Conversational Phrases

We often use conversational phrases in speaking, less so in writing. If you live or study in an English-speaking country, or if you speak English at work, these phrases are extra important. You'll find over 450 conversational phrases below. Each one includes a definition, two example sentences, a multiple-choice quiz question, and sometimes extra notes.

Index of Conversational Phrases

A
B
C
D
E
F
G

H
I
J
K
L
M
N

O
P
Q
R
S
T
U

V
W
XYZ
Quizzes

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M

N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
XYZ
Quizzes

More about Conversational Phrases

Meaning

In many cases, even if you know every word in a phrase, the actual meaning and use of the phrase may not be clear. For example, if you're giving something to someone, maybe a report or a cup of coffee, you can say "Here you are" or "Here you go". As you can see, there are no clues in the words themselves that tell you what the phrase means, or when and why it's used. If you study the phrase's entry, however, you'll learn these things.

Register

Some conversational phrases also have a "register", such as "formal" or "informal". For example, "Here you are" is more formal than "Here you go". If you're handing a coffee to your boss, you can say "Here you are", but if you're handing one to your friend, you can say "Here you go". If you say "Here you go" to your boss, however, he or she might think you're being impolite. You can see from this example how important it is to know a phrase's register. Not all phrases have a particular register, but the ones that do have are tagged with "formal" or "informal", or the register is explained in the notes. (See the entry for here you are.)

Contributor: Matt Errey