Lesson summary
Video transcript
Hi everyone. My name’s Shane. Today you are going to learn 25 beginner English phrases. These are phrases you can use at work, at school when you’re traveling and in many other situations. I’m going to show the meaning of the phrase, when to use the phrase and how to answer the phrase like a native speaker. So if you’re ready to learn some new phrases, let’s get started.
Phrase #1
Number one. Hello. Hello. This is the most basic phrase you can use to greet someone in English. For example, if you see your friend, you can say ‘Hello.’ If you see your mum, you can say ‘Hello.’ There are lots of different ways to say ‘Hello’ in English. You can say ‘Hi’. Hey! Yo! What’s up? Howdy! But when we’re using the phrase ‘Hello’, you can use this phrase with anyone at anytime. Now if someone says ‘Hello’ to you, all you have to do is say ‘Hello’ back or you can just say ‘Hi.’ It really depends on the situation and what you want to say.
Phrase #2
Number two. Good morning. Good morning. This is also another greeting in English but it’s more formal than just saying ‘hello’. For example, let’s pretend you get to work and you want to greet your boss or your colleagues, you can say ‘Good morning’. Good morning. Now please note that we only say ‘Good morning’ in the morning. If it’s afternoon, you can say ‘Good afternoon.’ If it’s in the evening, you can say ‘Good evening.’ Now if someone says ‘Good morning’ to you, all you have to do is say ‘Good morning’ back. Easy, right?
Phrase #3
Number three. How are you? How are you? This is another common greeting that native speakers use all the time. You can say ‘How are you’ to anyone at anytime. Now please note that there are many many many different ways to say ‘How are you?’ For example, ‘How are yuh?’ How are you going? How is it going? How are you doing?
When we ask someone how they are in English, we don’t really care how they are. So if someone asks you ‘How are you’, it doesn’t mean that that person wants to know your whole life story. It’s just a way to start a conversation. Now when native speakers say ‘How are you’, they often say ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ before ‘How are you’. For example. Hi. How are you? Hello. How are you? Now if someone asks you ‘How are you’, some of the most common answers are ‘I’m good. How are you?’ I’m not bad. You? Or a more formal answer is ‘I’m well, thanks. Yourself?’
Phrase #4
Number four. It’s good to see you! It’s good to see you! This is a phrase that we use to show someone that we are happy to see them. It’s normally used with ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’. For example, ‘Hi! Good to see you!’ Hello! Good to see you! Now please note that this phrase is normally used with people we know already. So if you meet someone new, it’s best not to use this phrase. You can use the next phrase instead. So if someone says ‘It’s good to see you’ to me, I can answer back by saying ‘It’s good to see you, too!’ So I just say the phrase that they said to me and I add the word ‘too’ at the end. It’s good to see you, too!
Phrase #5
Number five. It’s nice to meet you! It’s nice to meet you! We use this phrase when we meet someone new. We don’t use this phrase when we already know the person. For example, let’s pretend my student says to me ‘It’s nice to meet you!’ I would be a bit confused. I would say ‘You don’t remember me?’
So let’s pretend you meet someone new and this person says to you ‘Hi. I’m John.’ You can say back to them ‘Hi. I’m …’, you say your name and then you can say ‘It’s nice to meet you!’ So if I met John, I would say ‘Hi John. I’m Shane. It’s nice to meet you!’ Now if someone says ‘It’s nice to meet you’, you can just say ‘It’s nice to meet you, too!’ Use the same phrase that they used and add the word ‘too’ at the end.
Phrase #6
Number six. What is your name? This is the most basic phrase that you can use to ask somebody’s name. Now there are two main ways to answer this question. You can say ‘My name is’ and then say your name. For example, for me, I would say ‘My name is Shane.’ The second way you can answer is by saying ‘I’m’ and then you say your name. For me, I would say ‘I’m Shane.’
Phrase #7
Number seven. Where are you from? Where are you from? This is the most basic way to ask someone what their country is. Please note that this phrase does not mean ‘Where did you come from today’. This question is asking about your country and sometimes it’s asking about your city. To answer this, simply say ‘I’m from’ and then say your country. For example, if this person here asked me ‘Hey! Where are you from’ I would say ‘I’m from Australia.’ I’m from Australia.
Phrase #8
Number eight. What do you do? What do you do? This is the most basic way to ask someone what their job is. Please note that ‘What do you do’ does not mean ‘What are you doing right now’. For example, right now it is 12:01 so if someone says ‘What do you do’, it does not mean ‘What are you doing right now at 12:01’. This question is asking about your job. So to answer this question, there are two main ways. You can ‘I’m a’ and then you say your job. For me, I would say ‘I’m a teacher.’ The second way to answer is by saying ‘I’ and then saying what you do. For example, for me, I would say ‘I teach English.’
Phrase #9
Number nine. What do you do in your free time? This is the most basic way to ask someone about their hobbies. This question is not asking about work. Now if someone asks you this, there are two main ways to answer. The first way is by saying ‘I like’ plus a verb ING. For example, ‘I like learning languages.’ I like playing soccer. I like making YouTube videos. The second way to answer is by saying ‘I like to’ plus verb 1. For example, ‘I like to swim.’ I like to play golf. I like to make YouTube videos.
Phrase #10
Number ten. How old are you? How old are you? This is the most basic way to ask someone what their age is. Now there are two main ways to answer this. The first way is by saying ‘I’m’ then you say your age and then you say ‘years old’. For example, ‘I’m 21 years old.’ I’m 35 years old. You can also answer the question just by saying ‘I’m’ and then your age. For example, ‘I’m 21.’ I’m 35. I’m 112.
Phrase #11
Number eleven. Yes. Yes. ‘Yes’ is a word that we can use to show that we agree with something, we want something or we think something is true. For example, if I say to you ‘Are you a student’ and you are a student, you can say ‘Yes.’ Why? Because that thing is true. If someone says to you ‘Would you like a cup of tea’ and you want a cup of tea, you can say ‘Yes.’ You can say ‘yes’ because you want that thing. Another example could be if someone says to you ‘He’s a nice man’ and you agree. You think he is a nice man. You can say ‘Yes he is.’ That means you agree with what the person said.
Phrase #12
Number twelve. No. No. ‘No’ is a word that we can use when we don’t agree with something, when we don’t want something or when we think something is not true. For example, if I say to you ‘Are you a student’ and you are not a student, you can say ‘No I’m not’ because that thing is not true.
If someone asks you ‘Do you want a cup of tea’ and you don’t want a cup of tea, you can say ‘No, I don’t.’ We say ‘No’ because you don’t want that thing. Another example could be if someone says ‘He’s a nice man’ and you think he is not a nice man, you can say ‘No he isn’t.’ We say ‘No’ because you don’t agree with what the person said. You don’t think it’s true.
Phrase #13
Number thirteen. Please. Please. This is a word that we can use to make questions or requests more polite. For example, ‘Can I have a cup of tea, please’ is more polite than saying ‘Can I have a cup tea’. You can also use the word ‘Please’ to mean ‘Yes’ in a very polite way. For example if someone says ‘Would you like a cup of tea’, you can say ‘Please.’ Please. That means ‘Yes.’ Yes I want a cup of tea.
Phrase #14
Number fourteen. Thank you. Thank you. This is the most basic phrase that you can use to show that you are grateful or you appreciate what someone has done for you. Now there are many different ways to say ‘Thank you’. You can say ‘Thanks!’ Thanks a lot! Thanks very much! Thanks a bunch! Thanks a million! For example, let’s pretend someone does this. They give me a birthday present. I can say ‘Thank you.’ Thank you. This means I appreciate what they did for me.
Phrase #15
Number fifteen. You’re welcome. You’re welcome. This is the most basic phrase that you can use to answer ‘Thank you’. If you say ‘You’re welcome’ that means it was no problem to do what you did. So if someone ever says ‘Thank you’ to you, you can just say ‘You’re welcome’ or ‘You are welcome.’ You can use this phrase with anyone at anytime.
Phrase #16
Number sixteen. What’s the time? What’s the time? This is the most basic way to ask what the time is. Now if someone asks you ‘What’s the time’, you can simply answer it by just saying the time. For example, right now it’s 12:15. So if you said to me ‘Shane, what’s the time’, I can just say ’12:15′ or you can say ‘It’s’ and then the time. So I could say ‘It’s 12:15.’
Phrase #17
Number seventeen. What’s the date today? What’s the date today? This is the most basic way to ask the date. So if someone asks you this question, you can simply answer by saying ‘The’ and then you give the date. So if you asked me ‘What’s the date’, I would say ‘The 13th of September’ or you can add the word ‘It’s’ at the start. So if you said to me ‘Shane, what’s the date today’, I could say ‘It’s the 13th of September.’
Phrase #18
Number eighteen. What’s the weather like? What’s the weather like? This is the most basic way to ask about the weather. Now to answer this, all you have to do is say ‘It’s’ and then describe the weather conditions. For example, ‘It’s sunny.’ It’s rainy. It’s hot. It’s cold. It’s cloudy. It’s stormy. After you have said the conditions, you can also say the temperature. For example you could say ‘It’s hot. It’s 30 degrees’ or ‘It’s cold. It’s 5 degrees.’
Phrase #19
Number nineteen. When’s your birthday? When’s your birthday? This is the most basic way to ask someone their birthday. Now to answer this, you simply say ‘The’ and then you give the date. So you could say ‘The 10th of July.’ The 16th of May. The 7th of November.
Phrase #20
Number twenty. What’s your phone number? What’s your phone number? This is the most basic way to ask someone their phone number. To answer this question, all you have to do is simply say your phone number. But please note that when you’re giving your phone number, we normally give it in three parts. Let me show you what I mean.
Look at this number right here. If someone asked me my phone number, I wouldn’t say ‘It’s 0450675432.’ That’s too fast. If you say that to someone, they probably won’t be able to remember or understand you. So a better way to say it is by saying it in three parts. For example, 0450 675 432. You see how I did it in three parts and it’s much easier to hear and understand.
Phrase #21
Number twenty-one. Where is the nearest … ? Where is the nearest … ? Now this is the most basic way to ask for directions to something. For example, ‘Where’s the nearest bank?’ Where’s the nearest train station? Where’s the nearest bus station? Now to answer this, you simply give directions. If you don’t know how to give directions, you can check out this video here or you can find the link in the description below.
Phrase #22
Number twenty-two. What are you doing? What are you doing? This is the most basic way to ask someone what they are doing right now. Right now in the present time at this very moment. So if you said to me ‘Shane, what are you doing’ I would say ‘I’m filming this YouTube video.’ And note here how I answered. I said ‘I’m’ then I said a verb ING. Some other examples could be ‘I’m eating.’ I’m doing my homework. I’m going to the gym. Just remember. If someone says ‘What are you doing’ doing, you need to have an ING in your answer if you are talking about right now.
Phrase #23
Number twenty-three. How do I get to the … ? How do I get to the … ? This is another way that you can ask for directions to something but we normally use this phrase when we’re talking about something specific. For example, ‘How do I get to the McDonald’s in the city?’ Now if you’re asking about something that’s not specific, you can say ‘the’ to ‘a’.
For example, you could say ‘How do I get to a McDonald’s?’ How do I get to a park? When we use ‘the’ we’re normally talking about something specific. When we use ‘a’ we’re normally talking about something that is not specific. Again, to answer this question, you simply give directions.
Phrase #24
Number twenty-four. How was the … ? How was the … ? Now we normally use this phrase to ask how something was in the past. For example, was it good? Was it bad? Was it fun? Was it exciting? For example, let’s pretend your friend went to a concert last night and you want to know was the concert good? Was the concert bad? You can say ‘How was the concert last night’ and he can answer by saying ‘It was’ and then a word to describe it. For example, ‘It was amazing!’ It was awesome! It was great!
Phrase #25
Number twenty-five. Could I have a … ? Or ‘Could I have the … ?’ Now again, we normally say ‘the’ when we’re talking about something specific and we normally say ‘a’ when we’re talking about something not specific. For example, ‘Can I have a cup of tea?’ That means any tea is okay. I’m not asking for a specific cup of tea. Any cup is fine. Now if we want to ask something specific, we can say ‘Could I have the … ?’ For example, let’s pretend there are two cakes over here and I want the one on the left. I could say ‘Could I have the cake on the left please?’ If I said ‘Could I have a cake’ that means any cake is fine. I’m not asking about something specific but in this case I want the cake on the left so I said ‘Could I have the cake on the left please?’
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