日常生活中最常用的50句英语口语,太实用了…来自老师在英国…
??1. no problem!
在国内学到的是:
-could you help me with xxx?
-no problem!
而在这边听到的往往是:
-thank you!
-no problem.
有时甚至:
-oh sorry!
-no problem!
2. go by
在课堂自我介绍时,有时会说中文名,然后英文名。instead of saying “my chinese name is xxx, and my english name is xxx.”, 你可以这样说:
-my name is xxx(你的原名), and i go by xxx(你的英文名).
一些美国学生不乐意用自己的原名,而偏好昵称,也可以用go by来表达:
-my name is catherine, and i go by cat.
3. appreciate it!
每次从校车上下来时,大家都会礼貌地对司机表示感谢,有次看到四个小哥鱼贯而出,每个人表达感谢的语句都不同。
除了常见的”thank you very much!”,”thanks a lot!”以外,我觉得最好听的就是“appreciate it!”
4. have a good one!
美国人很喜欢互相道好,无论认识不认识。每次和人再见的时候(可能是下班,结完账离开超市,下课等等),往往会对同事/收银员/老师/…说声”have a good day/night”之类的。有时下午5,6点,天还没黑,我总会把”have a good night!”说成”have a good day!”,后来发现,还有种更简易的表达,日夜均可使用,即”have a good one!”,简单顺口,客套必备。
5.宾语前置
这是种b格很高的表达方式,在每张美元背面都有一句话”in god we trust”(如下图)
此外有次等红灯时,看见前面一辆车的车牌上的motto写的是”united we stand”,当时瞬间感受到这种句式的力量与b格,于是脑补出一句“a sandwich i had”。
6. without further ado
这句在youtube视频里经常听到,那些youtubers在视频开头往往先介绍这个视频是干什么的,再顺便扯几句近期生活,然后在切入正题之前,有时会用这么一句”without further ado, let’s get started.”这句话的意思就类似于“废话少说,让我们开始吧。”
每次听到这句,我都会联想另一个四字常用词汇“原来如此”,真希望它在英文里也有完全对应的翻译,我就不用每次都将说了半句的“搜迪斯卡”咽下去了。
7. figure
当想表达“我觉得/我认为/我猜”的时候,有个很好用的表达就是“i figure..”
-i figured you might wanna be alone for a while, so i didn’t bother you.
8. petite/plus size/pale/fair/tan/dark
这几个都是形容外貌的,就放在一起说。
在形容人个子矮的时候,short可能不够委婉,一般说petite。
在形容人胖的时候,fat明显不够委婉,可以说plus size。
在形容肤色时,长得白和黑不是white和black(慎用!),而是pale/fair(形容白),tan/dark形容黑
9. email常用礼貌用语
-i hope this email finds you well.用于开头。
-any response will be appreciated.用于结尾,通常正文是找对方询问事情。
-please feel free to let me know if there should be any question.用于句尾,通常正文是上交文件,材料,或者回答问题等。
-it would be great/the best if you could…这就是传说中比”could you please…”还要更加委婉的请求式句型了。
10. i’m good.
这句可以用来回答how are you?此外,常用于:
-do you want some chips with your sandwich?
-no, i’m good. thanks.
-do you have any questions?
-no, i’m good.
也可用作委婉拒绝。
-do you wanna go to a strip club?
-i’m good.
11. shoot
除了“射击”之意,还有以下日常用法:
-whenever you need help, just shoot me an email. (比send更口语化)
-i’ve collected some negative comments on you.
-shoot. (类似于go ahead说吧)
-i was shooting for 100, but 98 is ok. (意为本想冲击100分)
-oh shoot…(其实就是oh s**t! 的委婉说法)
12. 结束对话用语
-i’ll leave you be. (类似于“打扰了”,“告辞了”,是在《纸牌屋》里看到claire对一个白宫工作人员或是记者说的)
-as you were. (这句通常上司对下属讲完工作之后可能用到,是在《基本演绎法》里看到的)
13. off the hook
意为“从麻烦脱身”,可以想象一条鱼脱离鱼钩的样子。
-he paid all the fines so he’s finally off the hook now.
-he’s off the hook, he doesn’t do drugs any more.
《绝望主妇》里面bree问她儿子andrew,现在年轻人还说”awesome”吗?andrew告诉她,他们现在都说”off the hook”,可见,这个词组也有cool, awesome之意。
-that party was off the hook!
印象中《宋飞正传》里jerry, elaine和george有对off the hook和on the hook的一段讨论,但是在网上搜出来的似乎都是小黄网站,于是隐隐觉得似乎这个表达不是什么好表达了。。。
14. hands down
有“绝对,毫无疑问”之意。可以这样联想,因为毫无疑问,所以不会举手提问,也就是hands down。
-my favorite tv show is hands downfriends.
15. though
大家都熟悉though用于句首和句中表转折,但可能不太了解它放在句末的用法。
-do you want me to get you a cup of coffee?
-no, i’m good. thank you though. (意为不过还是)
另外一个用法是在instagram上看到的,关注了一个账号整天推送搞笑短视频,内容都是人和动物摔倒啊,被砸啊,被吓到啊等等很囧的场面。然后这个账号经常配的文字就是以though结尾的语句,可以感觉到明显的讥讽意味。例如:
(一个男人被电梯整蛊吓得尖叫)
-that scream though. (重音在scream)
(一只狗打了一个喷嚏,然后全身狂抖)
-that sneeze though.(重音在sneeze)
16. sure/of course/certainly
当时初中学英语的时候记得这三个词经常一起出现,表达“当然”,一直模模糊糊地认为他们是一个意思,后来慢慢地才了解到他们的用法的区别。
sure一般用来表达欣然同意对方的提议,意为“好呀”:
-can i give you a call?
-sure!
-would you like to get a cup of coffee or something?
-sure!
而of course则有“那当然了”,“不用多说”的意味在里面:
-there are, of course, exceptions to the rule.
-what do you do now?
-still farming.
-of course.
(此对话来自《唐顿庄园》里庄主robert问他领地里的一位农民现在做些什么,农民回答还是做农活,并且一脸颓丧的样子,潜台词是“我还能做啥,还不是做做农活而已”,robert听后稍愣了一下,大概觉得自己问的问题有点愚蠢,于是说了句of course. 可见,如果问了一个本该知道答案的问题,对方回答后,你可以说这么一句of course.)
certainly则比较少见,在google上查到它的使用频率也是渐渐下降:
不知道是不是一个渐渐淡出江湖的词汇。
17. 模糊语气
在表达“差不多”,“接近”,“…的样子” ,“之类的”等模糊的意思时,除了nearly, approximately, almost, kind of, sort of 等词汇外,更口语的说法还有or so, -ish, …something等:
-he has worked in the company for a year and two months or so.
-after dinner i had 30 cherries or so.
-that movie was good-ish.(此人应该觉得电影并不怎么好看)
-that color is blue-ish.
-let’s meet around 9-ish.
-30 books every twenty-something girl must read.
(类似于知乎豆瓣经常出现的20多岁女孩的必读书单)
-wanna a cup of water or something?
18. sense
sense的意思非常多,有“…感”,“意思/意识”,“目的”等,无法和一个中文词汇完全对应。国内用到a sense of的标配经常是a sense of humor,其实可以使用的范围非常广。
-what is the sense of going out in the rain?
(意为“目的”)
-the purpose of the meeting is to let you get a sense of how we work.
(好难翻译!请意会)
-does that make sense to you?
(这句话很常见,通常在解释完某个复杂的事情或事物后,为了解对方是否听明白,会问这么一句,配以拧巴的眉头,微倾的头颅)
19. 没听懂对方的话时
听不懂或没听清对方的意思,这种状况常常发生,不论你是不是native speaker。除了sorry? excuse me? could you repeat that? 以及英语课本里教的i beg your pardon? 可以用来要求对方再说一遍外,还可以这样告诉对方你没听清:
-!#%^*>??#^&
-sorry, you lost me.
-#%^&^$(!_+?><
-sorry, i didn’t follow.
20. a touch of
意为”一点儿”, 但是不是比a little, a bit of听起来要更有画面感?
-“chinese white tie” means white tie with a touch of china. (这是美国vogue杂志主编anna wintour给记者解释刚过去的中国主题met gala的dress code的含义时用的原句。)
-i have a touch of flu and need some rest.(意为“轻微的”)
21. shy of
意思类似于short of。
-he’s just shy of 6 feet. (”接近”6英尺=1.8288米)
《老友记》里面有次6人玩扑克牌,ross加注的时候发现钱不够了,说了句”joey, i’m a little shy here.”,意思是钱不够了,想找joey借钱,结果joey傻了吧唧地拍了拍ross肩膀,说有哥们儿在,不怕。还好chandler听出了shy的第二层意思,掏出了钱包。
22. dress up/down
dress up可不是穿上衣服的意思,而是穿着正式的意思,相应的穿着随意则是dress down.
-you need to dress up for the dinne
r. but during the daytime, you can dress down as you like.
23. 又是几个对话常见表达,适用于特定场合。
在宾馆/图书馆/售票处/电话客服..办事结束后,经常会听到一句”you’re all set.” 听到这句话就知道事儿已办妥可以拎着东西滚了。如果不知道自己的事儿是不是弄好了,而对方又专心致志作敲键盘状时,可以问一句”am i all set?” 不要像楼主第一次住完宾馆在前台傻了吧唧地站在那儿等人家给我receipt等了二十分钟,人家终于忍不住问我”what else can i help you with?”才知道我早就可以滚了。
有时用公共饮水机/洗手池时有可能不巧地前面正好有人在使用,于是站在别人身后两英尺处耐心等待,同时说一声”take your time” 让对方不用太着急,对方使用完可能对你说声”all yours”让你放心上前使用,文明的世界真美好。
24. at some point
这个表达非常好用,可以表示过去某时刻,也可以表示将来某时刻。
-at some point i decided she was no longer my friend. (表示之前某时刻)
-do you want me to add that information in the document?
-no. but at some point we will need that.
(表示将来某时刻,比in the future明显更适用)
25. comfort
comfort的意思大家都懂,就是舒服,舒适,爽。在国内的时候,我只知道俺家的沙发是comfortable的,而在老美的口语表达中,这个词可以使用的语境实在是多。
-you should make sure you are comfortable with the height every time you jump off. (这是楼主第一次去攀岩俱乐部玩抱石时,教练对我说的,comfortable在这里的意思更贴近于“没有不适,能接受”)
-if no support was provided, we should perform audit steps to obtain comfort that the item was appropriately included. (这里意译过来应该是“确保”,意思等同于make sure)
可见comfortable这种状态,不一定是躺在沙发上全身放松,还可以是生活工作中每一个细小的,让你呼吸平稳,心跳规律的状态。
26. thing
除了“事物”之意外,在口语中还有以下常见用法:
-i think he has a thing for you. (就是中文里“他对你有意思”的意思)
-being funny is chandler’s thing and ross’s thing is getting divorced. (来自《老友记》,这里thing不好翻译,可以理解为“某人最显著的特质”,即让别人想到你就联想起来的东西。)
27. have/get your back
意为“罩着你”,“挺你”或者“有我在”。
-if you ever need help, just ask. you know i have your back.
-just go ahead. don’t worry. i got your back.
28. in the middle of nowhere
意为“荒郊野外”。
-bree once dropped her teenage son in the middle of nowhere.
29. walk through
虽然这个词组里有walk这个动词,但是通常和行走没有太大关系。可以理解为“过一遍”。
-could you walk me through the process so i can get a better understanding of your business?
30. 标点符号的说法
仔细想想我们还没有好好学习过标点符号的英语表达呢,那就一起总结一下吧!
, comma
. period
— dash (破折号,用法为句子a – 句子b,注意字符两边都有空格)
# pound (#有时候可作编号之意,比如“#1”为“编号1”, 而no.1则为“排名第一”)
/ slash
\ backslash
“” quote
() [] {} brackets
*star
_ underscore
– hyphen (连字符,用法为word-word,组成一个新词,例如anti-discrimination,字符两边没有空格)
~ tilde
! exclamation point/mark
? question mark
‘ apostrophe
: colon
; semicolon
? bullet
numerator 分子
denominator 分母
(真是涨姿势啊!)
31. doesn’t hurt to do something
意为“做什么事有好处/不会有坏处”。
-it does’t hurt to take a look of what you’ve done and see if it could be improved.
32. you might wanna/you don’t wanna
这可以是给别人建议做某事/别做某事时使用的短语。
-you might wanna have a cup of water at hand in case that food is too spicy.
-you don’t wanna call her in the middle of the night. you don’t know how grumpy she could be.
33. can use some
意为“正需要”。
-after a long week, i can really use some rest.
-that shirt is too flashy.
-you can use some flash.
(来自《宋飞正传》)
34. at the end of the day
意为“到头来”,“到最后”,“最终”,并不是“一天的最后”。
-they all said they would help me, but at the end of the day nobody did.
35. the last thing i wanna do
可不是“最后一件想做的事”,而是“最不想做的事”。
-the last thing i wanna do is hurting your brother.
(来自《老友记》rachel对monica说她不会伤害ross)
36. be my guest
这个表达可不是邀请对方做客,而是在对方提出要做某件事的时候给出允许。
-can i have the last piece of cake?
-sure! be my guest.
老友记里面有一集monica和rachel楼上的邻居把地毯撤掉了,各种噪声通过天花板传来听得一清二楚,pheobe问她们怎么不上去和那人说,monica表示那人太帅了,她没法开口。phoebe不信,决定要上楼去教训下那个人。monica和pheobe之间有这样一段对话:
monica : he took up the carpets and now you can hear everything.
phoebe : well, why don’t you go up there and ask him to just, like “step lightly, please”?
monica : i have, like five times, but they guy is so charming that i go up there to yell and then i end up apologizing to him.
phoebe : ewww, that is …(angrily) silly. i’ll go up there, i’ll tell him to keep it down.
monica : alright. be my guest.
37. gut
直译过来是“肚子”,但在英语里面有“直觉”之意。
-i don’t know how to decide.
-well, what does your gut tell you?
有时又指“胆量”。
-i hate that guy! i want to punch him in the face!
-you don’t have the guts.
38. it works
这个表达在日常口语中实在太常见了。在国内时work往往指工作,但在英语中更像是说某件事“有效运行”。
-i don’t understand how polygamy works.
-we tried a new model and it worked!
39. buy that
除了“买它”的直译外,还有“相信一个说法”的意思。来看例句理解吧:
-he said he didn’t do it but i don’t buy it.
-she told me she missed our date because she had to work.
-that’s so made up! i can’t believe you bought it.
40. table
几个和table有关的表达:bring to the table和on/off the table。
bring to the table指“带来的好处”:
-do you have any advice for me on the interview?
-just be yourself and talk what you can bring to the table with all the experience you have.
on the table指“考虑的”,相应的,off the table指“不作考虑的”:
-the proposed new bill will soon be on the table in parliament.
-we will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.
例句来自google,众多美剧英剧,答主亲耳所闻,和现场脑补。其余想起再更????