month11 Flashcards
You recently moved to a new town and you’re looking for a new doctor. You call a doctor’s office to find out if you can use your insurance plan there. You ask the receptionist this.
Yes, I was wondering if you take Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield?
I wanted to (do something)
A very polite way to explain why you’re doing something is “I wanted to ___”. For example:
Hi Jen. I wanted to see if you’d like to come out with Emma and I and some friends of ours to a show next week.
Yes, I just wanted to verify that my payment has been received?
Some phrases that can be used after “wanted” include:
I wanted to ask…
I wanted to tell you…
I wanted to check to see if…
I wanted to remind you that…
I wanted to let you know that…
I wanted to find out whether…
Note that this is in past tense: you say “I wanted to ___” instead of “I want to ___”. There’s no grammatical reason for making it past tense; it just makes your sentence sound more polite. When you say it this way, it sounds like an explanation of why you’re calling, why you’re visiting, etc. In the example at top, the speaker uses this to explain why they’re having their meeting.
Yes, (sentence)
This is a polite way to start a telephone conversation with a business when you don’t know the person you’re talking to. You speak this way when:
You call customer support.
You call for someone at work, but someone else answers.
You call to make an appointment with a doctor, dentist, hair stylist, etc.
(a doctor/dentist /hospital/etc.) takes (an insurance plan)
In the U.S., people have private health insurance plans that they buy themselves or get through their job. Different people have different insurance plans. Each doctor, dentist, etc. has certain insurance plans that they “take” (accept), and others that they don’t take.
Because of this system, when you call a doctor’s office to make an appointment, you have to ask “Do you take ___?”
Sometimes it’s written on the doctor’s website:
We take United Health Care and Emblem Health.
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield
This is the name of a health insurance company.
Your son has a runny nose. He’s playing a few meters away from you.
Your nose is runny. Come here and let me wipe it.
(someone’s) nose is runny
Saying that someone’s nose is “runny” means that there’s liquid coming out of it. The slang word for this liquid is “snot”, and the formal word is “mucus”. This happens when someone has a cold.
You can either say that a person’s nose is “runny” (an adjective) or “running” (a verb).
Come here and let me (do something).
Parents sometimes say things like this to their children:
Your hair’s messed up. Come here and let me fix it.
Come here and let me zip up your bookbag.
wipe (someone’s) nose
“Wiping” someone’s nose means cleaning it with a tissue. You clean away the liquid (“snot”) by wiping it with the tissue.
There’s another method of cleaning your own nose, which is “blowing” it. You blow your nose by quickly pushing air out of one side of the nose into a tissue.
Your back hurts. You usually sit a little hunched over, with your shoulders forward and your back bent. You don’t think that’s healthy, so you think this to yourself.
I need to work on my posture.
work on (something) People "work on" things that they want to change about themselves, like skills that they'd like to improve or bad habits that they'd like to get rid of. "Working on" these things means improving them.
Here are some common things that people “work on”:
work on your marriage
work on your attitude
work on your technique (for a skill like sports or music)
work on your self-esteem
You can use “work on ___” in either spoken or written English.
(one’s) posture
Your “posture” is the way that you stand, walk, and sit.
When a person sits, stands, and walks with a straight back, people say that this person “has good posture”. When someone’s back is usually “hunched over” (bent or curved), we say that they “have bad posture”.
You’re giving a presentation to a group of a few dozen people. You’re starting your presentation. You want to start it in a friendly, laid-back way, so you say this.
How’s everyone?
When you’re talking to one or two people, you can ask them “How are you?” to greet them and start a conversation. When you’re talking to a larger group, like your audience when you’re giving a presentation or speech, you can say this instead:
How is everyone?
or:
How’s everyone?
This sounds friendly and casual.
The audience might answer, or might stay quiet when you ask “How is everyone?
You’ve got a new job that you’re starting tomorrow. Your new boss has called you to confirm that you’re starting tomorrow. You want to sound enthusiastic, so you say this.
I’ll be there bright and early!
be there
To “be there” means to attend. You can say:
I’ll be there.
This is the most natural way to say that you’re going to come to an event, meeting, or party. This is a casual way of saying it. You wouldn’t use this in writing, but it’s common in business communication.
bright and early
“Bright and early” means “early in the morning”. You use it to talk about waking up early, starting work early, exercising early in the morning, and so on.
“Bright and early” sounds energetic and positive.
You’re at the beach with your family. You’ve gone in the water and were surprised by how shallow it was. You tell your wife, who hasn’t gone in the ocean yet, about it.
I walked quite a way out, but it was still only about waist deep.
quite a way (in a direction)
This casual expression means “quite far” or “pretty far”. You use it with a direction word like one of these:
quite a way up
quite a way down
quite a way away
(This sometimes becomes “quite a ways away” in casual speech, although that’s ungrammatical.)
(water) is waist deep
To explain how deep some water is in a pool, ocean, lake, etc., English speakers sometimes explain what part of their body the water reached to. To do this, they use the expression “___ deep”:
Don’t be scared. It’s only waist deep.
Aside from “waist deep”, we also use the expressions:
ankle deep
knee deep
chest deep
neck deep
You’re 3 months pregnant. You haven’t told your coworkers yet, but now you’re ready to announce it. You say this at the beginning of a meeting,
Before we get started, I have something to tell everyone. I wanted to let you all know that I’m pregnant.
I wanted to let you know that (clause)
Use this expression to tell people something that’s kind of important, and maybe a little emotional:
I wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to retire at the end of this year.
I wanted to let you know that I really appreciate all the hard work you put into this.
This phrase makes your sentence seem a little bit important and formal.
Before we get started…
You can hear this English expression in a meeting. If there are announcements to make, people to introduce, or other things to talk about before the main topic of the meeting, someone will say “Before we get started…”:
Before we get started, I wanted to introduce everyone to a new member of our team. This is Hyejin Lee.
The host of a TV or radio talk show sometimes uses this expression as well.
I have something to tell you.
“I have something to tell you” is a phrase that you use when you’re announcing something important. Here are some examples of things that you might announce using this phrase:
You’re pregnant.
You’re moving to another city.
You’ve quit your job.
You’ve broken something that belongs to your friend.
You’re getting married.
You’re getting divorced.
You can also play a trick on a friend by saying “I have something to tell you…” in a dramatic voice, and then announcing something silly like “I ate a sandwich for lunch!”
(someone) is pregnant
When a woman is going to have a baby, she’s “pregnant”.
Many, many years ago, it was impolite to directly say that a woman was pregnant. People found ways to avoid saying it like “She’s expecting” or “She’s with child.” But these days, it’s completely normal and acceptable to say that a woman is pregnant.
You and your friend can’t decide where to go out to eat at tonight. You really wanted to go to a vegetarian restaurant that you like, but your friend doesn’t want to go there because it’s expensive and always busy. She wants to go to a Korean restaurant that you’ve been to together many times. You give in and say this.
a place
You can call a restaurant a “place” in casual conversation:
Is this place any good?
You can also describe what kind of restaurant it is:
Do you know of a good burger place around here?
Have you been to that new pizza place up on 83rd Street?
There’s this amazing Italian place we go to sometimes. I have to take you there.
Fine!
People say this word after arguing or debating with someone. This word shows that you’re letting the other person win the argument. You’re going to do what they say, although you’re not happy about it. The word “fine” is used sarcastically, since “fine” originally means “good”.
Here are some examples:
Fine, I’ll cook.
A: Come on, please come with us!
B: OK, fine. But I’m riding in the front seat.
A: I’m sick and tired of this! I’m leaving you!
B: Fine! Leave then!
The stronger you stress the word “fine”, the angrier you seem. In the middle of a big argument, you can shut down the discussion by saying “Fine!” and then suggesting some extreme action:
You don’t like how I’m dressed? Fine! Go by yourself then.
If you want to say that something really is “fine”, meaning good or OK, use “That’s fine” instead of “Fine!”.
You and a friend are going out to eat together. She suggests going to a nearby Korean restaurant. That restaurant has good food, but it’s old and not decorated very nicely. You’d like to go to a more expensive place. This is your response.
I was thinking something a little more upscale.
I was thinking something a little (more+adjective / adjective+er)
When someone makes a suggestion which you don’t agree with, you can suggest something different with this polite phrase:
A: What about this one?
B: Um… I was thinking something a little cheaper.
A: Where should we go this weekend?
B: How about the beach?
A: I was thinking something a little closer.
You can also use “a bit” instead of “a little”:
I was thinking something a bit more low-key.
an upscale (place) A restaurant, club, gym, apartment building, or other place that's really nice and expensive-looking can be called "upscale".
“Upscale” is mostly a positive term. People use it to compare a luxurious and expensive place to other places that are “down-market” or “low-rent”. So calling a place “upscale” can sometimes seem snobby because it seems that you’re looking down on places that aren’t as nice.
English speakers use “upscale” to describe an expensive place, but usually not an item like a coat, a watch, or a bottle of liquor. For those things, you can use the phrase “high-end” instead.
You like watching a certain late-night TV talk show. You’re telling a friend why you like that show. This is how you describe the host.
I love that dry, deadpan style of humor he has
I love (something) Depending on where you're from and your culture, "love" might seem like a really strong word. In English, people use "love" to describe how they feel about things that they like such as art, music, products, clothes, and so on:
I love your shirt!
I absolutely love my new phone.
a dry sense of humor
A person with a “dry” sense of humor often says funny things with a serious, calm expression. They don’t smile, laugh, or make silly faces.
Some people really like a dry sense of humor; other people don’t understand it very well. it can be either positive or negative to say that someone has a “dry” sense of humor.
a deadpan style of humor
A “deadpan” style of humor is a way of telling jokes where you don’t change your expression. You just make the joke with a straight (serious) face.
“Deadpan” and “dry” are very similar ways to describe humor. English speakers more often use “dry” to describe the sense of humor of someone that they know, while “deadpan” is specifically for talking about the technique of telling a joke, and use more often to talk about a professional comedian or actor.
You’ve made a cup of coffee. You take the milk out of the refrigerator, but there’s nothing in the container. You complain to your husband, who used the last of it.
Why would you put an empty milk carton back in the fridge?
Why would you (do something)?
When someone asks “Why would you ___?” they usually don’t want an answer. It’s not really a question; it’s a criticism. It means “You shouldn’t ___!” For example:
Why would you invite someone out to lunch and then expect them to pay for it?
Why would you go all the way downtown to get a haircut when there’s a perfectly good place right across the street?
a milk carton
A “carton” is a container made out of thick paper. The most common kind of carton is a milk carton, which is a tall rectangular box with a triangular top. Other things that come in cartons include:
eggs
orange juice
chinese food
cigarettes (There are multiple packs of cigarettes in one carton.)
beer (6 bottles of beer fit in one carton. Larger containers for beer are called “cases”.)
These are all different shapes, but all classified as “cartons”.
the fridge
English speakers usually call their refrigerator “the fridge”. For example:
I have some beers in the fridge. You want one?
The word “refrigerator” sounds a bit formal. You say “refrigerator” when you’re talking about it as a machine. For example, when you’re calling a repairman:
Can someone come out and take a look at my refrigerator? It’s not staying cool like it’s supposed to.
You’re fighting with your boyfriend. He says something mean to you.
Go to hell.
Go to hell.
This is something that you say when you’re really angry with a person. The message that it communicates is something close to “I hate you” and “Go away.”
You’ll mostly hear “Go to hell” from family members, spouses, girlfriends, and so on. It’s more common for women to say than men, and more common for the lower-status person in a relationship than the higher-status person. For example, a teenager is more likely to tell his parents “Go to hell!” than the parents are to tell this to their children.
“Hell” is a horrible place that bad people go when they die in Western religion and mythology. So it’s quite insulting to tell someone to “go to hell”.
Someone is asking for advice on an Internet forum. They have a coworker who’s making them feel uncomfortable. You write that this person should directly complain to this person. Now you want to end by giving some more general life advice.
Don’t shy away from conflict; embrace it!
shy away from conflict
“Conflict” means struggling or fighting. The word “conflict” sounds clean and neutral. It’s the word that a psychologist might use to talk about fighting with people, for example.
If you “shy away” from something, it means that you try to avoid it. For example, if a friend of yours often says controversial things, you can say this about him:
He’s never been one to shy away from controversy. That’s for sure!
When you “shy away from” conflict, it meant that you try to avoid arguing or disagreeing with people directly. The phrase “shy away from” makes this sound a little weak and cowardly.
embrace conflict
“Embracing” something means hugging it or holding it close to your chest. For example, lovers “embrace” each other.
We use the word “embrace” to talk about physically hugging things, but we also use it metaphorically. Whenever you “embrace” something, you completely and happily accept it. People “embrace” things like:
embrace change
embrace life
embrace new ideas
embrace diversity
Someone who “embraces conflict” is happy to get into an argument or disagreement with people. Although arguing is usually a negative thing, “embracing conflict” sounds very positive. Someone who embraces conflict is able to solve problems quickly by having difficult conversations with people.
You get annoyed because your friends in the U.S. ask you silly questions about your country’s culture. You’re explaining your frustrations to a friend.
Americans have a lot of misconceptions about us
(someone) has misconceptions about (a topic)
You have a “misconception” when you think that you know something, but you’re actually wrong about it.
To explain the topic of a misconception, say “___ has some misconceptions about ___.” For example:
I think that people who aren’t in this business have some misconceptions about what we do.
When I first started out, I had a few misconceptions about what computer programming was all about.
You might also notice that it’s normal to include “some”, “a few”, or “a lot of” to explain how many misconceptions there are.
It’s also common to say that “there are” misconceptions:
There are a lot of misconceptions about how colds start.
You have a habit of buying coffee at a café every morning. You mention this habit to your brother. He points out that it’s expensive to buy coffee at a café instead of making it at home. You agree.
Yeah, it adds up.
yeah
“Yeah” means “yes” but is better for most conversational situations. It sounds more friendly than “yes”. You can use it when speaking with friends or at work, but it’s not common in writing.
(an expense) adds up
Use the phrase “it adds up” to talk about something that eventually costs a lot of money because you have to pay again and again.
Here are some examples of expenses that you can say “add up”:
groceries
rent
cable subscriptions
fees that your bank charges
English speakers usually say “it adds up” to complain about the high price of something. But you can also use this expression to talk about making money.
I tutor kids in math on the side. It’s not a lot of money, but it adds up over time.
Your company has been having trouble. Most of the people in your department have been laid off, and now it’s just you, your boss, and one other employee. You’re telling a friend about this situation.
We’re down to only 3 people now
(something) is down to (a number of something)
When there used to be more of something, but now there’s less of it, you can use the phrase “down to ___”.
For example, you can talk about a sports playoff:
They’re down to four teams now.
Or about getting rid of things that you own:
We sold the van, so we’re down to two vehicles now.
Or about food:
We’re down to half a bag of rice.
Usually you say the number of things that you are down to, but you can also list what’s left like this:
Now it’s down to just me, Brad, and Gbenga.
Notice that it’s common to include “now” somewhere in the sentence.
Your friend just got engaged. She shows you her engagement ring, which is really big. You and your friend joke with each other a lot, so you make a funny comment about the ring.
Whoa! Look at the size of that rock!
Look at the size of that (thing)!
Say this when you see something really big:
Look at the size of those teeth! Man, I wouldn’t want to come across one of those out in the wild.
Look at the size of that guy’s shoulder muscles! He looks like the Incredible Hulk!
This phrase expresses feelings of surprise and admiration.
Whoa!
“Whoa!” can mean “Wow!”. You say this when you’re surprised and impressed by something. For example, while you’re riding an amusement park ride, you can say:
Whoa! This is crazy!
If your friend demonstrates an amazing talent, you can say:
Whoa! How did you do that?
a rock
In casual English, you can call a diamond a “rock”.
This is a slang term. but it’s commonly known across most English speakers.
You and your family are having a yard sale to get rid of old stuff. Your wife suggests that you sell an old baseball mitt, but you don’t want to sell it because it’s the one you used as a kid.
Hey, come on! That has sentimental value to me!
come on
You say “come on” to someone when you’re trying to convince them in a friendly and casual situation. “Come on” means something like “Don’t worry about it; just do it.” Here is another example:
Come on! Tell me what she said!
Come on, stay for one more round.
You can also say “Come on!” when a person does something that you don’t like, and you want them to stop. For example, if you and your partner were teasing each other, and he gets angry at you, you can say:
Come on! I was only joking.
Hey
You say “Hey” at the beginning of a sentence in casual English when you want to get someone’s attention. For example:
Hey, um, you’ve got something stuck in your teeth.
It’s common to say “Hey” before you ask someone a question, or when someone has done something that’s wrong or unfair:
Hey, you’re taking up the whole bed!
Use “hey” with people you know or are familiar with. When you’re talking to people you don’t know as well, “Excuse me” is more polite.
(something) has sentimental value to (someone)
An object that you associate a lot of memories and emotions to “has sentimental value”. Some things that might have sentimental value include:
jewelry that you inherited from someone in your family
old photographs
an award that you won as a child
When an object has sentimental value, you want to keep it safe.
You’re having dinner at a restaurant. You and your friend ordered spicy chicken wings, but when you taste them they’re not as spicy as you’d like. You comment on them to your friend.
They’re a little bland, don’t you think?
don’t you think?
Use this question to ask for agreement from a listener. People use this expression when:
they want to state their opinion, but they don’t feel confident enough to just directly say it
they want the listeners to feel included in the statement
Wow. I love this place. It’s great, don’t you think?
they want the listener to admitthat something is true:
You’re too old for that, don’t you think?
(food) is bland
“Bland” food doesn’t have much flavor.
Use “bland” to describe food that’s supposed to be:
spicy
salty
flavored with spices
…but isn’t. You probably shouldn’t describe simple foods like bread or fruit as “bland”.
“Bland” is always a negative description. If you want to describe food that doesn’t have much flavor positively, you can say things like:
They’re mild.
They have a really subtle flavor.
You’re visiting the U.S. In your home country, people who work at shops are very polite to customers. You’ve noticed that they’re a lot less polite in the U.S. You’re talking to an American friend about this.
Shop staff here are a lot more nonchalant about how they behave and speak to you.
shop staff
The “staff” of a business is the collection of people that work there. Offices, shops, and schools all have ‘staff’.
The phrase “shop staff” means the salespeople, cashiers, and other people who work at a store.
“Staff” is a tricky word because it can be either singular or plural:
Their staff is extremely helpful.
The staff went out to an Irish pub for their holiday party.
If you want to talk about just one person on the staff, you can use the phrase “staff member”.
(someone) is nonchalant
When someone is “nonchalant”, it means that there’s something big happening, but they’re acting like everything is normal. Here are some examples of people acting “nonchalantly”:
Your friend is winning a prestigious award, but he keeps saying that it’s not important.
A soldier is standing on the street with a big gun, but has a bored look on his face.
A guy wants to ask a girl out and is really nervous about it, but he tries to start a normal, casual conversation with her.
Being “nonchalant” can be bad if you’re in an important situation but it seems like you’re not taking it seriously.
how (someone) behaves
If you want to talk abstractly about someone’s actions, you can use the phrase “how ___ behaves”:
I can’t believe that this is how you behave in front of guests! You should be ashamed.
People can tell a lot about us by how we behave, speak, and dress.
You’re at a restaurant. The waitress asks what you want to drink. You’d like a beer, so you ask this.
What do you have on tap?
have (a brand of beer) on tap
A lot of restaurants and bars have beers “on tap”, meaning that they have big kegs of beer that they can pour glasses from. To get the beer out, they “tap” the keg, which means that they attach a special beer-dispensing hose to it.
If you want to drink a beer from a glass or mug instead of from a bottle or can, you can ask the server or bartender what they have “on tap”.
You’re on a long car trip with a friend. You’ve been watching the directions on your phone, but now the battery power is getting low. You tell your friend.
It’s running out of juice.
(an electronic device) runs out of juice
When an electronic device’s battery is low, you can say that it has “run out of juice”. “Juice” is a slang term for electrical power.
You can also say things like:
It’s almost out of juice.
It doesn’t have enough juice.
You’re fishing in a canoe with a friend. Your friend has hooked a big fish, and he’s pulling it in excitedly. It’s making the boat unstable, so you warn him not to move so much.
Whoa, whoa, watch it. It’s gonna tip over!
Whoa!
“Whoa!” means “Stop!” or “Slow down!”
Originally, “Whoa!” was a command that people gave to their horses. Not many of us ride horses regularly these days, but we still say “Whoa!” to other people.
For example, you can say this to the driver of a car:
Whoa! Slow down. There’s an accident up ahead.
Or if your child has gotten too many cookies, you can tell them:
Whoa! Who told you you could have all those cookies? Put two of them back.
Watch it!
“Watch it!” means “Be careful!”
There are two situations in which English speakers say “Watch it!”
When there’s something dangerous for the listener to be careful of. For example, if you’re walking on the sidewalk with your friend and your friend almost steps on someone’s dog, you can yell:
Hey! Watch it!
To warn someone that you’re starting to get angry and that they should change their behavior. Parents say this to their children when the children misbehave:
Watch it! If you keep acting like that, I’m going to take away the iPad for the rest of the day.
(something) tips over
“Tipping over” means falling down from an upright position and spilling something. Here are some things that might “tip over”:
a glass of water
a bookshelf
a small boat
Here are some things that you usually wouldn’t describe as “tipping over”:
a person
a building
a tree
You’re getting your hair cut at a barber shop. You don’t want the barber to cut very much, so you say this.
Can you just trim the back and sides?
Can you (do something)? This is a way to ask someone to do something. It's appropriate for:
a boss to use with the people who work for him or her
a customer to use with a store employee
a parent to use with his or her children
“Can you ___” is more direct than asking “Could you…”
Sometimes a person will include “maybe” in this question:
Can you maybe call him and tell him to meet us there?
Can you maybe turn the volume down just a little?
just (do something)
You use this phrase when the action you’re describing seems easy, simple, fast, or unimportant:
I just googled “new york florist” and that was the first shop that came up, so I called them.
trim (someone’s hair)
“Trimming” something means cutting it just a little to make it look nice. When you “trim” someone’s hair, you just cut it a little bit.
You can talk about what part of a person’s hair is being cut:
She trimmed the bottom.
Can you trim the sides and leave it long in the back?
Aside from hair, you can also “trim”:
a beard or mustache
a hedge (a wall of bushes)
fat from a piece of meat
You were away for a few days on a trip for work. You’ve just come home. Your four-year-old son is glad to see you, and you’re glad to see him too.
Hey there buddy! Daddy missed you.
Hey there!
“Hey there” is one casual and friendly way to say “hello”.
Here are a few situations in which you can say “Hey there” to greet someone:
You’re at a concert. You see someone that you work with, but you can’t remember her name. You say “Hey there” when you walk by her.
You’re fishing on a small lake. A family rows by you in a row boat. You say “Hey there” and smile at them.
You’re friendly with one of the people who works at the local market. When you see him working there, you say “Hey there.”
buddy
“Buddy” is a name that you can call someone instead of their real name. The word “buddy” means “friend”.
English speakers mostly use “buddy” when talking to a younger man. Here are some specific relationships in which someone might call someone else “buddy”:
Fathers, uncles, grandfathers, etc. often call their sons, nephews, and grandsons “buddy” from young childhood until their teenage years, and sometimes longer.
Male friends who are similar ages sometimes call each other “buddy”.
When you call a stranger “buddy”, it’s just a little bit rude and aggressive. For example, if a man is taking a long time to get a ticket at an automatic ticket machine in front of you, you might say this if you get really frustrated:
Hey buddy, can you speed it up?
Daddy
“Daddy” is the name that many young children call their fathers. They start to use the name “Daddy” at about 2-3 years old and keep using it until about age 10-13. As children get older, they start to use the name “Dad” instead of “Daddy”.
When parents speak to very young children, from 0-5 years, they often speak about themselves as “Daddy” or “Mommy” instead of using “I” and “me”. For example:
Daddy doesn’t like it when you throw your toys.
Of course, there’s a lot of variation from family to family in what children call their parents and how parents refer to themselves.
Your son is unemployed. You’ve asked him what he’s going to do. He says that he’s going to get a new job, but he doesn’t know what kind of job. You want him to think more seriously about it.
You need to come up with a concrete plan.
You need to (do something)
“You need to ___” is a really strong and direct way of giving someone advice. It’s usually used by parents, teachers, and bosses. It’s usually used when they’re angry or annoyed:
You need to stop talking and pay attention.
You need to get the account manager on the phone and tell him you’re sorry, but you made a mistake.
come up with (something)
To “come up with” an idea means to create it. You usually use “create” for physical things that you make, but you use “come up with ___” to describe creating an idea, a plan, a name, etc. Another example:
Where’d you come up with the idea to start a blog about English phrases?
a concrete plan
“Concrete” things are solid. A “concrete plan” is realistic and detailed. It includes specific ideas about:
what to do
how to do it
what order to do each step in
Here are some examples of how to use the phrase “concrete plan”:
We need to put together a concrete plan for how we’re going to deal with this.
A: What are you doing for the holidays this year?
B: I don’t have any concrete plans.
The opposite of a “concrete” plan is a “vague” plan.
Your friend’s mother passed away. You’re at the funeral. You want to give your friend some comfort, so you offer to help her.
Please, please, please - let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you through these times
let (someone) know
“Let me know” means “tell me”. But “let me know” is a more polite and friendly expression. It’s very common to hear in an English-speaking workplace:
If anything comes up between now and then, just let me know.
You can also use it with friends:
Let me know when you’re finished with the computer.
please, please, please
You can emphasize a request by repeating the word “please”. For example:
If you have any money problems, please, please, please come to me.
Please, please, please check with me before signing any legal documents.
This is typically only done in spoken English.
anything I can do to help
If someone is having a problem, but you’re not sure how to help, you can ask:
Is there anything I can do to help?
This shows your support for this person. Another way to phrase this which is more formal but more distant is:
If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.
This phrase is good to use when a friend or acquaintance has bad news about an illness, a death in the family, money problems, etc. You can also ask “Is there anything I can do to help?” when you see someone working really hard and you don’t have any work of your own to do.
help (someone) through (an emotionally difficult time)
“Helping someone through” an emotionally difficult situation like:
a divorce
a death in the family
drug addiction
being laid off from a job
depression
…means listening to them, helping them, and being nice to them until the bad situation is over.
You end this expression with a phrase that describes the time period or names the situation:
He helped me through a really difficult time in my life.
She really helped me through the divorce.
You get a call from a company that’s considering hiring one of your ex-coworkers. They want to know if you would recommend him for this new job. This ex-coworker was very opinionated and hard to work with, so you say this about him.
He’s not exactly what you’d call a “team player”
not exactly (something) This is an example of understatement. If you're talking about someone and say:
She’s not exactly poor.
…it means that she actually has a lot of money. Instead of simply saying “She’s rich”, you might use this expression in order to sound witty and intelligent.
Here’s another example: if your husband is overweight, but made fun of you for being a little heavy, you can say:
You’re not exactly in the best shape yourself, you know.
“Not exactly” can be followed either by an adjective, or by a noun:
A: You’re dumb.
B: You’re not exactly a rocket scientist yourself.
a team player
In business, a “team player” is someone who is helpful and easy to get along with. A person who disagrees with people a lot, or who doesn’t listen to other people’s ideas, is not a “team player”.
When a speaker calls someone a “team player”, it’s usually meant as a positive description.
(something) is not what you’d call (something)
“Not what you’d call ___” means “not exactly ___” or “not really ___”.
This expression is used for understatement. Instead of directly describing something in an extreme way, you introduce your description with “not what you’d call ___”. For example, if you’re a very bad dancer, you can say:
I’m not what you’d call a great dancer.
You’re at a dinner party. The hostess offers you some more wine. You’ve had enough to drink, so you refuse.
No, I’m good, thanks
thanks
“Thanks” is a friendlier way to say “Thank you”. Use it with people you know pretty well, like family members, friends, and coworkers who you’ve spoken with in the past.
No, I’m good.
“No, I’m good” is a casual way to say “No, thank you.” You use this phrase when someone offers you something, like food, drinks, advertising materials, etc.
“I’m good” sounds friendly and casual. You can use it with friends, coworkers, waiters, and most other people.
A couple of occasions when you would not use “No, I’m good” are:
You’re meeting your girlfriend’s parents for the first time, and you’re not sure if they like you yet.
You’re very angry at your coworker because he blamed one of his mistakes on you to your boss. Now he’s going out to get coffee and asks if you want any.
In these cases, “No, thank you” would be better.
You and your family are having a Thanksgiving day meal together. You’ve been asked to say a blessing before everyone starts eating. This is how you start it.
“Dear Lord, we thank you for this food that we’re about to receive
(someone) is about to (do something)
“You’re about to ___” means “You’re going to ___ soon”. Here are some examples with “about to”:
I’m about to lose my temper with you.
It looks like they’re about to begin. Why don’t we go find a seat.
Oh, hi Charles. I was just about to call you.
receive (something)
To “receive” something basically means to get it from someone.
The word “receive” is pretty formal. It’s used in official documents or in business communication. In normal conversation, “get” is more common:
We got over a hundred submissions.
“Receive” is often used in a pair with the word “give” - there’s a famous saying “It’s better to give than to receive.”
Dear Lord,
This is a common way to start a prayer in English, especially among Protestant (non-Catholic) Christians.
Other common ways to start a prayer include:
Dear God,
Dear Father,
O Father,
Heavenly Father,
(I/we) thank you for (something)
This is a very formal way to thank someone. It is commonly used in prayers. For example:
Lord, I thank you for all the gifts that you have given me.
Another situation in which you might use “we thank you” is in a formal note to your employees or coworkers at work, like this:
We thank you sincerely for all of the hard work that you have done.
You and your family are making homemade ice cream with an old-fashioned ice cream maker. Someone has to turn it by hand. Your sister has been doing it for a few minutes and seems tired, so you offer to do it
Do you want me to take over?
