Everyday phrases for communication — Post 17
Read post 16 here
Today’s mini-dialogue:
— Don’t argue with me.
— I know better than that.
— That’s more like it.
What you need to remember:
- Useful words and phrases about arguments:
to argue — to have a heated discussion
to quarrel / fight — to have an angry argument
to have a fight (Am) / to have a row /raʊ/ (Br) — to have an emotional argument
2. KNOW BETTER (THAN) — to be clever enough to avoid a bad result or bad behaviour
— He is only 3 but he knows better than to run off without us. — (=he is clever enough not to run off alone)
It’s often used with modals should or ought to for recommendations or even to criticise someone’s not very clever behaviour.
— Someone your age should know better. (=You should be cleverer than that)
— You should know better than to believe him. (=You should be clever and not believe him)
3. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁. describes agreement after the situation has changed for the better. It shows that NOW you are glad with the situation / result. It’s similar in meaning to 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.
— Is this right? — That’s more like it. You are getting it now. (=…This is better. You are starting to figure it out)
— Try one more time. That’s more like it. (=…This is better)
It is often used in bargaining (=discussing the price, for example, at the market and asking for a better price). Say it when you are glad with the final price after discussing it.
Today we have learnt how to speak about emotional discussions and also learnt two set expressions for informal conversations.
If you speak Russian, you can read these lessons in Russian (and practise) in my Telegram channel. Join us!
My name is Daria Storozhilova and this is a series of mini-lessons teaching you how to communicate in English with helpful phrases and spoken expressions.
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