Everyday phrases for communication — Post 19
Read post 18 here
Today’s mini-dialogue:
— Guess what! Jack’s been fired.
— No way!
— You won’t tell anybody, will you?
— Deal.
What you need to remember:
- If you want to tell something interesting to somebody and want to attract their attention, start with Guess what. This means ‘You will never guess what I want to tell you’.
- Jack’s — this is contracted HAS: Jack has been fired. (Present Perfect Passive — the action which has finished up to now).
- How to express surprise in English:
- No way!
- You are pulling my leg! (or Are you pulling my leg?)
- Get out of here! (or Get out of town!)
- Shut the front door!
- Are you serious?
- Are you for real? (or For real? = Really?)
- You’ve got to be kidding (me)!
- You don’t say!
All these INFORMAL formulas mean something like ‘I don’t believe you / it’s not possible!’. They are usually not translated word by word. Use them to express surprise and slight disbelief when somebody tells you something shocking or unexpected.
4. Won’t is a contracted WILL NOT pronounced /wəʊnt/
5. Will you is often used for making informal requests. It is especially popular in American English.
— Call him, will you? = Can you call him?
— Wait here, will you? = Can you wait here?
These are several ways of asking for something in English:
— Can you call him? = Could you call him? (more polite) = Do you mind calling him? (most polite) = Will you call him? = Call him, will you? (most informal)
6. If you have agreed on something, you can use the formula We have a deal. or a short Deal to confirm the agreement. It means ‘We have an agreement’.
Today we have revised a couple of important contractions, ways of making polite requests and learnt phrases that help us express surprise in conversations.
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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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