong
answer. All answers will be correct. So the best answer is how good you can make
the answer. A mediocre answer will be something like completing a project on time.
You can say this, but add another twist to make the answer a little better. Here is an
example.
Short Answers
"To me, success means to have a goal, plan the steps to achieve the goal,
implement the plan, and finally achieve the goal."
"Success means to achieve a goal I have set for myself."
"Success means to produce high quality work before the deadline."
"Success to me is knowing that my contributions positively impacted my company."
Long Answer
"Success to me means completing a task and when looking back, thinking I couldn't
have done it better. To succeed is to complete a task or assignment on time in an
excellent manner. But that's only half of it. The results should be good and the
people involved should gain a valuable lesson or experience. For example, if it was a
group project, and only two people out of four really did the work, I wouldn't call
that success. If everyone participated and worked together providing a valuable
deliverable then it's a success. So I think both the result and the process should be
great to call something a success."
This answer is showing that you believe in delivering great quality work. Moreover,
it is implying how much you value team work. If you value teamwork highly, then it
is safe to assume that you would make a great team player.
What does failure mean to you?

"What does failure mean to you?"
This is quite simple. I don't see many right answers so this is what I suggest. You
can believe in two of the following. One, you believe that failure is not achieving
your goal no matter what. Or two, you can believe failure is only when nothing is
learned from the failure. I believe in the latter, but you don't have to agree with me.
Short Answers
"Failure is when I do not reach my goal."
"I think to fail at something is making a mistake and not learning anything from it."
"To me, failure means to have a goal and not do anything about it."
"I think failure is not reaching your potential. If you do not use the resources you
have and the resources around you, that's failure because the work or goal could
have been done better."
Long Answer
"I think it's harder to fail than it is to succeed. The reason is, if you fail in a project,
you can learn a valuable lesson from your mistake. Learning from the mistake will
allow you to improve future projects, or to simply not repeat them. Just because I
believe this, doesn't mean I believe it's acceptable to fail at a project, but just in
case, I would try to learn everything I can... even when the end result wasn't that
good. So, failure to me means making a mistake and having learned nothing from
it."
Nobody wants a failure. So you can feel that answering like this will be risky.
However, this is a solid answer that most people agree with. If the person doesn't
like this answer, then you might not want to work for this person. Everyone fails and
if you work for someone who doesn't tolerate failure, then you will be in a difficult
situation. Even vice presidents of large corporations will believe that learning from
mistakes is a valuable lesson. This answer also states that you will do you best not
to fail, but just in case, you want to gain something from your experience.
Are you an organized person?

"Are you an organized person?"
You can think that this question is stupid. Actually, I do. Everyone will say they are
organized. Who will admit otherwise? You should know that everyone will say similar
things. Take this time to be creative with your answer. You can use these types of
questions to leave a strong impression with a creative answer. Or, if you are not
creative, then the best way to answer this question is with an example. Using a
story is more believable and easier to remember. Feel free to mix in a little humor to
make it more memorable.
Short Answers
"I'm a very organized person. I like to know exactly what I'm going to do for the day
and the week. So I outline my tasks and organize my work load. By doing so, I can
organize my time and work better."
"I believe I'm very organized. I like to organize my work by priority and deadlines. I
do this so I can produce the highest quality work in the amount of time I have."
"I think I'm quite organized. I like my documents and papers in a way where I can
retrieve them quickly. I also organize my work in a way where it's easy to see
exactly what I'm doing."
"Organization has always come easy to me. I naturally organize things like my desk,
time, assignments, and work without thinking about them. This helps me
tremendously during times when I'm approaching a deadline."
Long Answer
"I'm actually a very organized person. It's funny that you mention this because just
the other day, my roommate wanted to borrow my suitcase and saw my closet. He
made fun of me for organizing my clothes by length and color. I'm like that with
everything. It's just so much easier to manage things. However, I'm not picky and
don't need to have things in a certain way. I just want things to be organized. So
yes, I consider myself organized."
This example should only be done if you are confident with your communication
abilities. If you appear awkward or if you sound like you are reading this type of
answer, it could have a negative effect. Instead, you should make a generic answer
if you are uncomfortable with this type of answer.
In what ways are you organized and disorganized?
"In what ways are you organized and disorganized?"

This is another variation to the previous question. This question is a little better
because the question wants you to identify an area you are disorganized. Make sure
to emphasize the organized portion of the answer. If you are truly an organized
person, then it is really tough thinking about an area you are disorganized. So
thinking ahead of time will allow you to make a good impression with a solid answer.
Short Answers
"I'm very organized with my time and work, but my desk is a little disorganized."
"Since I work with many files, I like to keep my desk organized. I always have
everything in a certain place so I can find things easier. The area I'm disorganized is
probably my computer desktop. I usually have so many icons everywhere. I should
organize it a little, but I've never needed to."
"I organize my schedule the best. I'm used to many meetings so it's important for
me to be organized with my schedule and time. The area I need to improve is
probably my file cabinet. I started to sort things alphabetically, but when I'm busy, I
start putting things in there. It started getting hard to find things, but this is
something I'm going to fix."
Long Answer
"Oh... that's a good question. Well, I'm organized in almost everything I do. I'm very
organized with my schedule and time. I like to work efficiently, and being organized
with my time helps me. The area I feel I'm disorganized is probably my desk. I like
to work fast and don't keep my desk area as tidy as some people I know. This
however doesn't prevent me from doing my job well. You know some people can
have files and paper all over their desk but some how know exactly where
everything is located. I think I'm one of those people. However, if I know I'm having
a client or a guest, then I would definitely make things more tidy."
This answer brings a little humor to the question. It lightens the mood and makes a
person seem real instead of appearing to be perfect. However, if the job you are
applying for requires constant customer interaction, then this answer will not be
good. This answer would be better for an office job where not many people will see
your desk.
Do you manage your time well?

"Do you manage your time well?"
"In what ways do you manage your time well?"
The first question is a little easier. The second question is more difficult because it
requires an example. I'm going to give an example for the second question and you
should be able to use it for the first question as well.
Short Answer
"I know I manage my time well because I'm never late to work, and I've never
missed a deadline."
"I'm good at managing my time. I stay busy both at home and at work and being
able to manage my time is necessary for me to do everything that I want to do."
"I manage my time well by planning out what I have to do for the whole week. It
keeps me on track and evens helps me to be more efficient."
Long Answer
"Managing my time is one of my strong traits. I prioritize my tasks and this allows
me to stay ahead of schedule. Each day I manage my time so I can achieve more
than I set out to do. So managing my time in a goal oriented way is what I feel very
comfortable doing."
How do you handle change?

"How do you handle change?"
"Are you good at dealing with change?"
Dealing with change is common in the work place. A simple yes will not be sufficient
to impress the interviewer. This is another type of question where everyone will
have similar answers. Of course everyone is going to claim being excellent dealing
with change. You got to communicate that you are really good at dealing with
change. Here are some examples for you.
Short Answers
"I'm good at dealing with change because I'm a quick thinker. If new information
makes us change our marketing strategy for example, I'll be quick to analyze the
information and create a plan to make the changes."
"I've experienced many changes previously. I handle the situation by quickly coming
up to speed on the changes and applying myself to make them a success."
"I'm good at dealing with change because I'm flexible with my work and abilities. I'm
not afraid of learning new and difficult things. Whenever I'm faced with a change, I'll
put in extra effort to make the change a smooth transition."
"I handle changes smoothly. Whenever there's a change of any sort, I analyze the
situation and I always try to find ways I can contribute to the change in a positive
way."
Long Answer
"I believe dealing with change is a requirement in the workplace. The mission
statement can change to introduce a new market segment, or the company might
need to change direction. Whatever it is, as a member of this team, I would be
expected to do my share by absorbing the new information, analyzing it thoroughly,
sharing my ideas, and really being a valued team member. Dealing with change is a
necessary trait. I think I'm also good at anticipating change by being attentive and
observant."
Overall, this is a good answer. The last statement is a bold statement of being able
to anticipate change. If the interviewer is impressed, they might follow up by asking
for an example of how you anticipate change. If you use an answer like I provided,
make sure you have an example. If you don't have one, then the answer you gave
will be seen as a lie and you probably failed.
How do you make important decisions?

"How do you make important decisions?"
There are many ways to answer this question, and if you have a reasonable method
of making decisions, it will probably be sufficient. One answer I thought of included
not being afraid of asking your manager. You can follow up by saying even the best
needs mentoring, and you always want to improve. So basically, this could work as
an answer, but depending on the job, you might have a better shot with an answer
like my example.
Short Answers
"I make important decisions by examining all the details and then weighing the
pro's and con's for each decision."
"I gather all the information I can find and based on the information, I'll come to the
best decision I can. If I know a coworker was in a similar situation, I wouldn't
hesitate to find out the results to make sure my decision is the best one."
"I believe all decisions should be made by having all the information. If you are
missing an important detail, it's easy to make a bad decision. So I make important
decisions by having all of the information."
"Important decisions are made by knowledge through information and wisdom
through experience. I'll gather all the information I can find and then apply my
experience while analyzing the information. With this combination, I'm confident I'll
make the correct important decisions."
Long Answer
"I think all decisions are important, and having as much information about the
decision is one of the most important aspects. After examining all the facts, I would
think about the outcome and consequences of each action and after weighing the
pro's and con's, I would come to the best decision possible. However, I'm aware that
some decisions are not as black and white. In this situation, I would rely on my
experience, or even work with my team members to come up with the best
decision."
This is a decent answer, but I think you might be able to think of a better one. Feel
free to be creative with your answers because those are the answers the
interviewer will remember the most.
Do you work well under pressure?

"Do you work well under pressure?"
In most cases, the best answer to this question is answering yes. Working well
under pressure is a good trait to have. However, I think if you answer that you work
the same with pressure and without pressure, the interviewer will be more
impressed. However, you will need to explain in words why this is better. Here are
some of my answers.
Short Answers
"I work well under pressure because I use the pressure to help me work more
efficiently."
"I enjoy working under pressure because I believe it helps me grow. In my previous
experience, I always worked well during deadlines, and I always learned how to
work more efficiently afterwards."
"I work well under pressure because I don't panic. I maintain self control and work
as efficiently as possible. In all my experiences, I did well and I always enjoyed the
experience."
Long Answers
"To tell you the truth, I think I work the same if there's pressure or if there's no
pressure. I try and take out negative emotional factors and work hard regardless of
down time or busy time. I always prioritize and organize my work, and from there,
work efficiently. If the situation involved pressure due to a lack of time, then the
only difference in my work would be the extra time I would need to put in to meet
the deadline on time. Since I believe my normal work is great work, then I suppose I
work well under pressure."
I like this answer because it is different than the standard answer. If you are not
comfortable with this answer, then you can use the next one.
"I have a couple of friends who hate working under pressure. I don't know if it's odd,
but I really enjoy working under pressure. I use the feelings of pressure as a tool to
motivate me to work harder and more efficiently. In my last job, I remember we had
a project to complete in 4 days where it usually took 10 days. There was a lot of
panic by some team members, but I ensured everyone that if we concentrate on the
task and work real hard, we can complete the project. It took a lot of overtime, and
the last day we were in the office until two AM, but we managed to finish. It was
hard work, but I really enjoyed that experience."
You might not have experienced this example before, but what is preventing you
from making something up? To tell you the truth, I never experienced it before
either. There are some things you shouldn't lie about because they can find out
about it such as your GPA or what school you attended, but a story such as the one I
included above cannot be verified by the interviewer. The only thing you have to be
careful about is being able to answer follow up questions.
Are you better at anticipating or reacting to problems

"Which category do you fall under? A person who anticipates a problem
well, or a person who reacts to a problem well?"
This is a tough question because both options look pretty good. My recommendation
would be to answer depending on the position you are applying for. For example, if
you are applying for a type of analyst or upper management position, then
anticipating a problem would be more useful. However, if you are applying to be a
nurse for a hospital emergency room, then reacting to a problem well is stronger.
Short Answers
"I think it's good to be good at both. But in my experience, I realized I react to
problems better. Whenever I'm faced with a new problem, I know what steps to take
to deal with the problem."
"I believe I'm strong in both, but I try to work more on anticipating problems. In this
profession, it's very important to anticipate a problem and fix it before it becomes a
real problem."
"I'm very observant and aware of what's going on, so I'm stronger at anticipating
problems."
"I'm good at dealing with problems, so I'm a person who reacts to a problem well."
Long Answers
"I feel I react to problems well, but I'm much stronger at anticipating them. I'm a
type of person that pays attention to detail, inconsistencies, and subtle signs.
Basically, I want to find a potential problem and put measures in place to correct it
before it happens. It's interesting to see how the people who deal with problems get
rewarded for resolving the issue. What about the people who put the fire out before
it even started? So anticipating problems before it happens is what I've always done
and I believe it's important in any work environment."
"Being a nurse requires many skills. One of the important traits is to be able to react
to problems well. Reacting to a problem well requires the ability for quick thinking,
ability to think of all the options available, and maintaining self control in hectic
times. In my spare time, I even think about creative problems that might come up.
Since a problem can arise at any time and in any form, I try to be as creative as I
can and I walk through the situation as if I'm dealing with the problem. So this has
helped me to become very good at reacting to problems."
The answer gets stronger with examples, so if you have experienced something that
you can explain, feel free to use include it in the answer. Also, if you are unsure
about how to say it, remember that you can ask us
Are you a risk taker or do you like to stay away from risks?
"Are you a risk taker or do you like to stay away from risks?"
This also depends on the position. But in most cases, I believe someone who likes to
take risks is a better candidate. If you choose to answer saying you are a risk taker,
you should include why and how you take risks.
Short Answers
"I consider myself to be in the middle, but if I were to choose from my past
experience, I would think I would call myself a careful risk taker."
"I'm reliable and believe in stability and guarantees. My work will be based on facts
without assumptions or guesses, so I tend to stay away from risks."
"I think it's important to take some risks. I keep the options open and if the reward
justifies the risks, I would definitely try. So I'm more of a risk taker."
"I take risks because through planning and working smart, it's possible to reduce
some of the risk. So if there's a reasonable chance of success, I would take the
opportunity."
Long Answer
"I see myself as a risk taker. But before taking the risk, I always evaluate all other
options, weigh the pro's and con's of success and failure, and after careful
consideration, I would definitely take a risk if the rewards were high enough. I view
staying away from risks similar to staying away from a gold mine surrounded by
dynamite. Of course if you don't know what triggers the dynamite, it would be
unwise to take that risk. But if you study the situation and know the location of all
dynamite and the way they are triggered, then the risk is minimized. Some people
would not explore the options to reduce the risk, but I would definitely study each
situation and take a risk that would improve my personal or company's situation."
You don't have to use the dynamite example. You can think of any other example.
But I used this to clearly explain what I feel about taking risks. Not only did I choose
to be a risk taker, but I also explained how and when I would take risks.
Why should I hire you?

"Why should I hire you?"
I don't know if this is a common question, but I heard many people use this
question. In all the interviews I've been through, I never received this question, nor
did I ask this question in any interviews I gave. But, there are a lot of people asking
this question, so preparing for it is a must. To answer this question, you need to
know exactly what they are looking for. With this information, tie it in with your
strong traits. This will verify that you are completely qualified for the job. Second
and more importantly, you need to stand out more than the other people
interviewing for this position. I will give two examples for the long answers, one for
a person with a lot of experience, and the other for a recent college graduate.
Short Answers
"I'm a perfect fit for this position. I have the experience and the traits you are
looking for. On top of that, I'm a great team player that gets a long with everyone."
"I should be hired because I'm efficient, smart, and friendly. I'm great at solving
problems and love challenges. Most importantly, I'm dependable and reliable."
"There are two reasons I should be hired. First, my qualifications match your needs
perfectly. Second, I'm excited and passionate about this industry and will always
give 100%."
"You should hire me because I'm confident and I'll do the best job. I have a proven
track record of success starting from high school until now. I'm responsible and
smart.
This position requires someone that will work well without supervision. I know how
to manage my time and organize my work well. So, I'm confident I'll be the best
candidate for this position."
Long Answers
"This position is for a quality assurance manager, I'm confident I'm the best person
for this job because of my past experience. At ABC Software Company, I was in
charge of a team that was responsible for the quality of three different applications.
I have intimate knowledge of quality assurance, product support, and even some
creative processes that will benefit a quality assurance team. I've built a team from
scratch and fully understand the product development cycle. Finally, one of my
traits is in developing and mentoring junior employees. I believe in transferring
knowledge to everyone in the company and investing a little more effort into the
people who work for me. So I strongly believe that I'll be the best candidate due to
the combination of my experience, my managerial skills, and my desire to provide
growth in employees."
"The reason I applied for this position is because the qualifications matched my
strengths perfectly. I'm good at juggling multiple tasks, I'm very detail oriented, and
I organize my time very efficiently. But the truth is that many people have these
traits. But if I were in your position, I would hire myself because of the passion I
have for this industry, and my optimistic personality. My education background and
my strengths show that I can do this job. But I want to make more of an impact than
just doing my job. I don't want to blend in with the company, I would rather want my
addition to improve it."
The first answer is using experience and skills to convince the interviewer to hire
him or her. In addition to talking about past experiences, this example also
emphasizes the strong ability to mentor people. The second example is more on the
personal level and definitely more creative. Everyone one will claim to have all the
good traits. So this candidate says it by saying, "... the truth is that many people
have these traits." On top of these traits, this candidate is including passion and
excitement. This is very important during interviews. Finally, the last sentence is a
good line that the interviewer will remember. It is creative and bold.
Tell me about a time you aimed too high.

"Tell me about a time you aimed too high."
This is another question where you can turn this answer into a good experience. I
am going to be using the answer as the one where you failed to complete an
assignment on time. This is good practice to use a similar answer by changing only
a few sentences to answer another tough interview question. But first, I'll give an
example of a different short answer.
Short Answer
"We had a new project that I was interested in. Even though I was busy, I
volunteered to take on the assignment. I had to work so much more. Although I
managed to complete the assignment, it really burned me out. I feel I aimed too
high and I would have benefited by doing a better job on my current assignments
instead of wanting more challenges."
Long Answer
"I believe aiming high is a good practice. Aiming high keeps me focused and forces
me to grow by trying to reach high goals I have set for myself. But I know there are
times where aiming too high is not good. For example, one time in the middle of the
project, our clients wanted to change one aspect of the assignment that we already
completed. I analyzed the change request and told them that we will not be able to
make the date. I estimated that it will take three additional days. They insisted that
we finish on the agreed upon time schedule. I told them we would try but we could
not promise anything. Even with hard work and overtime, we missed the due date.
We did however, finish one day later. I challenged myself to complete on time, but
with the large change request, it was too high of a goal to reach. In this case, I really
aimed too high. I should have been more firm telling them that we will need a few
more days."
This is a similar experience we already used, but you changed the beginning and
the end to tailor it to this question. Remember that you can use one answer for
multiple questions. This answer should make you look good instead of looking like
you made a terrible mistake.
Tell me about a time you aimed too low.

"Tell me about a time you aimed too low."
I have never been in sales, but the example answer I want to give is an example of
answering the question while displaying good traits. Remember to be clear when
explaining your experience and don't assume that they will understand everything.
You should explain it step by step.
Short Answer
"There was a new project that I was interested in. Because I had other
responsibilities, I didn't volunteer. I wasn't too busy, but I was worried I wouldn't
complete the assignment on time. I realized I missed a wonderful opportunity
because I aimed too low."
Long Answer
"When I was selling cell phones for Verizon Wireless, I had a great month where I
reached the quota in just two weeks. My goal is to always break quota by more than
10 percent, and this month, I new it was going to be easy. I scheduled to take a
week off to relax, and at the end of the month I surpassed the quota by 31%. I had
an opportunity to break the location's record, but I didn't jump on the opportunity. I
was basically thinking that having achieved my original goal of 10% was sufficient.
But I think when opportunities arise, I should be flexible and willing to change my
goal. I aimed too low and I missed a rare opportunity."
This is not a bad mistake. You can say you were burned out, or needed to take some
time off, or wanted to rejuvenate yourself. This answer doesn't show a failure, but
shows a great success. In this example, aiming too low resulted in great numbers
and great results at the end of the month, so there is no harm done. In the end you
are indicating that you could have done even better, that you are willing to reevaluate your goals, and that you are now able to see and jump on opportunities.
Tell me about a time you made a great sale.

"Tell me about a time you made a great sale."
This is similar to the question, 'what does it mean to make a great sale' You can
change the words a little and use the answer for both questions. The key to this
answer is explaining what it means to make a great sale, and then giving a good
example of a great sale that you made.
Short Answer
"I had a customer come in that was a little rude. He had many questions and cut me
off very frequently. I stayed patient and explained everything to his satisfaction. He
ended up representing a medium sized business that required a large order. I feel
this was a great sale because I treated this customer with respect and patience."
Long Answer
"Making a great sale can be measured by how much the company made, but I think
making a great sale is how satisfied the customer is. A satisfied customer will return
and continue to be a valued customer, so it's important to make sure that the
customer is satisfied. One day, a customer was debating on two different types of
watches. One was $1200 and the other was $400. This was a huge difference. I
believe I could have sold him the $1200 watch, but instead, I laid out all the pro's
and con's for him, and asked him questions to find out the purpose of the watch, if it
was for casual wear or formal wear, and eventually helped him realize exactly what
he was looking for. He ended up buying the $400 watch. Some people might think
that was not a great sale, but I felt as a salesman and a person representing the
company that I did a great job in satisfying this customer. In the next couple of
years while I was working there, he came and bought many more items and had
other friends come in to buy more products. I can confidently say that the $800 in
missed sale resulted in thousands more for the company."
This example has several key points. First, this answer is telling the interviewer
what you believe is a great sale. Second, it is giving a good example. Finally, it is
showing a good sign of an employee by saying, 'a person representing the
company' All salesman or someone who works with customers is representing their
company in some way. Saying this casually in an example is definitely powerful.
Did you have any trouble finding this place?

"Did you have any trouble finding this place?"
This question is not an interview question, but a question usually asked by an
interviewer right when you see them. This is especially common if the building
location is hard to find. Here is another question you should tell exactly what
happened.
"No problem at all. I checked for directions on the Internet and found it pretty
easily."
"A little bit. I didn't realize that there was another building back here, so I drove by a
couple times, but that's ok, I eventually found it."
With the first answer, they will say something like, that's good. Then they will move
on to other questions. If you answer with the second question, they will probably
talk a little more about how he or she agrees that this building is hard to find. Either
answers are acceptable.

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Identify understand integrate

Greeting and General Things

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jack."

Greeting Someone you Know

Greeting - Example Conversations

Person A: "What do you do for a living Jack?"

A: "Andy, it's been a long time, how are you man?"

Greeting - Interactive Practice

A: "Hi, how are you doing?"

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Jack."

Bored - General Phrases

Any of these types of questions can be answered with a simple answer.

Bored - Calling Someone

Bored - Boring Work

Bored - Interactive Practice

B: "I'm so bored. I have nothing to do."

How is your Day - General Statements

Here are some ways to answer the above question.

enjoying the beautiful weather without any worries in the world."

How is your day - Example Conversation

A: "Hi Jack. What are you doing?"

Person A: "How is your day going?"

How is your day - Example Conversation

How is your day - Interactive Practice

A: "Where are you going now?"

Tomorrow's Plan - I am going to

meet John at the airport at 6 O'clock tonight"

Tomorrow's Plan - Questions and Answers

Tomorrow's Plan - Example Conversation

A: "Bob is in the hospital, did you get a chance to visit him?"

A: "I'm going home now, do you want to head out together?"

A: "Why do you look so stressed?"

Practice asking questions:

Tomorrow's Plan - Interactive Practice

Yesterday - The Past - General Statements

To begin, here are a couple of sentences that are common to say:

Yesterday - The Past - Questions and Answers

"What did you do last weekend?"

Yesterday - The Past - Example Conversation

Person A: "Why did you do so terrible?"

Yesterday - The Past - Interactive Practice

"What did you do last night?"

"What did you do last weekend?"

Weather - Summer and Autumn

Weather - Fahrenheit and Celsius

A: "What is the average temperature in Seoul during June?"

Weather - Questions and Answers

Weather - Long Description

Weather - Interactive Practice

Hot places that enjoy pleasant summer warmth:

Greeting and General Things II

Exercise - Walking Jogging and More

Small Talk - Two Example Dialogs

One: "So where are you going now?"

Small Talk - Interactive Practice

"Hey Paul. What are you doing here?"

"The weather has been pretty terrible recently."

Movies - Asking Friend

"What time should we meet at the theatre?"

Movies - Example Conversation

B: "I wanted to see that. Yeah. Let's go."

Movies - Interactive Practice

A: "Hey Steve, what are you doing these days?"