Are the things in your English course book, really the things British people say?
At school, you probably learnt the following dialogue:
Hello, how are you?
Fine thanks, and you?
But, is that what British people really say?
In this lesson, you will see what British people, like me, really say.
In addition, we will look at some phrases that you may think you understand, but you probably don’t!
Warning: Note to IELTS Students, these are for fun and general interest. Do not use these in your IELTS Speaking test!
Greetings
When it comes to greeting people, what do most British people say?
In fact, one of the most common dialogues is the following:
Sarah: How are you?
Keith: Yeah, not bad
This is not as negative as it sounds. It’s actually quite positive, it’s just that many British people prefer not to be too emotional or open up when greeting someone.
The following are more grammatically negative phrases, but which are actually quite positive. These would typically be used with people you know.
- How are you?
Mustn’t grumble
- How are you?
Can’t complain
- How are you?
Same old, same old
If two British people are quite close, then instead of saying ‘how are you?’ it is quite common to say the following:
Keith: Alright?
Jack: Alright!
Work and study
This confusing use of ‘interesting’ is seen in a lot of contexts, for example when eating with friends. If someone asks,
‘How was the food?’
and the British person says
“It’s interesting!”
That basically means they don’t like it. Often we are too polite to say that we don’t like it or it tastes awful, so this is a nice euphemism to politely tell other people, we don’t like it.
Here is another example of strange things we say. During a meeting, a boss may make various comments and then at the end they may suddenly say,
“…by the way…”
and add some extra information.
It sounds like it’s not very important information, but in fact for British people, this means you are about the tell someone the main point.
For example,
“I need you to prepare a presentation for me, find some images, and write a script. Oh, and by the way, I need it by midday tomorrow”
Finally, when we want to change the topic or if we find a conversation boring, a polite way of doing this is to say.
‘Anyway,….’
I was recently in the pub, talking to a friend about problems at work, and after a few minutes he said,
“Anyway, shall we get another drink?”
I knew immediately, that it was time to change the topic!
What British people say when socialising
Here are some confusing phrases you may here British people say when they are socialising, and what they really mean.
Being polite
Now, you may have noticed that British people have many ways of being polite, diplomatic or simply indirect.
A very common word in British English is ‘sorry’!
We use it a lot and it has different meanings.
- To ask someone to repeat something
‘Sorry?’
Here it means, ‘I didn’t hear that…can you repeat it?’
- To interrupt someone
So in a meeting, if you want to interrupt and say something you would typically say
‘Sorry, can I just say something?’
- To apologise
When you physically bump into someone in the street you would probably say, ‘sorry!’
The funny thing is British people sometimes say ‘sorry’ when someone else bumps into them!
What British people say when things go wrong
We have two words or phrases in English that British people often use when things go wrong, and the meaning is actually the opposite of what you expect.
- That’s brilliant!
This can mean ‘that’s very good’ but with very flat intonation, it is used to mean the opposite, ‘that’s terrible’!
For example,
Keith: You’ve just burnt the dinner, that’s brilliant!
Keith’s wife: Sorry love!
2. It’s fine
Again, this can mean ‘everything is ok’ but with very flat intonation, it is used to mean the opposite, ‘that’s not good’!
For example,
You: I hear someone stole your car, you must be upset!
Keith: It’s fine
I think the idea here with these phrases is about British people not wanting to show too much emotion, and keeping our ‘stiff upper lip’, which means staying steady when facing trouble.
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If you have enjoyed this lesson leave a comment below. Let us know about your experiences with strange things British people say!
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4 thoughts on “20 Interesting Things British People Say”
Perfect! All of these phrases go for me as well! I tend to use more polite phrases, but it kind of refers to one’s personality too.
Totally agree Maha, personality certainly plays a part in how we speak and the phrases we use.
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