#### COMMON PHRASES USED IN ENGLISH. The first greeting used in the English language is “Hello” & “Hi” when you meet someone or you send a mail, letter, or written message. This is used in both formal & informal situations to break the ice. Always keep a smile on your face when you start with “ Hello “ or “Hi” because it works as a perfect ice breaker to start any topic. ## **KEY NOTE #1: 50 COMMON PHRASES USED IN ENGLISH & THEIR USAGE** ##### **1. GOOD MORNING, GOOD AFTERNOON, GOOD EVENING, GOOD NIGHT & GOODBYE** These phrases are used at various intervals of time whether you are talking to your customer, senior, or colleague. They are very beneficial to start a conversation. Few examples are as follows: - Hi, Good morning! - Hello, Good afternoon! - Good evening! How are you today? - It was nice to meet you. Good night. - Goodbye! See you tomorrow. When you greet a senior or an elder person, use their last name to show respect. - For example, “Good morning Mr. Chowdhary”. This phrase is mostly used in formal set-ups by English speakers to greet someone in business communicators. - You can use it formally by saying “ Good morning Mr. Chowdhary “ - You can also use it informally for example, “Good morning Smriti” - “Good morning sir/mam” is a common practice in a formal situation when you don’t know their name or you want to show them respect. ##### **2. MY NAME IS SAKSHI & YOU ARE? OR MY NAME IS RAHUL & MAY I KNOW YOUR NAME?** You can use these phrases in both formal & informal situations when you introduce yourself to another person & you also want to know their name & introduction. ##### **3. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN! OR NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN! OR I AM GLAD TO SEE YOU! OR I AM HAPPY TO SEE YOU! OR I AM PLEASED TO SEE YOU! OR HOW NICE TO MEET YOU! OR GOOD TO SEE YOU! OR PLEASED TO MEET YOU!** Either you are a student or a professional it is very important to meet someone respectfully. These greetings are used to answer someone in a very polite manner. They are used when you are meeting someone for the first time or you start about talking something. Normally, when you meet someone & handshake, you get enough time to say “Pleased to meet you!” or “Good to see you” ##### **4. WHERE ARE YOU FROM?** You can add this greeting with the greeting discussed in the previous point & use it to move the conversation forward. For example: - How nice to meet you. Where are you from? - Pleased to meet you. Where are you from? ##### **5. HOW DO YOU DO? OR HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? OR HOW IS IT GOING? HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?** The best way to greet someone in a formal meeting for the first time is “Hello, how do you do? “This greeting is used formal events such as business dinners or conferences. The best reply to this greeting is “I am doing well. Thank you!” “How have you been?” is used when you have not met someone for a long time. Also, use this greeting when you have already met that person. If someone asks you “How have you been?” the suitable reply is “I have been good. Thank you! How about you?” ##### **6. I AM SORRY** You need to accept your mistakes by saying “I am sorry. My apologies.” Sorry can be used in other way also, “Sorry to bother you” Also, this sorry phrase can be used to ask questions to someone in a formal/ informal situation. When someone is buy-in his/her work & you want to ask something you can say “Sorry to bother you.” ##### **7. EXCUSE ME!** This phrase is used when: - You need a way to go but some people are blocking your way. You can politely say “Excuse me!” - Grab someone’s attention for example, “Excuse me, sir! You dropped your wallet” or “Excuse me; do you know what time it is?” ##### **8. WHAT DO YOU THINK? OR HOW DOES THAT SOUND?** You can use this phrase in both formal & informal situations. If you want to take the opinion of others about your idea “What do you think?” or “How does it sound?” This phrase can be answered as: - That sounds great! - That sounds O.K! - There is still scope to work on it! ##### **9. PLEASE** Use please to request. For example, “Please help me to bring that book down from the shelf” ##### **10. THANK YOU** Use it when someone helps you. For example, “Thank you for helping me.” Always use “Thank you” in formal surroundings when you take help from your seniors. ##### **11. YOU’RE WELCOME** This phrase is used when someone says “Thank you” to you. ##### **12. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!** This phrase is mostly used in written communication such as emails & messages where you send a written request someone with an expectation that will be fulfilled by the other person. It is best to write in the end “Thank you in advance” It shows you are thankful to the other person for his perusal about your request. ##### **13. LONG TIME NO SEE** Use this phrase to greet your old friend or when you want to start a conversation with your friend whom you have not met for a long time. After saying “Long time no see” to the person, you should say “How are you / what’s new?” It is a good method to start a small talk. ##### **14. I AM SEEING/ TALKING TO YOU AFTER A LONG TIME** This phrase is also used when you meet someone after a long time. ##### **15. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? OR WHAT’S GOING ON? OR WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?** You can use these phrases in an informal situation. For example, you meet your friend after a long time & you want to know what is going on in their life. ##### **16. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? OR WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? OR WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THIS?** These three phrases “What do you mean” or “What does it mean” or “What do you mean by this?” are used when you don’t understand something & ask the other person about clarity. You can use these phrases in both formal & informal situations. ##### **17. THAT’S VERY KIND OF YOU!** ##### **18. THAT’S VERY SWEET OF YOU!** ##### **19. THAT’S VERY THOUGHTFUL OF YOU!** The phrase numbers from 17-19are used in both formal/informal situations to thank someone when he has helped you in a difficult situation. ##### **20. HOW WAS YOUR DAY?** This phrase is mostly used in informal situations where you know other people properly. For example, when you meet your friends, relatives, or family members you can ask “How was your day?” It is a polite way to show your care to others. ##### **21. NO WORRIES!** You can use this phrase when your employee or friend commits a mistake which is not so big mistake. In other words “Don’t worry about it.” ##### **22. DID I GET YOU RIGHT?** ##### **23. I COULDN’T CATCH THE LAST WORD.** ##### **24. SORRY, I WAS NOT LISTENING.** ##### **25. I DID NOT UNDERSTAND. COULD YOU PLEASE REPEAT THAT?** ##### **26. DID I GET YOU RIGHT?** You can use the phrase numbers from 22-26 in both formal /informal situations to clear your doubt from the other person. ##### **27. DON’T WORRY!** ##### **28. CHEER UP!** ##### **29. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER** ##### **30. IT’S NOT WORTH IT** ##### **31. DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART. THINGS HAPPEN.** When your friend or colleague is upset, you can use the phrase numbers from 27-31 to console him. You can explain to him to let go of things because at the end of the day things will be fine. ##### **32. I’LL BE WITH YOU IN A MINUTE** ##### **33. SURE I’LL DO IT** When your friends or colleague want your time while you are busy with something else, you can use the phrase numbers from 32& 33. Also, be polite to them. ##### **34. GOOD FOR YOU!** ##### **35. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS** You can use the phrase numbers 34 & 35 to congratulate someone on their achievements. For example, if someone got a new job, you can use these phrases to congratulate him. ##### **36. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT OR NEVER GIVE UP** You can use this phrase to motivate someone when someone is feeling low confidence. ##### **37. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK** ##### **38. I AM HAPPY FOR YOU** You can use the phrase numbers 37 & 38 when someone is doing good work to motivate them. For example, when someone is doing a good job or your friend gets a promotion, you can use this phrase by saying “Keep up the good work” or “I am happy for you” or “keep going higher in life”. ##### **39. DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?** ##### **40. DO YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEM?** When you are sure about anything but someone doubts, you can use this phrase “Do you have a question?” or “Do you have any problem?” The reply to this phrase is “Yes I have a question”, if someone has any doubt. ##### **41. YOU ARE AMAZING** You can use this phrase for the positive feedback. ##### **42. CAN YOU HELP ME, PLEASE?** This is used to ask for help. ##### **43. I’LL TEXT YOU** This phrase is used you have to share some information to the other person. ##### **44. WHAT TIME IS OUR MEETING?** This phrase is used in a formal situation to know the meeting time. ##### **45. CAN I CONNECT YOU ON LINKEDIN/FACEBOOK?** This phrase will help you in building contacts in the world of social media. ##### **46. YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL** ##### **47. YOU LOOK CONFIDENT** You can use the phrase numbers 46 & 47 to compliment someone. ##### **48. DEAR SIR/ MADAM** This phrase is used for professional writing. It is used when you don’t know the name of the concerned person for mail. This phrase is clear, respectful & to the point. Also, end your mail with the phrase “Yours faithfully”. Use name when you are sending mail to a particular person, use their name in the mail. For example, Dear Rahul/ Nisha. Use “Kind regards” or “Best regards” at the end. ##### **49. PLEASE GET BACK TO ME SOON OR WHEN CAN YOU GET BACK TO ME? OR HOW MUCH TIME WILL YOU TAKE TO GET BACK TO ME?** This phrase is used to get someone time for their revert. ##### **50. TAKE CARE** This phrase is used in both formal & informal gatherings. You can say “Take care” in the place of “Goodbye” at the end of the evening.