SOME IMPORTANT PHRASES FOR BASIC

ENGLISH USERSThis document has been designed; by the School Based Mentor; with particular emphasis on English language for Basic Users. Much focus is put on some important

phrases/expressions that can be used for different purposes. For example: Greetings and replies,

Apologizing, Asking for information, Asking somebody’s opinion, Giving your opinion, Saying someone is correct,

Saying someone is wrong, Telling people your job, Praising someone’s work, Congratulating someone,

Saying and goodbye.

GREETINGS and REPLIES• Hello, good morning Mr.• Good morning Sir, • Hi (informal)All these greetings can be followed by the following phrases to ask for some

detailed information: How are you? => I’m fine thank you/I’m okay/I’m alright Nice to meet you => Nice to meet you too How are you doing these days? => I’m doing well/great,… How is life? => Life is good/I’m very okay,… How do you feel today? => I feel great/I feel much better/ How do you do? => How do you do How is home? => They are okay/ We thank God/ Not bad,….. How was the week end? (any event) => It was very good, we had a good

time/ It was boring/ It was not so bad,… How is it going? (informal) => So smooth/ It’s okay/We thank God,… etc

Asking for informationIn English it is not very polite to start a conversation with a

direct question. For this reason we have a number of phrases:

Could you please tell me……….?Can you tell me……? I would like to know…….?Do you know…….?Could anyone tell me…….?Can someone explain for me…….?Do/Would you happen to know….? I wonder if you would tell me…..?Would you mind if I ask you some questions?

Telling people your job When people ask you “What do you do?” or “What’s

your job?”; there are different ways to answer them (for example if you are a Teacher):

I am a teacher I am a professional teacher I am in the field of education My job is teaching Students/Pupils I earn my living as a teacher I do a bit of teaching (if you are not permanent) My daily job is teaching I work as a teacher

Asking somebody’s opinion It's a good exercise to ask another person about their opinion before you

tell them yours loudly and strongly. Maybe they completely disagree with you. Here are some expressions:

What do you think about…..? What do you think of….? How would you feel if….? What would you say, if …..? What are your views on…..? How would you react, if ….? Where would you stand, if …? What’s your opinion about…..?NB: • The prepositions; “of” “On” & “about” when used to ask for someone’s

opinion are in most cases followed by a Gerund or a Noun.• Then “if” is followed by the sentence with a Verb in the Past

Giving your opinion It is very important to show people when you are you giving

your opinion to show that it is not a fact. Giving an opinion as a fact is not very polite in the society. Here are some expressions:

Personally I think……… In my opinion, I think…… If you asked me to say something, then my opinion would

be……. In my humble opinion, I want to tell you that….. The way I see, my opinion is…….. My point of view is that……. If you don’t mind me saying that ………… then that would be my

opinion. If you do allow me, …….. Personally am of the view that….

Saying Someone is correct Here below are expressions that you can use to say

that the information or the person speaking is correct:

o Yes, that’s righto Yes, that’s very correcto You are quiet righto Absolutelyo Exactly o That’s ito There is nothing to add on thato You have hit a nail on the head (it’s an idiom)

Saying that someone is wrong When you hear somebody say something that you know

is wrong and you want to tell them; here are some polite or less polite ways of telling them that they are wrong:

Oh no, that’s not correct I’m afraid that’s not quiet right I don’t think you are right in what you are saying Sorry, you are mistaken thereOh no, you’ve got it wrong Sure, where did you hear that?Would you mind to think twice on what you are saying? Sorry, that’s not related to what we are talking aboutetc.

Apologizing Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. When it happens we need

a phrase to tell the other person how really sorry we are and stop them getting really angry. Here are some phrases:

Sorry I’m so sorry/ I’m very sorry Oh sorry, it’s all my fault Please accept my sincerest apologies Could you please forgive me It’s my fault, don’t be angry with me

NB: We need to know that we make mistakes due to “Carelessness” “Thoughtfulness” & “Forgetfulness”. Therefore; these phrases are always used to explain why we are apologizing.

Praising someone’s work

It’s always good to express; especially in words; our approval or admiration if someone does something in a very good way. Here are some expressions:

Very good work !Wonderful, this is great !Excellent !What a nice work, keep the courage !It’s really amazing !The best work ever, thanks !

Saying goodbye Here below are the most common phrases to express your farewell

to someone or to say goodbye:ByeGoodbyeSee you soonSee you thenLet me leave you nowAllow me to say goodbyeOk am leaving, stay wellAccept my farewells It’s time to say byeetc

How to Congratulate someone

This is the way we tell someone that we are pleased about their success, good luck or happiness on a special occasion:

Congratulations Congrats (informal)Yes, you’ve made itYou are great, congratulations etc

THE END May the Almighty God bless You all