Uploaded October 2014 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Watch this video and learn how to speak like an English person: indirectly. English people do not always say what they mean. In this video, you will learn how to sound more natural and polite when answering difficult questions. You can also use these expressions when you're having an argument or disagreement. You'll learn phrases like "How shall I put it?", "to be honest...", "as a matter of fact", and many more. Take a quiz on this video here: engvid.com/speak-english-naturally-by-using-filler-phrases
And for extra English help, visit my website: honeyourenglish.com
TRANSCRIPT
Hi. My name is Benjamin. Have you ever had a problem when you didn't quite have the words to say to someone when talking in English? I have that when I'm trying to speak French. So in one of my earlier lessons, I was talking about trying to buy a train ticket in London. Imagine that the man says back to me, "Where do I want to go?" I don't know the name of the train station, so I say, "It sort of -- it's sort of got a big wheel. It's got a big wheel, and it's in London. It's like -- it's, like, in the middle of the map. It's kind of busy, busy place in the middle of London." Trying to describe. So I can use "sort of"; I can use "like"; and I can use "kind of" and then try and describe it. Okay?
So the man, he then says to me, "Do you mean the airport, son?" And I'm like, "No. No. Not the airport. I want to go to -- I can't remember the name. No, actually..." So these are all ways of showing a different opinion. "Actually, no. It's in the middle of London. It's by a big river. The river Thames. Or I could say, "as a matter of fact, no. I don't want to go to the airport." Or, "To be honest, I want to stay in the center. It's Zone 1." Okay? Or a very similar way of saying "to be honest" would be "to be frank". It means "honest" as well. So I could say, "To be frank with you, I want to go to the place with the big wheel and the river." Okay? Or, "In fact, I really want to go to the place with the national theatre." Okay? Or last one, "The fact of the matter is I'm not going to the airport now." Okay? These are all ways of showing opinions. "Actually", "as a matter of fact", "to be honest". This one is really juicy, nice one, "the fact of the matter is". You'll sound very important if you say that.
So the man, he still doesn't understand. What else do I have to say to him to get him to understand me? So I could say, "Well, how shall I put it? Uh, it's got a huge wheel." Or, "What's the word I'm looking for? Um..." It's "Waterloo", by the way. Or, "How can I explain this? It's on the black train line. It's on the northern line. It's right in the middle." Okay? Similar to there -- other ways of, kind of, explaining it, trying to find the meaning.
The trainman, he's getting very annoyed with me, and he starts shouting at me. So I take cover. That was a very nasty thing to say. I'm now very upset with this man. These are little introductions to threats, to arguments, to entering an argument. Okay?
"What's the best way to put this? You are very unhelpful." "You are an idiot." Or less aggressive, I could say, "What I'm trying to say is you are a bad ticket man, and I just want to go to my favourite place in London." Or, "Now, let me put it this way. If you continue, I will go to your boss." Okay? So these are little pauses while I think of what I'm going to say next. "What's the best way to put this?" To put. "To put", there, means "to say". "What's the best way to say this?" "What I'm trying to say is..." And "now". "Now" is quite a control word. If I say "now", then I have control of the conversation.
Over to here. Brian, my ticket man, now starts yapping, talking. So I need him to stop. Okay? So I say, "Now, look here, Brian. I want my ticket." Or, "Right, then, Brian. That's great, but..." okay? Or -- Brian is still talking. I say, "Okay. That's fine, Brian, but I just want to go to -- and now, I remember. I remember. Waterloo, the place with the big wheel and the river. Thank you." So these are all ways of think about what you're saying, and then you say it. Okay? Great. Thanks for watching the video, and do take part in the quiz. Bye. I'm off to Waterloo.
Watch this video and learn how to speak like an English person: indirectly. English people do not always say what they mean. In this video, you will learn how to sound more natural and polite when answering difficult questions. You can also use these expressions when you're having an argument or disagreement. You'll learn phrases like "How shall I put it?", "to be honest...", "as a matter of fact", and many more. Take a quiz on this video here: engvid.com/speak-english-naturally-by-using-filler-phrases
And for extra English help, visit my website: honeyourenglish.com
TRANSCRIPT
Hi. My name is Benjamin. Have you ever had a problem when you didn't quite have the words to say to someone when talking in English? I have that when I'm trying to speak French. So in one of my earlier lessons, I was talking about trying to buy a train ticket in London. Imagine that the man says back to me, "Where do I want to go?" I don't know the name of the train station, so I say, "It sort of -- it's sort of got a big wheel. It's got a big wheel, and it's in London. It's like -- it's, like, in the middle of the map. It's kind of busy, busy place in the middle of London." Trying to describe. So I can use "sort of"; I can use "like"; and I can use "kind of" and then try and describe it. Okay?
So the man, he then says to me, "Do you mean the airport, son?" And I'm like, "No. No. Not the airport. I want to go to -- I can't remember the name. No, actually..." So these are all ways of showing a different opinion. "Actually, no. It's in the middle of London. It's by a big river. The river Thames. Or I could say, "as a matter of fact, no. I don't want to go to the airport." Or, "To be honest, I want to stay in the center. It's Zone 1." Okay? Or a very similar way of saying "to be honest" would be "to be frank". It means "honest" as well. So I could say, "To be frank with you, I want to go to the place with the big wheel and the river." Okay? Or, "In fact, I really want to go to the place with the national theatre." Okay? Or last one, "The fact of the matter is I'm not going to the airport now." Okay? These are all ways of showing opinions. "Actually", "as a matter of fact", "to be honest". This one is really juicy, nice one, "the fact of the matter is". You'll sound very important if you say that.
So the man, he still doesn't understand. What else do I have to say to him to get him to understand me? So I could say, "Well, how shall I put it? Uh, it's got a huge wheel." Or, "What's the word I'm looking for? Um..." It's "Waterloo", by the way. Or, "How can I explain this? It's on the black train line. It's on the northern line. It's right in the middle." Okay? Similar to there -- other ways of, kind of, explaining it, trying to find the meaning.
The trainman, he's getting very annoyed with me, and he starts shouting at me. So I take cover. That was a very nasty thing to say. I'm now very upset with this man. These are little introductions to threats, to arguments, to entering an argument. Okay?
"What's the best way to put this? You are very unhelpful." "You are an idiot." Or less aggressive, I could say, "What I'm trying to say is you are a bad ticket man, and I just want to go to my favourite place in London." Or, "Now, let me put it this way. If you continue, I will go to your boss." Okay? So these are little pauses while I think of what I'm going to say next. "What's the best way to put this?" To put. "To put", there, means "to say". "What's the best way to say this?" "What I'm trying to say is..." And "now". "Now" is quite a control word. If I say "now", then I have control of the conversation.
Over to here. Brian, my ticket man, now starts yapping, talking. So I need him to stop. Okay? So I say, "Now, look here, Brian. I want my ticket." Or, "Right, then, Brian. That's great, but..." okay? Or -- Brian is still talking. I say, "Okay. That's fine, Brian, but I just want to go to -- and now, I remember. I remember. Waterloo, the place with the big wheel and the river. Thank you." So these are all ways of think about what you're saying, and then you say it. Okay? Great. Thanks for watching the video, and do take part in the quiz. Bye. I'm off to Waterloo.
