Common English Phrases for Non-native Speakers of English

The best way to get accustomed to English is not just by listening and understanding it, but also speaking. It is a very important part of the learning process.

Here are some phrases that are used widely in speaking:

·         Yes

·         No

·         Please

·         Excuse me

·         Good Morning / Good afternoon / Good evening

·         Thank you

·         You are welcome

·         When?

·         Where?

When you greet someone, these phrases can be very helpful:

·         Hello

·         How are you? I am fine, thank you.

·         What is your name?

·         My name is ___________.

When you don’t understand where the conversation is leading, these phrases can come to your rescue:

·         Do you speak Spanish/ German / French?

·         Excuse me for my poor English.

·         Pardon me. ( This usually means, could you repeat yourself)

·         I don’t understand.

·         Can you please speak slowly?

Some pleasant gestures:

·         Hello, how do you do?

·         It was nice meeting you.

·         Have a good day!

·         Very well...

·         Pleased to meet you.

While having a telephonic conversation:

·         Hi – Hello – Hello, how are you?

·         This is …. (your name)

·         May I speak to ….?  / Is …. (the person’s name) available?

·         May I leave a message, please?

·         I am sorry.. I can’t hear you.

·         Who am I speaking to?

These phases are used in our everyday conversations. They help you communicate with people.  The best part is it does not leave you lost in the middle of a conversation.

Hearing is a very important part of learning a language. Do you know why it is hard for deaf people to speak? It is because they are not familiarized with what to say. You listen and interpret what to speak. That is the mechanism. So when you don’t listen, it becomes hard to learn to speak.

 Why is it easier for us to speak our mothertongue / first language but not a foreign/second language? It is because we do not hear it enough. Thus, practicing is not enough. You must observe and hear how English speakers use language.

Most common errors that beginners make are:

·         Definite and indefinite articles

“The”, “A” and “An” are normally non-existent in other languages but it is a major part of English.  This aspect of English can be very confusing to foreigners, as dictionaries and other reference resources rarely explain whether a noun needs an article or not. While there is no irrefragable rule, there are some guidelines.

·         Count nouns and non-count nouns

Nouns that can be counted (count nouns) and those that cannot be counted (non-count nouns) are handled very differently. In many cases, count nouns and non-count nouns are easily distinguished but sometimes it can be hard to understand how to deal with them. For example,

Ø  Count nouns :

a pencil: three pencils

a frog: three frogs

Ø  Mass nouns are uncomfortable with numbers:

an air: three airs (No, “How much air”)

a misery: three miseries (No, “How much misery”)

a research: three researches (No, “How much research”)

·         Prepositions

Prepositions are used in many contexts in English and can produce many variations of meaning. The choice of which preposition to use in verbal phrases and other situations can be hard sometimes for beginners. It only comes from excessive practice and understanding.

When you have these tips handy, it will be much easier for you to converse with people and be grammatically correct. Have a good time learning English.