Expand Your English Vocab: Common Phrases… With A Twist!

Learn languages November 24, 2020

At ESL we’re all about expanding vocabularies and spicing up conversations with variations and alternatives to everyday phrases in English. After all, adding variety to phrases you use on a daily basis in English won’t only allow you to sound less repetitive; it will also make you sound more like a native English speaker!

In addition to this, using the same English expressions over and over again may be comfortable and make you feel confident, but if you’re not careful, you could end up losing the excitement you once had for learning English and feel like you’re no longer advancing in your learning. After all, as it’s often said, variety is the spice of life! This is true for food, leisure and travel… and languages!

Learning the language abroad and using it to communicate with locals 24/7 is for sure the fastest way of improving your English skills, but until you do, here are a few tips to enrich your English vocabulary with:

Other ways to say “How are you?”

A classic conversation starter – whether you’re actually interested in hearing the answer or not. Why not try breaking the ice with one of the following phrases next time?

  • “How are things?”
  • “How’s everything?”
  • “How’s it going?” (informal)

Other ways to say “Good luck!”

Wishing someone good luck may not necessarily be a daily occurrence but it’s safe to say it’s one of the most common English phrases. Here are a few alternatives to the classic “Good luck”:

  • “Best of luck!”
  • “Break a leg!” (informal)
  • “Knock them dead!” (informal)

Other ways to say “Wait”

Patience is indeed a virtue! You can get creative when asking for it though…

  • “Wait a minute”
  • “Hold on a moment”
  • “Hang on a sec” (informal)

Other ways to say “I’m (very) tired”

Instead of just yawning in someone’s face, you could say…

  • “I’m exhausted”
  • “I’m knackered” (vulgar)
  • “I’m zapped” (informal)

Other ways to say: “Calm down

Well, this is precisely what no one really wants to hear when feeling upset or agitated, but still very necessary!

  • “Relax”
  • “Take it easy” (informal)
  • “Chill out” (informal)

Other ways to say “I agree”

The satisfaction when you hear this can only be dampened by someone repeating it over and over again… don’t be that person!

  • “My thoughts exactly”
  • “I’m with you”
  • “Agreed!”

Other ways to say “I’m busy

Whether you’re dodging an assignment from your boss or you’re trying to get out of meeting your partner’s family…

  • “I’m swamped”
  • “I’ve got lots to do”
  • “I have a lot on my plate”

Other ways to say “Hurry up”

In today’s busy world, it seems like we’re always in a rush. Here’s how to get those around you moving:

  • “Shake a leg” (informal)
  • “Get a move on”
  • “Chop chop” (informal)

Other ways to say “Call me”

Those of us who HATE speaking on the phone try to avoid this one as much as possible, but we can’t deny it’s certainly useful…

  • Give me a call
  • Give me a shout
  • Give me a ring

So, no need to be a word bore any longer! If you’re looking to further expand your English vocab, why not try reading more in English, learning about new terms popping up in the English language, or listening to English podcasts?

Want to give your English the ultimate boost? We have a fast ticket in mind for you…

Learn English Abroad

By Julia Hoyas

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