Complimenting andComplimenting and Saying Thank You Saying Thank You

By: Miss Rowena L. RosalejosBy: Miss Rowena L. Rosalejos

It does not cost us a thing to pay someone a compliment., and a nice compliment, which is a remark expressing

admiration, approval or respect. It is appreciated by everybody because everyone enjoys a good compliment. If you would like to charm your English-speaking friends and colleagues from time to time, pay them a compliment in English they'll never forget.

Compliment

A sincere compliment is a powerful tool of communication. It can even improve our well-being or relationships between people. Sometimes it can completely change our lives - for the better. A beautiful compliment that comes from the heart makes the compliment giver attractive and the compliment receiver happy.

Complimenting Someone on Their Clothes Complimenting Someone on Their Clothes and Appearanceand Appearance

You look nice. You look beautiful. You look amazing/stunning/beautiful/wonderful! What a lovely blouse! I love your shoes. They are cute. Are they new? Where did you get your T-shirt? It's fabulous! That is a great jacket you have! I like your haircut.

If you want to make your compliments more emphatic, you can use the adverbs 'so', 'really' and 'very' or the adjective 'terrific'. For example:

You look terrific today! You always look so beautiful. You're looking very glamorous tonight. I absolutely love you in that dress. It really suits you! You're looking very smart today.

Complimenting Someone on Their Complimenting Someone on Their CookingCooking

This food is so good. I must give my compliments to the Chef. The meal is so tasty! You are a great cook. The lemon cake is yummy! Did you make this yourself? I must have the recipe! What a feast! Everything was great/sumptuous/splendid/superb!

You can compliment someone on a meal by saying something like 'This is delicious' during the meal or 'That was delicious' after the meal. More examples:

Complimenting Someone on Their Skills Complimenting Someone on Their Skills and Achievementsand Achievements

When you're complimenting someone on doing something skilfully or well, you can do this in many different ways. Here are some examples:

What a good answer. You're an excellent student! What a marvelous memory you've got! Your house looks great. You have good/great taste in furniture! Congratulations on your project. Everyone is so happy.

When you want to praise someone for their achievements, you can simply say 'Congratulations'. You can also say this to someone when something nice has happened to them. For example:

Congratulations to our winner!

Congratulations! I knew you would make it. Congratulations. You’ve done an excellent job. Congratulations. You really deserve it. Congratulations. You were splendid/fantastic/excellent. Congratulations. I’m really proud of you. Congratulations. I’m very happy for you. Congratulations. You must be really proud of yourself.

If you want to congratulate someone informally, you can say 'Well done'.

For example:

You have passed the exam. Well done!

You can also congratulate someone on something in a very formal way:

Let me congratulate you on your new job. Let me offer you my congratulations on your success. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your wise decision, Mr. President. May I congratulate you again on your excellent performance. Congratulations on your wedding/engagement/graduation/ promotion/ new house/ new baby/ new car.

Reply to complimentsReply to compliments

Thanks. Thank you very much. Thanks a lot. Thank you for your compliment. Thank you for complimenting me on... Thanks to you You are so kind. Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without your help.Thank you. It’s nice isn’t it?Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it.I’m glad you think so.Oh! Thanks.It’s very good of you to say so.It is very nice of you to say so.Thanks for your kind words.That’s very kind of you.It’s very kind of you to say so.

Thanks, it really surprise me.Thank you. It came as a surprise.Thanks. I was just lucky.

General complimentsGeneral compliments

You are such a nice boy. You are such a nice girl. You are my best friend. You’ve given me great help. You’ve help me a lot during my difficult situation. You are such a wonderful person. You’ve given me so much help. You’ve shown me great kindness. You’ve helped me during my difficult time. You’ve helped me a lot. You’ve shown me the way to solve my difficult problems. You’ve spent much of your time with me. You are a great mom. I love you. You are a great dad. I love you. You are a great friend. I love you.

Examples:Examples:

Martin: Hello Bobby. I’m very glad to see you. You look nice.

Bobby: Thanks. I’ve been busy preparing for my wedding.

Martin: Wow! Congratulations! Who’s the lucky bride?

Bobby: Mary Smith. You’ve met her. She’s the cheerleader at our school.

Letty : This pie is really delicious. May I ask for the recipe?Granny : Oh, thank you so much dear. I will let my son give it to you.Letty : I would love that. Thank you so much granny.Granny : You are most welcome dear.

Nabila : Hi, Sari! How are things?Sari : Fine, and you?Nabila : I’m feeling great today. What a beautiful blouse you are wearing, it looks so chic and it matches your skirt.Sari : Thanks. My mother gave it to me on my birthday.Nabila: Wow!

Carol: What a nice shirt!Joe: Does it look alright?Carol: Yes, it matches your black jeans very well.Joe: That’s kind of you to say so. Thank you so much.

Bill: Hello Ted. Oh, you look so smart in that jacket.Ted: Thank you. Does it suit me? Bill: Yes, it suits you perfectly.Ted: It’s very nice of you to say so.

Annisa : Wow! That’s a stunning dress, Dina. Is it new?Dina : Yes, it isAnnisa : The color and the style becomes you.Dinahyu : Oh, do you really think so? I am really fond of this dress.Annisa : Did you make it yourself?Dina : No, Anis. My aunt gave it to me as a birthday gift.Annisa : Did she? What a nice aunt you have!Dina: Thank you. I will tell her you said so.

Activity…

Match the statements.

1. That’s a very nice dress.

2. What a fantastic job you’ve done. Congratulations!

3. That was a good dinner.

4. Congratulations on your winning prize.

5. You look very smart today.

a. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

b. Thanks. I never thought about it.

c. That’s very kind of you.

d. Do you like it?

e. Thanks. It’s very nice of you to say so.

Make short conversations based on these situations.

1.You want to tell your friend, Rini that you liked her chicken steak she cooked you yesterday.

2. You are a teacher and you want to compliment Iwan, one of your students, on his good composition of poems.

3. You are a personal manager. Give a compliment to one of your staff on his work and that you want to raise his salary.

4. You are a father and you are complimenting your son on his good semester report.

Activity…