Conversational English

I-Basic Conversational Expressions

In this first Module, we will look at some basic everyday conversational expressions.

1-Greetings

There are many English expressions for greetings, ranging from informal to formal ones. Below are some common expressions.

　

· Informal Greetings

o Hi!

o Hello!

o What's up?

o What's new?

o How's it going?

· More Formal Greetings

o Good morning. How are you today?

o Good afternoon. How's everything?

o Good evening. How have you been?

· Greeting Someone You Haven't Seen for a while

o I haven't seen you in ages! How have you been?

o How're things going?

o How are you getting along?

o Long time no see! (Informal)

· Greeting Someone You Are Surprised to See

o Fancy meeting you here!

o Never thought I'd see you here!

o What a surprise to see you here!

2-Responding to a greeting

As you can see in Unit 1, when we greet someone we know, we usually will ask the question "how are you" or "how have you been?" Below are some useful responses.

· Expressing You're Healthy and Fine

o I'm fine.

o Great.

o Couldn't be better.

o (I) can't complain.

· Expressing You're Busy

o (I've) been busy.

o I'm snowed under. (Meaning: I'm very busy)

o Very busy. There aren't enough hours in the day.

· Expressing You Have Been Doing OK (Neutral)

o So-so.

o Same as always.

o Same as usual.

o Plugging along. (informal)

· Expressing You Have Not Been Doing Well

o Not too great.

o Not so good.

o Not too well.

o Could be better.

o Lousy. (Meaning: very bad) (slang)

3-Introductions

How do you introduce your friend to someone else? Below are some useful English expressions.

· Introducing Mike to John

· John, I'd like you to meet Mike.

· John, this is my friend Mike.

· John, (this is) Mike. Mike, John.

· John, have you met Mike?

· John, do you know Mike?

· What to Say When You've Just Been Introduced

· Good to meet you.

· Nice to meet you.

· I'm glad to meet you.

· What a pleasure to meet you. (formal)

· A pleasure. (formal)

· What to Say When You Didn't Catch Someone's Name

· I'm sorry. What's your name again?

· Sorry, I didn't catch your name.

· I'm sorry, could you tell me your name again?

4-Saying Good-Bye

There are many English expressions for saying good-bye, ranging from informal to formal ones. Below are some common expressions.

· Simple Good-byes

o Bye.

o Good-bye.

o Bye for now.

o See you later.

o Talk to you soon.

o See you around. Take care.

o See you real soon.

o See you tomorrow / next week.

o See ya. (informal)

o See you later, alligator. (slang)

· More Formal Good-byes

o (It was) nice to see you. Good-bye.

o (It was) good to see you. Good-bye.

o (It was) nice talking to you. Bye.

o Take care. See you again.

· Saying Goodbye to Someone You Have Just Met

o Nice meeting you.

o It was a pleasure meeting you. (formal)

o It's a real pleasure to have met you. (formal)

o It's been a real pleasure. (formal)

5-Sample Dialogs

Situation 1:

Keiko was shopping with Naomi at a bookstore where she ran into Ichiro (met Ichiro by chance). They hadn't seen each other for a while.

Keiko: Hey! What a surprise to see you here!

Ichiro: Yeah! Haven't seen you in ages! How've you been?

Keiko: Fine. How about you?

Ichiro: Well, just plugging along.

Keiko: Oh, have you two met?

Ichiro: I don't think so.

Keiko: Naomi, this is Ichiro. Ichiro, Naomi.

Ichiro: Nice to meet you.

Naomi: Same here.

(They chatted for a while)

Ichiro: Listen, I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again, Keiko.

Keiko: Nice seeing you, too. Let's get together again soon.

Ichiro: Yes. Let's do that. Nice talking to you, Naomi. Take care.

Naomi: Nice meeting you, Ichiro. See you.

Situation 2:

Sam was at a business conference and he was introduced to John for the first time.

Sam: Good conference, isn't it?

Mary: Sure is. Have you met John yet?

Sam: No. Who's he?

Mary: He is the representative from Global Inc. Let me introduce him to you.

Sam: OK.

(They approached John)

Mary: John, I want you to meet a colleague of mine, Sam Malone. Sam, this is John Brown.

Sam: Nice to meet you, Mr. Brown.

John: Nice to meet you. Do call me John.

(They chatted for a while)

John: Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Sam.

Sam: Nice talking to you. Let's stay in touch.

John: Sure, I will.

II-Conversational Strategies

For a conversation to be successful, we use a lot of "conversational strategies". For example, we use some expressions to get someone's attention, give feedback to someone's comment, clarify your comment, etc.

The basic purpose of all these strategies is to let the other person know that you are listening and are trying to understand what s/he is saying, as well as to make yourself understood by the other person.

In English, we can carry out most conversational strategies by using some fixed or idiomatic expressions. These expressions are very useful. By learning and using them, your English will sound more natural and your communication will be more successful.

1-Getting Someone's Attention

When you want to start a conversation, you need to first get the other person's attention. There are many ways to do that. Below are some common expressions that you can use.

· Starting an Informal Conversation

· Listen (to this).

· Listen up.

· Get a load of this.

· Get this.

· Guess what?

· Guess what I just found out.

· Have you heard the latest?

· Did you hear the news?

· Starting a More Formal Conversation

· Can I talk to you?

· Do you have a minute?

· Let's sit down and talk.

· May I have a word with you?

Examples:

Dialog 1: (between 2 friends)

· Ann: Guess what?

· Jim: What?

· Ann: I'm getting married next month.

· Jim: Congratulations! Who's the lucky guy?

Dialog 2: (between 2 coworkers)

· Ken: Hey, did you hear the news?

· Joe: No. What news?

· Ken: Tom has got the sack. (*to get the sack = to get fired)

Dialog 3: (between a boss and his employee)

· Boss: Jim, do you have a minute?

· Jim: Yes.

· Boss: Let's sit down and talk.

· Jim: Sure.

Dialog 4: (between a boss and his employee)

· Jim: Mr. Tanaka. Do you have a minute?

· Boss: Yes.

· Jim: May I have a word with you?

· Boss: Sure. Come in, sit down.

2-Back Channeling

Back channeling signals are used in the course of a conversation to indicate to the person we are talking to that you are paying attention. Below are some common expressions that you can use.

· Showing You are Listening

o Yes.

o Right.

o Uh-huh.

o I see.

o OK.

· Encouraging the Other Person to Keep Talking

o Yes. Go on.

o Yes. Keep going.

o And?

· When the Other Person is Repetitious

o So you just said.

o I get the point already.

o I know already.

o I think we've covered that already.

Example:

Dialog: (between 2 friends)

Jim: I had a day off yesterday...

Joe: I see.

Jim: ... So I went on a date with my girlfriend ...

Joe: And?

Jim: ... and we went to see "Lost in Translation".

Joe: Uh-huh. What's it about?

Jim: Well, it's about two American people - they are strangers, and ...

Joe: Yes. Keep going.

Jim: and they met by chance in Tokyo...

Joe: Right. And?

Jim: and these two people are strangers ...

Joe: So you just said.

3-Showing Disbelief or Surprise

During a conversation, someone might tell you something that is surprising, outrageous, or even doesn't seem to be true. How can you express your surprise or disbelief? What should you say in response? Below are some common expressions that you can use.

· Showing Disbelief or Surprise

o Really?

o No kidding!

o Are you serious?

o You're making this up, aren't you?

o No way! (Informal)

o Are you for real? (Informal)

o Are you pulling my leg? (idiom) (to pull someone's leg = to fool someone)

· Responding to Something Outrageous or Really Surprising

o You've got to be kidding!

o You've got to be kidding me!

o I can't believe it!

o Unbelievable!

o Come on! (Informal)

o Get out of here! (Informal)

o That blows my mind. (Informal)

Examples:

Dialog 1: (between 2 friends)

· Joe: Listen to this. A 60-year-old woman gave birth to a baby yesterday in Italy.

· May: You're making this up, aren't you?

· Joe: No, it's in the newspaper.

Dialog 2: (between 2 friends)

· Kim: Do you remember John?

· Ann: You mean our high school friend?

· Kim: That's him. He was in last week's national singing contest...

· Ann: And?

· Kim: ...and he won first prize!

· Ann: Get out of here! John is tone-deaf!

· Kim: I know.

· Ann: Unbelievable! That really blows my mind.

4-Agreeing and Disagreeing

In a conversation, you may agree totally with what the other person said, or you may agree partially, with reservation. On the other hand, you may mildly or even strongly disagree with the other person. What can you say in each of these situations? Below are some common expressions that you can use.

· Showing Total Agreement

o Absolutely.

o Exactly.

o Indeed!

o That's for sure.

o You're right.

o I totally agree with you.

o I agree with you a hundred percent.

o I couldn't agree with you more.

o Can't argue with that.

o Couldn't have said it better.

o We see eye to eye on this. (idiom) (Meaning: we agree totally on this)

· Showing Partial Agreement

o You may be right.

o Well, perhaps (you're right).

o You might have a point there.

· Showing Mild Disagreement

o It may be so, but ...

o I'm not sure if I agree with you totally there.

· Showing Strong Disagreement

o I'm afraid I disagree with you.

o I'm afraid I can't agree with you.

o I couldn't disagree (with you) more.

o I disagree completely.

o You've got that wrong. (informal)

o You're dead wrong. (informal)

Examples:

Dialog 1: (between 2 friends)

· Jim: Listen to this. They are going to ban smoking on the beach in Los Angeles.

· Joe: Really? That's good news. I think they should do the same here in Japan.

· Jim: Exactly!

Dialog 2: (between 2 friends)

· Ann: Guess what? I've made an appointment to have a nose job next week.

· Liz: A nose job? Are you for real?

· Ann: Yeah! What's wrong with that? If I look better, I'll feel better.

· Liz: I'm not sure if I agree with you totally there. Looks is not that important. What's important is your personality.

· Ann: You're dead wrong, Liz! Looks is everything for a woman.

· Liz: Well, I'm afraid we don't see eye to eye on this.

(*a nose job = cosmetic surgery on the nose)

5-Asking Someone to Repeat

In a conversation, you may not be able to get everything the other person has said. It may be because the person speaks too softly, or too fast, or may be there are words or expressions you don't know. In these cases, it is perfectly OK to let the other person know that you have trouble hearing him/her. You can use some of the phrases below.

· When You Want Someone to Repeat What S/he Just Said

o I beg your pardon?

o Pardon me?

o Excuse me?

o What did you say?

o What was that?

o I'm sorry. I missed that.

o I didn't quite get that. (Meaning: I didn't quite hear or understand that.)

o Could you repeat that?

o Say that again? (Informal)

o Come again? (Informal)

· When Someone Speaks Too Fast

o Could you speak more slowly?

o Slow down! I can't follow you! (Informal)

· When Someone Speaks Too Softly

o Could you speak louder?

o Speak up. I can't hear you. (Informal)

Example:

Dialog: (between a customer and a computer salesperson)

· Salesperson: If you buy this computer today, you'll get a 30% discount, which means you only have to pay $1598.98.

· Customer: I'm sorry. Say that again?

· Salesperson: If you buy this computer today, you only have to pay $1598.98 - a 30% discount!

6-Checking For Understanding

When having a conversation with someone, we always want to make sure that we understand what each other is saying. It is a good conversational strategy to check, from time to time, if the person you are talking to understands what you are saying.

When, on the other hand, being asked if YOU understand what the other person is saying, you should respond honestly - that is, if you don't understand, say so, and ask the person to repeat.

Below are some useful expressions which you can use.

· When You Want to Make Sure Someone Understands You

· (Do you) understand what I'm saying?

· (Do you) know what I mean?

· (Do you) know what I'm talking about?

· Does that make any sense?

· Do you follow me?

· Are you with me?

· With me so far?

· You know?

· You see?

· Right?

· When You Understand What Someone Is Saying

· I see what you're saying.

· I see what you mean.

· I know what you mean.

· I know.

· I understand what you're saying.

· I'm with you.

· I hear you.

· I hear what you're saying.

· When You Don't Understand What Someone Is Saying

o I don't get it.

o I don't follow you.

o I'm not sure I get your point.

o I'm not sure I know what you mean.

Example:

Dialog 1: (between a father and his son)

· Son: I want to quit school.

· Dad: Are you serious?

· Son: Yeah! I'm smart, I don't need to go to university...

· Dad: Listen. I don't care how smart you are, if you don't have a good education, you can't get a good job these days. Do you know what I mean?

· Son: Yeah, I guess.

· Dad: Education is the most thing for you right now...

· Son: OK, I hear you.

·

Dialog 2: (between a computer instructor and a student)

· Instructor: To send an email, you just have to click on this button, type in the email address, or you can select an address from the address book. Do you follow me?

· Student: I don't get it. What address book?

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