100+ Advanced Phrases For More Fluent English!

Stop saying basic phrases and try using these more advanced ones to sound more fluent in English. Instead of saying, "I'm tired," say, "I'm running on empty." Instead of, "That's not true," try that doesn't hold water. In this video, you'll learn a 100 advanced English phrases to express yourself in a variety of situations, at work, in casual conversations, and everywhere in between. You can download everything from this lesson and more by clicking on the link in the video description to get my ebook 500 real English phrases, which also comes with audio so you can hear and practice the pronunciation. Click on the link, enter your email address, and you'll receive that free ebook. Okay, now get ready to boost your speaking skills by learning these phrases. We'll start with a tricky situation. 10 ways to avoid answering a question. No comment. I'm not at liberty to say. That means I don't have permission to give the information. Wait and see. That means you will discover the answer later. Let me get back to you. That means I will give you the answer later. I'm sorry, that's confidential. I'm sorry, that's personal. I'd rather not talk about it. Why do you want to know? It's none of your business. Mind your own business. The last two are rather rude, telling the other person to stop inquiring about your life. Here are some phrases to talk about someone who's poor. You can say, "He's short on cash. He's broke. That means he has no money. His bank account is overdrawn. He's just scraping by. That means he's just barely surviving on little money. He makes minimum wage. He's pinching pennies. He's scrimping and saving." Those last two express the idea that the person is trying to conserve money when they have very little money. To say someone is rich, use these expressions. She's very wealthy. She's quite well off. She's loaded. She's filthy rich. She inherited a fortune. She's making a killing. She's raking in the cash. She's rolling in dough. To talk about statistics, use these phrases. The crime rate rose. The crime rate went up. There was a sharp increase in crime. There was a gradual rise in crime. There was a spike in crime. That means a sudden increase and then decrease. The crime rate reached its peak. Peak is the highest point. The crime rate plateaued. That means it stayed at the same level. There was a slight decrease in crime. The crime rate dropped. The crime rate plummeted. That means it decreased a lot very quickly. When you want to say someone is talented or knowledgeable, say she was born to dance. He's a natural. She could do it in her sleep. He knows it inside out. She knows New York like the back of her hand. She's a walking encyclopedia of philosophy. He's in a class of his own. He's the best in the business. She's very gifted. He's a chemistry whiz. How can you tell someone to wait? Say, could you give me a minute? Hang on a sec. Or just a sec. Hold on. Let me see. Or let me think. I'll be right with you. Bear with me. That'll have to wait. Be patient. Not so fast. Hold your horses. That's used for cautioning someone to wait and not make a bad decision or take reckless action. For estimating and guessing, use these phrases. If I had to take a guess, I'd say she's about 35 years old. It's difficult to say, but I think our customers are more satisfied. Off the top of my head, I'd say the company has 500 employees. Off the top of my head means that's what I remember or estimate without checking the actual statistics. It's about 10 miles away. It's around three hours long. I wouldn't be surprised if Peter asks Jill to marry him. There's a good chance it will rain tomorrow. I have a feeling or hunch the boss won't be happy about this. A hunch is an instinctive feeling. I bet he'll be late. Your guess is as good as mine. That means I don't know. I have no idea. When it comes to decisions, you can say, "I'm debating between option A and option B. I can't make up my mind. I'm on the fence." That means I'm in the middle. I don't know what to decide. I'll take that into consideration. On the other hand, I'm having second thoughts. That means I'm reconsidering my decision. I changed my mind. He convinced or persuaded me to. Looking back, I know it was the right decision. It's up to you. That means you can decide how to talk about good luck and bad luck. Use these. Good luck. Better luck next time. Say that after someone fails and you hope they do better next time. Just my luck. That's a sarcastic phrase meaning something unlucky happened. Lucky you. That was a stroke of luck. That means a sudden event of good luck. Some people have all the luck. Say that when someone else is constantly lucky and you feel like you're not. As luck would have it, that means by chance. He's down on his luck. That means he's having a long period of bad luck or difficulty. No such luck. That means something good that could have happened did not happen. What rotten luck to describe your worries? Use these phrases. I'm scared that. I can't help thinking that. Use this for thoughts you try to avoid, but they keep coming into your mind. It's been keeping me up at night. Use that when you're so worried about something you can't sleep. What if? And to talk about relief, you can say, "Thank goodness. What a relief. You had me worried for a moment. You have no idea what a relief it is. That's a huge load off my mind." Here are some phrases for talking about the future. It'll happen any day now. It's right around the corner in the near future. It will or won't happen in our lifetime, meaning in the next 40 to 50 years. It's a sign or it's a taste of things to come. This means it indicates how things will be in the future more and more. I'm counting down the days until. That means I'm excited about the future event. I can't wait for it to happen sooner or later. or it's bound to happen eventually. These mean it will definitely happen sometime in the future. I'll get around to it. This means I'll do it sometime in the future, but I don't know exactly when. I'll do it right away or I'll get right on it. Those both mean I'll do it immediately. Time will tell. This means in the future we will know if something is true or false or good or bad. Let's learn some great phrases to use for compliments on someone's appearance, cooking, home, or children. You look nice. You look amazing. What a beautiful necklace. I like your haircut. The lasagna is delicious. You're a fantastic cook. My compliments to the chef. What a nice apartment. You have a beautiful home. He's or she's so cute. Your kids are a lot of fun. When it comes to certainty and probability, use these phrases. I'm absolutely sure. I'm positive that. I have no doubt that. I'm 100% certain. I'm convinced that. Chances are that this means it will probably happen or odds are that I seriously doubt it. I don't think so. Probably not. It's not very likely. There's not much chance of that. I'd be very surprised if that happened. I wouldn't bet on it. That means there's a small chance, but it probably won't happen. That'll never happen. How can we describe something as interesting or boring? Use these phrases. It's fascinating. It's intriguing. I couldn't tear myself away. I couldn't put it down. That's used for an extremely interesting book. I was so into it I lost track of time. It does nothing for me. I was bored to tears. I was bored to death. I was dying of boredom. It's about as exciting as watching paint dry. That means it's very boring. When you notice someone's sad and you want to help them out, you can say, "What's the matter? What's wrong? Are you all right? You look a bit down." That means a little sad. Is there anything I can do to help? Cheer up or chin up. It's not so bad. Everything will be okay. Look on the bright side. That means consider the positive aspects. It's not the end of the world. That's used when someone is upset about something small and trivial. But some things really are disappointing. And here's how we can express that. What a pity. What a shame. How disappointing. That's too bad. Bummer. It was a real let down. It didn't live up to my expectations. When you don't believe what someone is saying, use these expressions. Yeah, right. You're kidding. You're pulling my leg. That's a bit of an exaggeration. He's stretching the truth. He's not telling the whole truth. She's being economical with the truth. That means she's lying or not telling the entire truth. His story is fishy. That's an outright lie. That's a pack of lies. We have many different colorful ways to talk about speaking like he yelled. She screamed. I whispered. That means spoke in an extremely quiet voice. We chatted meaning had an informal conversation. He mumbled. That means spoke in a low voice, not clearly, without opening his mouth much. My kids whined, that means complained. He rambled or he went on and on. Those mean he talked too much without stopping. She stammered. I snapped at my husband. That means I said a quick and angry remark. He muttered. That means he spoke in a low voice, usually making complaints or negative comments. To describe facial expressions, use these phrases. She was beaming. That means she had a big radiant smile. The kids were smiling from ear to ear. He looked puzzled. That means confused. She grinned. That means she had a small smile. He winced when the doctor gave him an injection. That means he had a quick expression of pain. She gave me a dirty look. That means she looked at me angrily. She blushed. That means her face turned red because she was embarrassed. His eyes were glazed over. That means he appeared to be staring at nothing or not paying attention. Why the long face? That's an informal way to ask why someone looks sad or upset. Her expression was unreadable. That means you can't know what she is feeling. Here are various ways to describe offending or upsetting people. They got off on the wrong foot. That means when they first met, they didn't get along. He got on the teacher's bad side. She took offense at his comment. He has a chip on his shoulder. That means he is easily offended. She got bent out of shape. He left in a huff. She got her panties in a wad. He has a short fuse. That means he gets angry easily. She dissed my mother. That means she insulted or disrespected my mother. He got his nose out of joint. Lots of things can happen when you travel. Here are some phrases for bad travel experiences. My flight was over booked. That means there were too many passengers and not enough seats. My flight was delayed or cancelled. My luggage was lost. I was jet-lagged. That means I felt tired because of the time zone difference between my origin and destination. My hotel was in a Sidi area. Cidi describes an area that is possibly unsafe. I was mugged. That means I was robbed on the street. The weather was miserable. I got the runs. That means diarrhea. The place was a tourist trap. That means it was made only for tourists, not really authentic. I couldn't wait to get back home. When talking about drinking alcohol, we can use some of these phrases. It's on me. That means I'm buying you a drink. I'd like to make a toast. That means I'd like to honor a person, event, or an idea. Here's to your health. Or here's to our success. Another round of drinks, please. Put it on my tab. Tab means a bill to pay later before you leave. He's a bit tipsy. That means a little bit drunk. He's completely sloshed, wasted, or plastered. That means he's completely drunk. She's trying to drown her sorrows. That means she's drinking alcohol for relief from pain or sadness. I'm the designated driver. That means I'm not drinking alcohol because I will drive other people home later. I had a hangover or I was hung over. That refers to the bad feeling you have the morning after drinking too much alcohol. Finally, one great way to describe things is by using comparative idioms like these. It's as light as a feather. It's as dry as a bone. It's as flat as a pancake. He's as mad as a hornet. It's as old as the hills. It's as quick as lightning. She's as sick as a dog. He's as strong as an ox. They're as different as night and day. She's as stubborn as a mule. He's as proud as a peacock. She's as white as a sheet. We usually use this when someone is very afraid or very sick. It's as solid as a rock. It's as good as new. We use this after something broken has been repaired. It's as clear as mud. That means it's not clear at all. Now you've got lots more ways to express yourself beyond the basic phrases. Remember to download my 500 phrases ebook to review everything we covered today. The link is in the video description. And if you'd like to improve your speaking even faster, check out my everyday English speaking course, Level Two, to learn real expressions that native English speakers use in conversations. You'll find it in the description or at my website, espressoenglish.net. [Music]