British Things to Say inter.pdf

BRITISH THINGS TO SAY

3 CD4.23 Listen to the dialogues. Which words seem overused? Write them in 1– 3 in

group B in the phrase box.

Glossary basically cheerful everyday glorious misunderstand strange

4 Read the text below and answer the questions in pairs.

• Which phrases do British people say that suggest an optimistic view

of life?

• Which phrases suggest a pessimistic view?

unusual weird

PHRASE BOX Very British things to say!

5 Crossing Cultures Work in groups and follow the instructions.

• Imagine you are giving advice to a visitor to your country. What common

expressions do you think he/she might ﬁ nd strange? How would you

explain them? Use the phrases/situations in this lesson to help you.

• What words/phrases do people in your country overuse?

• Do the things people often say in your country suggest something about

the national character?

• What’s a good topic of conversation to ‘break the ice’ with strangers in

your country?

A Strange, everyday expressions

1 Cheers! _________

2 Is anybody sitting here? _________

3 Do you need a lift? _________

4 Can I give you a hand? _________

5 Piece of cake! _________

6 Sleep tight! _________

7 Thanks anyway. _________

8 Don’t get me wrong. _________

9 Very true! _________

10 You’re having me on! _________

B Words and phrases which British

people sometimes overuse

1 _________

2 _________

3 _________

4 (Do you) know what

I mean?

MY BLOG

IAN’S BLOG

NEW POST C

1 Work in pairs and follow the instructions.

Look at the cartoons and match 1–7 from group A in the phrase box with

their meanings a–g below. Which phrase/expression seems strangest/funniest

to you? Why?

a It is/was really easy to do.

b Good health!/Thanks!/See you!

c Can I help you?

d Sleep well.

e Thanks for trying to help me.

f Is this seat free?

g Can I take you there in my car?

As an American living in Britain, I ﬁ nd there are lots of

unusual things that British people say. First, there are

those strange, typically British things that people say

all the time, like ‘cheers’ or ‘lovely’ – anything pleasant

in England is described as lovely . British people aren’t

as cheerful as Americans and you can hear it in the

things people say. If you ask a British person, ‘How are

you?’ they typically answer, ‘Oh, you know, could be

worse’, like life’s one big tragedy, but they don’t want

to complain! And the British like to think they’re always

polite, even when they’re angry. ‘I don’t want to be rude

but …’ is a typical way to start a complaint. But of

course the most British thing to talk about is the

weather. The weather is often terrible, but the weird

thing is the British are positive about it. When it’s

raining they say, ‘Nice weather for ducks!’ or ‘Nice

weather for the time of year’. And when the sun shines,

even for just a moment, they smile at each other and

say, ‘ Glorious weather!’

2 CD4.22 Look at phrases 8 –10 in group A in the phrase box. In pairs, try and match

them with their meanings h–j. Then listen and check.

h I totally agree with you.

i You’re joking.

j Don’t misunderstand me.

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