English Phrases & Idiomatic Expressions

“Can you tell me what time do we have to attend the company meeting today?” – “WELL, SPEAKING OF the meeting – I’m pretty sure it’s at 2 o’clock!” When it comes to – this English phras

English Phrases & Idiomatic Expressions

By Robby Kukurs From http://EnglishHarmony.com

Table of Contents

25 Perfect Ways of Starting Sentences in English! - 3 -

Universal English Sentence Starters - 3 -

Answering Specific Questions - 4 -

Expressing Your Opinion - 6 -

Disagreeing - 8 -

Expressing Uncertainty - 9 -

38 Typical English Sentence Endings - 10 -

General Sentence Endings - 10 -

Encouragement - 12 -

Reassuring & Proving Your Point - 13 -

Comparing & Referring to Specific Things - 14 -

Time References - 15 -

Describing the Importance of the Matter - 16 -

English Small Talk Phrases - 17 -

Introductions - 17 -

Conversation Starters & Greetings - 18 -

Typical Responses - 19 -

Industry Small-talk - 22 -

Departure Phrases - 24 -

English Idiomatic Expressions - 25 -

25 Perfect Ways of Starting Sentences in English!

Universal English Sentence Starters

Well, speaking of – this is a universal English phrase and can be used to answer

pretty much ANY question! “Can you tell me what time do we have to attend the

company meeting today?” – “WELL, SPEAKING OF the meeting – I’m pretty sure

it’s at 2 o’clock!”

When it comes to – this English phrase is almost identical to the first one and can also be used in all life situations to make it easier for you to answer questions and start sentences: “Is there anything in particular I should know when printing out

sales invoices?” – “Well, WHEN IT COMES TO printing out invoices, the most

important thing to remember is…”

Well, to tell you the truth – this is also a universal English sentence starter, only this time around it carries a very small element of surprise; basically you’d start a sentence with this phrase if your answer is something your conversation partner isn’t

expecting: “Have you done your homework yet?” – “WELL, TO TELL YOU THE

TRUTH, I didn’t do it because I didn’t have much time!”

Well, to be totally honest with you – this sentence starter is very similar to the

previous one: “Can you tell me if wages have been transferred to your bank account?”

– “WELL, TO BE TOTALLY HONEST WITH YOU, I haven’t even checked my bank

account yet!”

Well, frankly speaking – and again, this sentence starter is pretty much the same

as the previous two: “Is there any chance you’d come to movies with me?” – “WELL,

FRANKLY SPEAKING I’m not that into movies, I’d rather stay at home and watch something on Netflix!”

As a matter of fact – this English phrase is a substitute for the word “actually”, and considering that you can use “actually” in almost any sentence, it only stands to reason that “as a matter of fact” can also be used to start any sentence: “I don’t know

where Bjorg is today, he never showed up at work!” – “AS A MATTER OF FACT, I

hadn’t even noticed he’s not in, thanks for telling me!”

Answering Specific Questions

All right, I’m going to try to give you some idea about – this English phrase is very useful in situations when you have to explain something in the very detail: “Can

you tell me how to use this software, please? I’ve never used it before!” – “ALL

RIGHT, I’M GOING TO TRY TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEA ABOUT Photoshop! So, first of all…”

Well, speaking of the specifics of – when you have to provide an overview of a particular issue or a process, this is the English sentence starter to use: “So, can you

tell us how you built your blog, Robby?” –“WELL, SPEAKING OF THE SPECIFICS

OF my blog, let me start with describing the actual platform it’s built on…”

Well, the best way to describe… would be the following – another useful English sentence starter phrase for situations when you have to describe something

specific: “Can you tell us how to get to the airport, please?” –“WELL, THE BEST

WAY TO DESCRIBE the road to the airport WOULD BE THE FOLLOWING – keep driving straight and then you’re going to see a highway exit sign…”

As you may already know – this is how you start talking about known facts that your conversation partner is most likely familiar with: “Henry, why is our accountant

demanding that we keep the stock levels as low as possible?” – “Well, AS YOU MAY

ALREADY NOW, the new company regulation came into effect today, according to which…”

Well, not everyone knows that – and this is how you open a statement during which you’re going to reveal some little known information: “I wonder how Michael

could build his business in such a short period of time?” – “WELL, NOT EVERYONE

KNOWS THAT he inherited a considerable amount of money and that’s why…”

Expressing Your Opinion

Actually, I’m fully aware of the fact that – this English sentence starter can be used in conversations when you have to stress the fact that you’re familiar with a particular fact or a situation: “Why did you leave Jimmy at the workstation on his own? You could have asked someone whether he was fully trained or not?”

– “ACTUALLY, I’M FULLY AWARE OF THE FACT THAT he’s not fully trained – but

I could never have imagined that…”

I don’t want to sound like bragging, but – this is how you initiate your

response when you have to tell about something related to your personal

achievements: “How did you know how to use this printer?” –“Well, I DON’T WANT

TO SOUND LIKE BRAGGING, but I’ve been using the same printer in my previous job!”

Speaking of… there’s one thing I can say for sure – this is how you inform the other person of something you’re 100% sure of: “Can you tell me what kind of shoes I

should be wearing for the wedding?” – “SPEAKING OF the wedding, THERE’S ONE

THING I CAN SAY FOR SURE – brown shoes is the latest trend, so you can’t go wrong with that!”

Well, taking into consideration that – this English sentence starter phrase will

come in handy when you have to draw a conclusion: “What time you think we should

leave to make it home on time?” – “WELL, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT

it takes about half an hour to get home, we should…”

Well, I guess it goes without saying that – you can use this phrase to state

something obvious, something that almost everyone would agree on: “You think

Mark is going to be angry if we leave 5 minutes early?” – “WELL I GUESS IT GOES

WITHOUT SAYING THAT he won’t be happy with us leaving the shop before it’s supposed to close, but…”

Well, I think it’s safe to assume that – are you making an assumption? Well, then why not use this handy phrase? Here’s how it happens in real life: “Do you think

it’s OK to drive the tractor?” – “WELL, I THINK IT’S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT

Johnny fixed the brakes or else he wouldn’t have left it here, don’t you think so?”

Well, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that – whenever the element of surprise is brought up during the conversation but you’d like to point out that the matter at hand isn’t so surprising after all, this is how you do it: “Did you know that

all bodybuilders use steroids these days?” – “WELL, IT REALLY SHOULDN’T COME

AS A SURPRISE THAT they’re all doing it – after all, it’s very popular in other sports as well!”

Well, to answer this question, I have to stress that – a very simple yet handy phrase when you’re making your point by emphasizing a particular aspect of the issue: “Do you think it would be possible for me to start my own business?”

– “WELL, TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, I HAVE TO STRESS THAT 90% of all

new business fail within the first year, so…”

Disagreeing

Well, I can definitely see where you’re coming from, but – it’s just another way of saying that you can see WHY your conversation partner is saying what he or she is saying, and then you want to explain why your opinion is different: “… so that’s

why I think we shouldn’t increase the price.” – “WELL, I CAN DEFINITELY SEE

WHERE YOU’RE COMING FROM, but I’d say we should slightly increase the price because everyone else in the industry is going to do so!”

With all due respect – this is what you say before disagreeing to make it sound

polite: “Juan, you shouldn’t be wearing sandals at work!” – “WITH ALL DUE

RESPECT, but everyone else is wearing sandals, so either we all stop wearing them

or I’ll keep wearing them!”

Expressing Uncertainty

Well, you can’t really say that – this is a handy sentence to begin your English

sentences with in situations when you’re disagreeing with someone, but at the same

time you’re not sure of it: “I think her dress looks ugly!” – “WELL, YOU CAN’T

REALLY SAY THAT it’s ugly, but yes, I can admit it’s not the best dress I’ve seen…”

Well, as far as I’m aware – you can always begin an English sentence with this phrase when you’re going to say something that’s true, but you’re still admitting that there might be something else to the matter, but you’re just not aware of it: “Excuse

me, can you tell me if the London bus leaves at the same time today?” – “WELL, AS

FAR AS I’M AWARE it does, but you’d be better off calling the directory inquiries to make sure!”

To the best of my knowledge – this phrase is pretty much the same as the one

above: “By the way, are we working next Monday?” – “Well, TO THE BEST OF MY

KNOWLEDGE we’re off next Monday, but I guess we should check it with the

secretary Just to stay on the safe side!”

Well, if I’m not mistaken – yet another phrase which can be used in situations

when you’re not totally convinced of the correctness of the information you’re

providing: “So, what time does the film start at?” –“WELL, IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN,

it starts at 5 but I guess we’d better be there before time, just in case!”

38 Typical English Sentence Endings

General Sentence Endings

… and that’s all I’ve gotta say about that! – this is what you can always add at

the end of a sentence if it concludes the entire thought and you don’t have anything else to say

… and that’s all there is to it! – this is pretty much the same as the previous

sentence ending with the exception that it’s worded differently

… and we’ll take it from there – this English sentence ending is used to indicate

that the discussion is going to continue at some point in the future after certain things are done: “Well, your proposal seems reasonable enough – I’m going to talk to

my partner and my lawyer and we’ll take it from there!”

… that’s about it – another sentence ending indicating a finished business;

typically used as a response to a question when you’re asked if you’ve got anything else to say: “Well, I guess that’s about it.”

… just like that! – this English idiomatic expression can very well be used to end

sentences in situations when you’re telling someone that something unexpected happened to you, or someone did something quite unexpected and surprising: “And guess what? She stormed out of the meeting and slammed the door, just like that!”

… so on and so forth – you can use this handy English phrase at the end of a

sentence to indicate that there’s more to what you’re saying, but there’s no need to specify what it is because everyone knows what you’re talking about anyway: “In order to get fit, you have to start eating healthy, working out and so on and so forth”

… is all – this is a really conversational way of ending a sentence in English and it’s

added at the end of the sentence to emphasize the fact that you’ve no bad or selfish intentions: “I just want to go there and see him is all!” – by saying this you’re

implying that you JUST want to see him and you don’t intend to do anything else

… indeed – this is a single-word English sentence ending and is used to emphasize

the message conveyed in the statement: “This is a really cold day indeed!”

… though – another single-word sentence ending which can be used whenever

you’re expressing your doubts or raising a concern over something: “Yes, I know he’s waiting for me, but shouldn’t I get changed first though?”

… do you know what I mean? – this is a typical English phrase you can stick at

the end of pretty much ANY sentence when having a conversation

… but this is a different story altogether! – you can finish off a sentence this

way if you’re pointing out differences between two things: “Yes, I know a thing or two about computers, but maintaining a server is a different story altogether!”

… so to speak – this English idiomatic expression will come in handy when using

comparisons Here’s a good example: “My big brother has always been there for me, and in reality he’s my dad, so to speak.”

… for that matter – another handy English idiom that can be used at the end of a

sentence, and it means “in addition”, “besides” or “in relation to that” Here’s an example: “Recently I’ve changed my diet completely and I’ve stopped eating junk food And I’ve also started working out, for that matter.”

… and the like – this English expression is used when you mention something

specific and then you want to say that there are more similar things: “I really love pastries – muffins, cupcakes and the like!”

Encouragement

… get it done and over with – this is how you tell someone that the task in

question should be accomplished rather quickly: “You know James, I don’t want to

be stuck here all day so let’s get it done and over with!”

… if you haven’t already done so! – are you not sure if the other person has

done the job you’re asking them to do? Well, you can always attach this phrase at the end of the sentence: “Please check if the back door is locked if you haven’t already done so!”

… give it a shot – this English expression means to “give it a try” and is used in

situations when it might seem that it’s not worth trying: “Hey, I know you’ve never done this before, but why not give it a shot?”

… back on track – another way of saying “back to normal”, “back to where it was

before” “Susan, I think not everything is lost, you can still try to find a job and get your life back on track.”

Reassuring & Proving Your Point

… and rightly so! – this phrase is used when you’re supporting a particular

activity: “Our boss fired Jimmy today when he showed up late yet again – and rightly so!”

… I can assure you of that! – this phrase is quite self-explanatory: “I’ll make sure

that the reports are done today, I can assure you of that!”

… but it’s true nonetheless! – are you telling someone about something shocking

that they might not believe? This is the phrase to add at the end: “Yes, I know it’s hard to believe that Ann is pregnant, but it’s true nonetheless!”

… at all – you can use this short phrase to dispel all doubts – if there’s any: “There’s

really no need for you to worry about it at all!”

… in the same boat – sometimes we need to make the other person feel better by

telling them that you’re in the same tough situation and that they’re not the only ones having those particular problems: “I know exactly how it feels to lose a close friend, we’re actually in the same boat.”

… but it’s not the case now – this phrase can be attached at the end of sentences

in situations when you have to point out that something isn’t happening now: “Yes, I

Comparing & Referring to Specific Things

… big time – means “a lot” and can be used in a wide variety of situations: “My best

friend let me down big time.”

… doesn’t cut it – this phrase means “isn’t enough”: “I know you’re trying to help

me fix the car by bringing all these tools along but I’m afraid it just doesn’t cut it…”

… is not an exception – another self-explanatory phrase: “All employees have to

come in for work tomorrow, we all know that a public holiday is not an exception!”

… is no different – you can use this English sentence ending to point out that the

situation in question isn’t much different from something else: “Well, I know you’re afraid in case something goes wrong, but think about it – Michael does it all the time and he’s never gotten into trouble, so you doing it is no different!”

… to name but a few – are you listing a few items and then you want to say that

there are more similar things? This is the right sentence ending to use: “I’ve been to a lot of different countries – Greece, Spain, Portugal – to name but a few!”