Understanding Native Speakers Flashcards
How to catch the native speakers
Asking the speaker to change their way of speaking
- Sorry, could you speak up please?
- Sorry, could you speak more slowly please?
- You’ll have to speak more slowly, sorry.
- I don’t want to sound rude but could you speak more clearly please?
Reminding speaker to change their way of speaking
- Sorry, I really need you to speak up please.
- Sorry, my listening skills are not very good, would you mind speaking more slowly please?
- Sorry, my English is not very good, could you speak very slowly please.
Asking for repetition of the whole phrase
- I’m sorry what did you say?
- Could you explain that again using different words?
- Sorry, could you say that again?
- Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
- Sorry what was your question?
Identifying the part of the phrase that you did not understand
- Sorry, what did you say at the beginning?
- I didn’t get the middle bit / last bit.
- Sorry what was the last bit?
- Could you say that last bit again?
- Sorry I missed the bit about …
- And you did “what” sorry?
- And you went “where” sorry?
- You spoke to “who” sorry?
Repeating the part of the phrase up to the point where you stopped understanding
- Sorry, you thought the presentation was … ?
- And then you went to … ?
- And the food was …?
When the speaker has repeated what they said but you still cannot understand
- Sorry, I still don’t understand.
- Sorry, do you think you could say that in another way?
- Sorry, could you say that again but much more slowly?
- Sorry, could you write that word down, I can’t really understand it.
When you understand the words but not the general sense
- Sorry, I’m not really clear what you’re saying.
- Sorry I think I am missing / have missed the point.
- Sorry but I am not really clear about…
When you didn’t hear because you were distracted
- Sorry, I missed that last part.
- Sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?
- Sorry, I’ve lost track of what you were saying.
- Sorry, I’ve forgotten the first point you made.
- Sorry, I’m a bit lost.
- Sorry I wasn’t concentrating, what were you saying?
Clarifying by summarizing what other person has said
- So what you’re saying is…
- So you’re saying that it is true.
- So if I understood you correctly, you mean…
- Let me see if I have the big picture. You’re saying that..
Clarifying what you have said
- What I said / meant was …
- What I’m trying to say is …
- The point I’m making is …
- Let me say that in another way.
- In other words, what I mean is …
Clarifying a misunderstanding in what you said
- No, that’s not really what I meant.
- No, actually what I meant was…
- Well, not exactly. What I was trying to say was …
- That’s not actually what I was trying to say.
Clarifying a misunderstanding in what someone else said
- I think you may have misunderstood what he said. What he meant was …
- No, I think what he was trying to say was … Have I got that right?
- If I’m not mistaken, what she was saying was …
Checking that others are following you
- Does that make sense to you?
- Do you understand what I mean?
- Do you understand what I’m saying?
Saying that you are or are not following someone else
- Yes, I see what you’re getting at.
- Yes, perfectly.
- Yes, I know what you are saying…
- Yeah, yeah, yeah—I’ve got you.
- I’m with you.
- OK, I think it’s clear what you are saying.
- Well, no not really, could you explain it again?
When you get lost while you are speaking
- Sorry, I’ve forgotten what I was going to say.
- Sorry, I’ve lost track of what I was saying.
- Sorry, I can see I’m not making much sense.
- Sorry, I don’t really know what I am talking about.
