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11 English Conversation Phrases - Lesson Notes
11 English Conversation Phrases - Lesson Notes
Lesson notes
Hello there, and welcome back to Learn English Lab. In this lesson, I’m going to teach you 11 short
conversation phrases that you can use when you talk to people. These are all common English
expressions, and they will help you sound more like a native speaker of the language. So, let’s jump
into it.
1. I’m afraid
This phrase does not show fear; it doesn’t mean that you’re scared. This is a polite expression used
to say something negative, and it’s very useful. For example, say someone calls an office and asks to
speak to the manager. His secretary is the one answering the call.
Or, let’s say one of your friends wants to borrow money from you.
FRIEND: “Hey, I’m broke. Can you lend me $500 until next month?”
YOU: “I’m afraid I can’t, sorry. I’m out of cash myself.”
Here, “I’m broke” means “I don’t have any money”. And “Can you lend me $500 until next month?”
means “I’ll pay you back next month.”
In a meeting at your workplace, one of your colleagues says something that you disagree with, but
you want to be polite, so you say,
In all of these sentences, “I’m afraid” doesn’t mean that you are scared of anything; it just adds
politeness to what you’re saying. So, get into the habit of using “I’m afraid” to make negative
messages a little softer.
2. ASAP
This is an acronym (that is, a short form) of “as soon as possible”. But, the short form is so common
that you can use it as a single word – you can say “a-sap” – “asap”. We use this most commonly
when we request someone to do something immediately. Your boss at work might say:
Or, if you phone somebody but they’re not available; someone else answers the phone, you can say:
“If you want to apply for the job, you should send in your application ASAP.”
3. Not really
This expression just means “no”, but it’s a more soft and polite “no”. Let’s say you go to a party at
your friend Tom’s house, but the party isn’t all that good; it’s boring and the food’s terrible. But
another friend, who’s thoroughly enjoying it, comes to you and asks:
You want to say “no” but you want to say it in a soft way. At the same party, you meet a guy who
just loves golf:
You say, “not really” because you don’t want to say “no” and be rude, so you make it a little more
polite.
A couple of days later, your friend, Tom, who threw the party finds out that you didn’t like it; he calls
you up and he asks angrily:
TOM: “Hey, have you been telling people that my party sucked?”
YOU: “Not really. That’s not what I’ve been saying to people.”
Your mom overhears the phone conversation; she comes to you and she asks,
MOM: “What was that all about? Did you just have a fight with Tom?”
YOU: “Not really. It was just a small argument. But we’re good.”
4. Good stuff!
You say this to congratulate or encourage someone.
That means, “That’s good to hear.”, “You’ve done a good thing.” or “Congratulations!”
If the news is not just good, but great, you can say “great stuff”. I said this to my niece one time:
Another time I said this was when I ran into my neighbor the other day:
6. Give me a hand
This expression is just a fancy way of asking for help. You’re not actually asking for a hand, so this is
an idiom; it’s informal, it’s conversational and it makes you sound more like a native speaker. For
example, let’s say you’re trying to move some boxes, but they’re too heavy for you. So, you ask
someone else to help you with them:
COLLEAGUE: “I’m writing an important email, but I’m having trouble wording it correctly.
Can you give me a hand?”
You can also use this expression to offer help by saying “give you a hand”:
FRIEND: “I dropped your phone by mistake and the screen’s cracked. I’m really sorry.”
YOU: “You’re kidding me! This is a joke, right? Don’t tell me you actually dropped my
expensive iPhone!”
CHECK-IN OFFICER: “I’m afraid I can’t check you in. You’re too late and the gate’s closed.”
YOU: “Are you kidding me? I’m only two minutes late!”
I remember back when I was in school, I worked very hard studying for a test. It was the most
confident I’d ever been about an exam. But, then when the results came, this other kid in my class
told me I had failed, and I couldn’t believe it!
CLASSMATE: “Hey, the test results are in, and you failed.”
ME: “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
This is the strongest form of this expression: “You’ve got to be kidding me”. Thankfully, he was
kidding that time; not only did I pass the test, I got an A+. I was first in class. Believe that!
8. Fair enough
It means, “I can accept that” or “That sounds acceptable/reasonable.” Imagine that you’re in a
restaurant with a business contact. You ask:
Or, let’s say your friend interviewed for a job and got the job but decided not to take it. You ask:
ROSIE: “I forgot my wallet. Can you pay for my lunch today? I’ll pay for yours tomorrow.”
SARAH: “Fair enough. That works for me.”
You can feel his distaste for mathematics in that sentence. Of course, you can dislike things other
than mathematics.
Remember to use this expression next time one of your annoying friends wants to gossip about
celebrities:
ME: “I’m not going to watch the news anymore. I’m sick and tired of all the negativity.”
I read in the newspaper today about a group of factory workers going on strike. One of them was
quoted as saying,
FACTORY WORKER: “We’re going on strike because we’re sick and tired of not getting paid
on time month after month.”
Now, my brother is a very smart guy. But he often tends to get stuck in a rut – that means, he
sometimes does the same things over and over again. So, when I went to visit last month, I asked
him,
ME: “Aren’t you sick and tired of eating macaroni and cheese for breakfast every single
day?”
11. I’d better get going / I’ve got to go / I’ve got to run
These are some polite yet stylish ways of saying goodbye:
The “got to” sounds like “gotta” in natural speech. These all mean the same thing: there is some
reason why you cannot stay and chat; you have to go.
And, with that, I hope you enjoyed this lesson. I’d love to stick around, but there’s some place I need
to be, so I’d better get going. Happy learning, and I will see you in another lesson soon!
Playlists:
FLUENCY development lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwr9polMHwsI6vWZkm3W_VE7cWtYVjix
PRONUNCIATION lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwr9polMHwtOrZVwGuiN8xLup5elPE6f
GRAMMAR lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwr9polMHwsR35rD9spEhjFUFa7QblF9
MODAL VERBS (Could, Would, Should, May, Might, Must etc.):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwr9polMHwvGTssgSU9KWEm2T4WiWaTj
PARTS OF SPEECH:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwr9polMHwsQmAjoAxtFvwk_PaqQeS68
ARTICLES (a, an, the):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmwr9polMHwsbkqz6kU5e6MgpvaYrpKfX