The Secret to Sounding Natural in English: 10 Phrases To Get You Started

Stop saying, I'm tired. Instead, say, I'm beat, I'm spent, I'm wiped out, or I'm running on empty. Today we're going to transform 10 basic English phrases into the more natural expressions that native English speakers actually use. It's an easy way to level up your fluency. Make sure to download today's lesson PDF to review all the phrases and practice them with a quiz. Click on the link in the video description, enter your email, and I'll send that PDF right to your inbox. Instead of, I don't understand, you can say, I don't get it. You could also replace it with a question word, especially how or why, like this. I don't get why some people spend $10,000 on a fancy watch. Or I don't get how this machine works. Phrase number two. Instead of, I was amazed, you can say, I was blown away. This is often followed by the word, by. For example, I was blown away by her incredible dancing skills. Number three. Instead of, I'm very happy, you can say, I'm thrilled, or I'm over the moon. When was the last time you were over the moon? Let me know in the comments. Number four. Instead of, he's lazy, you can say, he's a slacker. We also have a related phrasal verb for the action. So if we say, he's slacking off, it means he's not working hard, or he's not putting in much effort. Number five. Instead of, she's kind, you can say, she has a heart of gold. This describes someone who always has good intentions and helps people. Hey, if you like these phrase transformations, I want to invite you to join our new challenge called Say This, Not That, beginning September 1st. In 10 days, we'll transform 100 phrases from simple ones to more natural and fluent ones, and we'll practice them together. Click on the link in the video description to learn more and sign up to start the Say This, Not That challenge. Let's keep going with phrase number six. Instead of saying, that's terrible, you can say, that stinks. This is not used for major tragedies like death or disaster. It's more for things like, my car broke and it'll cost $2,000 to repair, or I broke my leg right before my vacation. Oh man, that stinks. Number seven. Instead of saying, I don't like it, you can say, I don't care for it. This is like a more indirect and polite phrase. I don't care for broccoli, or I don't care for roller coasters. Number eight. Instead of saying, it's not important, you can say, it's no big deal. It's often used to say something is not especially inconvenient. For example, I bought the wrong size shoes, but it's no big deal, I can exchange them. Number nine. Instead of saying, I'll contact you, you can say, I'll get in touch. This is a very common informal way to talk about contacting someone. Number ten. Instead of saying, wait a moment, you can say, hang on a sec, or hold on a sec. Sec is short for second. If it might be a little longer than a brief moment, you can simply say, hang on, or hold on. As you can see, these aren't difficult expressions. They're simply more natural, more conversational ways to express ideas you probably use every day. So, if you want to sound more fluent in English, you don't need to memorize a bunch of complicated phrases. Instead, you can simply transform the expressions you already know into the ones native speakers actually use every day. Imagine learning and practicing a hundred transformed phrases like these, and using them in your own English. That's what we'll do together in the new Say This, Not That Challenge, starting September 1st. Again, the link to join is in the video description. The challenge won't have super long lessons, and it won't have hours of homework. Just ten days of short and sweet practice that helps you transform a hundred of your most common phrases into more fluent ones. Here's exactly how it works each day. Step one, learn. First, watch a short video where I'll transform ten common basic phrases into more natural expressions. Step two, practice. You'll do a quick exercise to help you review and remember the new expressions. Step three, chat. You'll put your new English into action by chatting in our private WhatsApp group, which will be available during the challenge. Learning plus practice plus communication equals confidence. So if you're ready to stop sounding basic and start speaking more fluently, I'd love to have you join us. Click on the link in the description to sign up for Say This, Not That. Bye for now!