Speaking English can be difficult and intimidating - even for native speakers. However, there are many English phrases that you can use over and over again in your daily life.
If you learn and practice English phrases, you will begin to feel more comfortable speaking English with friends, colleagues or strangers.
English phrases for introductions
If you want to meet someone, you can introduce yourself. Here are some examples of phrases of introduction.
Here is greeting you can use when you meet new friends:
- Do you have Facebook?
- Have you met my husband Roy?
- Hi! I am Sara. (And you?)
- How's life?
- I don't think we've met before. My name's Khalifa.
- I don't think we've met. May I introduce myself?
- I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm John.
- I would like to introduce you to my friend
- I would like you to meet my friend John.
- It's a pleasure to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- This is Julia, that I told you about before.
- What do you do?
- What do you like to do in your free time?
- What is your phone number?
- Where are you from?
English phrases to use when shopping
Everyone needs to go shopping, whether it is for food, clothing or household items like furniture.
These phrases will help you find what you want to buy and how much it costs, as well as some of the things you might see.
Here are common phrases to use when shopping:
- Are you open on 10am?
- Can I have this delivered?
- Can someone help me carry this out?
- Can you help me?
- Do you have this shoe in a different color?
- How much does this cost?
- I am looking for a size 39 woolen cardigan.
- I do not know my size.
- I do not need a bag.
- I need this in a size 44.
- It cost a fortune.
- It cost an arm and a leg.
- We're open from 10am to 8pm, seven days a week
- We're open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
- What time do you close today?
- What time do you close?
- What time do you open tomorrow?
- What times are you open?
- Where can I find T-Shirt.
English phrases to ask for repeating
Do you often not understand people or fail to hear what they are saying? As an English learner, you will need to tell others that English is not your first language.
You will also need to ask native speakers to repeat phrases and words or to speak slower.
Native English speakers often speak unclearly or too fast, making it difficult to understand their words.
The following phrases will be useful for this:
- Can you say that again?
- Could you explain in another way?
- Could you please repeat that for me?
- Could you please repeat what you just said for me?
- Could you please talk slower?
- Could you please tell me what you means?
- Could you repeat that please?
- Could you repeat that word, please?
- Could you say that again?
- Could you speak louder, please?
- Could you speak more slowly, please?
- Could you speak up?
- How do you spell that?
- I am learning English.I do not understand.
- I am sorry, I can not catch what you said.
- I cannot hear what you said.
- I cannot hear you well.
- I didn't get all of what you were saying.
- I didn't quite catch that.
- I didn't quite hear you,
- I didn't understand.
- I don't know it.
- I don't know what it means.
- I still didn't get that.
- I'm sorry to interrupt, but I don't understand that word?
- I'm sorry, but I didn't understand you.
- I'm sorry, it is too noisy here.
- I'm sorry.
- It would be better if you speak just a little more slowly.
- pardon,
- What do you mean?
- What does you mean?
- Would you mind repeating please.
English phrases you might use at a job
Sometimes, we need help communicating what we mean in the workplace.
Here are basic phrases you might use at a job:
- (Oh really?) Actually, I thought it was right.
- Can I help you?
- Can I see the report?
- Do you need any help?
- Here's my business card
- He's been promoted
- He's in a meeting
- He's not in today
- He's off sick today
- He's on paternity leave
- How can I help you?
- How do you get to work?
- How long does it take you to get to work?
- How long have you worked here?
- I am just about to going to take my coffee break.
- I can't access my emails
- I need to do some photocopying
- I will be with you in a moment.
- I'll be back at 1.30.
- I'll be free after lunch
- I'll be with you in a moment
- I'm afraid I'm not well and won't be able to come in today
- I'm going out for lunch.
- I've left the file on your desk
- Please call me (back) at 4PM.
- She's having a leaving-do on Friday (colloquial)
- She's on holiday
- She's on maternity leave
- She's resigned
- Sorry to keep you waiting
- The internet's down at the moment
- The photocopier's jammed
- The printer isn't working
- The reception's on the first floor
- The traffic was terrible today
- This invoice is overdue
- What can I do for you?
- What time does the meeting finish?
- What time does the meeting start?
- What time is our meeting?
- When is the deadline?
- Where's the photocopier?
English phrases to ask how someone is
You will learn common phrases to ask how someone is and respond to it, that you can use in your daily English conversations.
Here are common phrases to ask someone is:
- Can't complain.
- Could be better.
- Couldn't be better!
- Great!
- How are things?
- How are you?
- How have you been?
- How ya doin'?
- How's it going?
- How's life?
- How's your family?
- I'm fine, thanks. How about you?
- I've been busy.
- Not bad.
- Not so great.
- Pretty good.
- Same as always
- What have you been up to lately?
- What's new?
- What's up?
Thank you phrases
Thanking is a way to show how much you appreciate the recipient. If you know more English phrases for thanks, it will always be appreciated, regardless of the circumstances. People like to be thanked.
Here are common phrases to say thank you and respond to it:
- Anytime.
- Don't mention it.
- Glad to help.
- I'm glad I could help.
- It was not a problem at all.
- It was the least I could do.
- It's my pleasure.
- My pleasure.
- No problem.
- No worries.
- Sure!
- Thank you.
- That's all right.
- You're very welcome.
- You're welcome.
- Anytime.
- Don't mention it.
- I appreciate that.
- I owe you one.
- I really appreciate it.
- I'm really grateful.
- My pleasure.
- No problem.
- No worries.
- That's so kind of you.
English phrases for asking information
Asking for information can be as simple as asking for the time, or as complicated as asking for details about a complicated process. In both cases, it's important to use the appropriate form for the situation.
Here are common phrases to ask for information:
- Can anyone tell me what time the bank opens?
- Can you tell me which ones I should or should not eliminate?
- Could anyone tell me how I can get it back?
- Could you tell me how to get to the train station?
- Do you happen to know his new telephone number?
- Do you have any idea where he lives?
- Do you have any idea why today's class was cancelled?
- Do you know how long the movie is?
- I don't suppose you could speed things up.
- I wonder if you could tell me who I need to contact to talk about job openings.
- Would you happen to know if she goes to GYM.
English phrases for asking somebody's opinion
It's a good idea to ask someone else's opinion before you tell them what you think or they tell you what they think. You may be completely different.
Here are common phrases when agreeing and disapproving:
- Absolutely.
- Beats me.
- Did I get you right?
- Don't take it to heart.
- Exactly.
- I agree 100%.
- I can tell.
- I can't help you there.
- I couldn't agree more.
- I couldn't agree with you more.
- I don't have strong feelings either way.
- I have no idea/clue.
- I have no opinion on the matter.
- I suppose so.
- I'll say!
- I'm not really sure.
- I'm not so sure about that.
- It doesn't make any difference to me.
- I've been wondering that, too.
- I've never given it much thought.
- Not necessarily.
- Oh, That explains it.
- Tell me about it!
- That's for sure.
- That's not how I see it.
- That's so true
- That's so true.
- You're telling me!
English phrases to responding to good and bad news
News is something most of us can not live without. Whether it is the local, national or international news we crave it (really want it). However, not all news, as we well know, is good news and often we receive bad news. So here are some ways for responding about the news in English.
Here are common phrases to respond to news:
- Awesome!
- Congratulations!
- Great news!
- How wonderful!
- I can't believe it!
- I can't believe that!
- I’m glad to hear that!
- I'm so sorry to hear that.
- Incredible!
- Lucky you!
- My goodness!
- Oh no, is this news true?
- Oh, dear!
- Oh, how wonderful!
- Poor you. (Use this to respond to bad situations that are not too serious)
- Sounds great!
- Superb!
- That must be awful
- That sounds like great news!
- That's great!
- That's terrible.
- That's wonderful / fantastic!
- Too bad!
English phrases to invite someone somewhere
Whether you are living in a new city or country or whether you just want to get out more and get to know more people where you live, making an invitation is the door to an active social life and potential new friendships.
Here are common phrases to invite someone somewhere:
- Are you doing anything Saturday night?
- Are you free Saturday night?
- Come to the beach with me next week.
- Do you wanna see a movie?
- Do you want to come to a concert with me?
- How about we see a movie later?
- Want to grab a coffee after work?
- We should get together sometime.
- What are you up to on Friday night?
- Why don't we have coffee tomorrow?
- Would you like to join me for dinner?
English phrases for talking about food
If you want to go with someone or alone to a restaurant, you'll need many different descriptive English phrases and words for food and how it tastes.
Here are common phrases for food:
- Have you tried the chocolate cake? It's really good!
- His mom makes such mouth-watering cakes that I just can't wait to go over to his house tonight.
- I love how flavorful this soup is with all the fresh herbs and vegetables in it.
- I usually just have a salad for lunch because I'm trying to lose weight.
- I've been a vegetarian for a year and I don’t even miss eating meat at all.
- If I'm too tired to cook, I just make a quick and easy one-pot meal.
- I'm so glad I ordered this pizza—it tastes great!
- My grandma makes amazing cookies, cakes and pies. I always look forward to dessert when I go to her house.
- No matter how busy I am, I try to eat healthy and exercise every day.
- That strawberry muffin looks tempting, but I’m on a low-carb diet.
- This cake is so moist! It’s just too sweet for my taste.This chicken is too spicy. It could use a little less chili sauce.
- This cheesecake is really yummy. I’m going for another slice.
- This tiramisu tastes different. I think I prefer the chocolate cake.
- To stay healthy, I go to the gym, cycle to work and eat a balanced diet.
- When I'm busy with school, I usually end up eating fast food.
- Whenever I get home early from work, I make myself a nice home-cooked meal.
- Wow, this pasta salad is amazing!
English phrases describing the weather
Have you ever noticed how people seem to love talking about the weather? Whether they're standing in the grocery checkout line or meeting new people at a party, the weather is quite the popular conversation starter.
Here are common phrases for weather:
- A bolt of lightning tore across the sky and a peal of thunder followed.
- A curtain of rain beat down from the heavens.
- A sky of mackerel clouds, crimson and amber-tinted.
- Beautiful day, isn't it?
- Did you have a hard time driving today?
- Do you think it will snow?
- From freezing night, it turned to scorching day as the sun climbed towards its zenith.
- I can't believe the fog!
- I heard it’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow. That's good, right?
- I'm drenched.
- I'm soaked to the skin.
- It looks like it's going to snow.
- It must be minus five or more.
- It scorching hot outside
- It was a grey afternoon with a dull sky threatening rain.
- It’s sunny today, isn't it?
- It's a little chilly.
- It's a lovely day.
- It's absolutely boiling! (boiling = extremely hot)
- It's been raining all day.
- It's below zero.
- It's freezing. (= extremely cold)
- It's nice in the sun.
- It's positively tropical today.
- It's pretty frosty today.
- It's quite fresh – take a jumper.
- It's so hot! It must be over 80.
- Looks like rain.
- Make sure to bundle up. (bundle up = put on warm clothes for protection against the cold)
- My car's iced up, it's that cold.
- The moon was abnormally large and it bathed the earth with its luminous glow.
- The weather's nice today, right?
- The weather's lovely.
- We could do with some rain.
- We couldn't ask for a nicer day, could we?
- We'd better run for it.
- We're having a heatwave!
- You can see your breath in the air.
English phrases for being tired
If we do not know many expressions, then it will be hard to communicate with that person.
Let's take a look at some different ways to express tiredness and fatigue in English.
Here are common phrases for being tired:
- I'm very tired.
- He is pretty tired.
- I am unbelievably tired.
- I can hardly keep my eyes open.
- I feel drained after working all weekend.
- I felt tired yesterday.
- I have been wearing these shoes for 2 years. They are worn out.
- I have worked every day for the last 3 months. I'm worn out.
- I have worked overtime every day for the past month. I am burnt out.
- I think I need a vacation. I feel burnt out.
- I'm beat
- I'm dead tired.
- I'm exhausted.
- I'm gonna hit the sack. (hit the sack = go to bed)
- I'm kind of tired.
- She felt exhausted after the game.
- She is mentally tired.
- We are physically tired
- We have been so busy this week. I am worn out.
- We have been working so much. I am drained.
- We will feel very tired tomorrow.
English phrases for free time and hobbies
Here are some English phrases which will be useful when talking about your hobbies and interests.
Here are common phrases to talk about free time and hobbies:
- Cooking is my hobby.
- Dancing is great fun.
- Do you enjoy swimming?
- Do you like reading books?
- Doing homework is boring.
- He has been reading books for two hours.
- He is interested in reading books.
- He is reading books.
- He likes reading books.
- He was reading books.
- His hobby is reading books.
- I collect my cousin from the kindergarten.
- I do a paper route to earn a little money.
- I don't agree with hunting.
- I enjoy working on the computer.
- I enjoy writing picture postcards.
- I go training every evening.
- I got a new computer for my birthday.
- I learned to ride the bike at the age of 5.
- I want to tell you something about my family.
- I've got two older brothers.
- My mother works as a clerk in an office.
- Now and then I do babysitting.
- On Saturdays I have to cook for the family.
- Once a week I do some handball practice.
- One of my hobbies is writing letters to my pen-friends.
- Playing football is fun.
- Reading books can be great fun.
- Sometimes I read so much that I forget the housework.
- What he really likes is going by bike.
- When it's not so hot, I go rollerskating.
- When the weather is bad, I read books or watch TV.
- When we are on holidays I like walking in the mountains.
English Phrases to talk about wishes and hypotheses
We all have dreams and wishes. But can you talk about them?
Here are common phrases for wishes and imagination:
- He often thinks of climbing trees.
- I always have to get home early. If only my parents would let me stay out later.
- I can't imagine he is going by bike.
- I don't like my work. I wish I could get a better job.
- I dream about building a big house.
- I look forward to seeing you at the weekend.
- I wish I could see you next week.
- I wish I had worked harder when I was at school.
- I wish I hadn't spent so much money last month.
- I wish I was taller.
- I wish we had a bigger house.
- I would always help someone who really needed help.
- If only we could stop for a drink.
- I'm hoping to see her.
- Imagine you won the lottery. What would you do with the money?
- It's a pity Jack wasn't at the party. He would have enjoyed it.
- John was very lazy at school. Now he wishes he had worked harder.
- John wishes he wasn't so busy.
- She's looking forward to seeing her brother.
- Suppose you hadn't passed your exams. What would you have done?
- That's a dreadful noise. I wish it would stop.
- They are always busy. If only they had more time.
- Those steps are dangerous. Suppose someone has an accident.
- We are looking forward to going out at the weekend.
- We decided to buy a new car.
- We decided to run through the forest.
- We should phone them in case they are lost.
- What if he had lost his job? What would his wife have said?
- What if he lost his job? What would happen then?
- Why didn't you ask me? I could have told you the answer.
English phrases for your new job
If you're worried about speaking English at a new job, don't try to memorize the complicated stuff.
Your coworkers won't test your grammar knowledge, and they probably won't care if you use a great vocabulary. Rather, sentences that teach you to speak easily with them.
Here are 36 sentences to be said in the new job:
- Are there any rules I should know about?
- Can you please repeat that?
- Do we still have that meeting after lunch?
- Do you have a minute?
- Do you mind if I record this?
- Excuse me, can you please speak up?
- Good morning/afternoon/night.
- Have a nice weekend.
- Hi Fathi, nice to meet yous.
- How long have you been working here?
- How was your weekend?/How did your weekend go?
- How's everything?/How's it going?
- I can't believe how hot/cold it is today!
- I don't understand this. Can you please explain it?
- I have the report/information you asked fo
- I just started working here. I'm the new Customer Service.
- I know a good place nearby.
- I love your (shoes/necklace etc.). Where did you get it/them?
- If you have a moment, I would love your thoughts on this.
- I'll have the same/I'll have what (s)he's having.
- I'm doing fine, thanks./Not bad, thanks./Pretty good, thanks.
- I'm good, but thanks for the offer.
- I'm having trouble with something. Do you know who can help me?
- I'm still learning English, so please speak slowly.
- I'm working in the Marketing department. What do you do here?
- Let me see if I understand this.
- Let's get a coffee sometime.
- Let's grab lunch.
- Need a lift?/Need a ride?
- See you later/tomorrow.
- So what do you do here?
- Thanks, I appreciate it.
- Want to order out?
- Where are we meeting?
- Where can I find the (bathroom/coffee maker /[anything])?
- Where can I leave this?
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