Shadowing Practice: 55 BASIC ENGLISH PHRASES FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS TO START SPEAKING AS A BEGINNER - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey guys, welcome to Lingua Marina.

Today's video is about 55 common phrases for different situations in English.

I think that when you start to learn a language, the best way to do it is to start learning phrases that native speakers use.

Because once you master those phrases, you can start using them.

And the faster you're able to talk to people, the faster your progress will be.

So today we're gonna learn very basic phrases that you can start using right away in different conversations with native speakers.

Phrase number one, the most basic is hello.

It's actually one word.

This is how you greet people when you meet them for the first time.

You say hello.

Hello.

Then the next phrase is very basic.

You introduce yourself and you say my name is.

What is your name?

My name is Marina.

What is your name?

This is a very basic phrase when you introduce yourself.

My name is Kent.

What's your name?

Now, I'm pretty sure you knew those phrases, but there is another phrase that is also very useful.

Sometimes you start talking to people and you realize you forgot their name.

So the phrase that you use in this situation is a phrase that sounds like, I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.

You are...

And there you stop, and the person responds with his or her name.

And you are...

When you are in a big company of people, and you came with your friend, you can introduce your friend by saying,

Please meet my imaginary friend.

Name is, I don't know, John.

Please meet John.

Graham, please meet Mr. Anderson.

Or another way to do that is just to say, this is John.

Now, when you've introduced yourself and the other person introduced him or herself as well,

then you can just respond to them by saying, nice to meet you.

Or you can also say, pleased to meet you.

Or you can just say, it's a pleasure.

Now, let's move on to the next situation you are in a foreign city, foreign country, and you're asking for information.

In English, it is not very polite to ask the question directly, like, how do I get to the metro station?

This is a little impolite.

The way you ask that in English is, could you please tell me?

And then you ask a question.

Could you please tell me where is the nearest grocery store?

Excuse me, could you tell me where I could find the manager, please?

Or, can you tell me how I can get to the city center?

Can you tell me?

If you are unsure that the person knows the answer to your question,

you can say, do you know how I can get to the city center from here?

Do you know how to get?

Yeah.

Or another way to say that, do you have any idea how to get to the city center from here?

Do you have any idea?

And the most indirect phrase that you can use is you can say,

I wonder if you could tell me how to get to the city center.

Say ma 'am, I wonder if you could tell me how to get to Gila flats.

Now moving on to the next situation, event small talk.

So basically what happens during big events that are forbidden in most of the states right now, but in some states they're already happening.

You come to meet a lot of people, you see the whole new crowd and you want to start a conversation.

And a small talk, you know, discussing different things, different random things, is a great conversation starter.

Here are a couple of examples.

Example number one, if you like the venue, you can say, what a great place for the event.

And then you start discussing, oh yeah, that was so thoughtful of them to rent this beautiful studio to create this video.

What a great place!

Or you can start a conversation with someone by asking, how did you hear about this event?

So how did you hear about our little secret coffee spot?

And another way to start a conversation with a person that you don't know, you can ask, are you from here?

Especially if you're in a big city with a lot of immigrants.

Are you from here?

Another situation is when you have to interrupt someone.

In English, especially in England, it is considered more polite when you are indirect.

That means you're not saying you, can you tell me that?

You start with yourself.

I am so sorry to interrupt you.

This really softens the interruption.

So the phrase that you can use, sorry to cut in, but I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight.

Mind if I cut in?

Using sorry at the beginning really softens this interruption.

Another phrase that you can use, can I just stop you here for a moment?

And then you go and ask a question.

Can I just stop you right there for a second?

The next situation, very common, ordering food at a restaurant.

Here is the set of phrases that you can use while ordering food.

For example, if you look at the menu and you see names that you don't recognize, for example,

Bolognese, you can say, what is Bolognese like? and the waiter would go on and explain you what's inside that pasta.

If you're unsure what to order, you can ask what can you recommend?

And this is the phrase that I always use when I go to restaurants, especially when I go to new restaurants.

I always try to rely on waiter's advice because they work at that place and they know the best.

What can you recommend from the menu?

What do you recommend?

When you're ready to order, you can say could I order the Caesar salad please?

If you want to reorder something, you can say, can I get another orange juice, please?

Can I get another glass of Chardonnay, please?

And in the end, when you want to pay, there's this universal sign where you're kind of signing something in the air.

That means you're asking for a bill.

Otherwise, you can just say a phrase, could I have the bill, please?

That means you're ready to pay.

Sorry, could I have the bill, please?

Now the next situation can be very very scary for English language learners because that situation is a business phone call.

It is a lot easier to talk to people in person because you can see their body language, you can see their emotions,

you can actually read lips if you have confusion about what they're saying.

Telephone is a completely different thing and sometimes it's a nightmare.

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My first calls in English were like nightmare to me because my palms were sweaty, I was red and I was like

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because it was really hard to understand the person on the other side of the phone because I couldn't hear them well.

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There were some noises and I was trying to understand.

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When people talk to you on the phone for the first time they do not assume

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that you are a non -native speaker so they maintain their regular tone

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and speed of voice and you can be left confused by what they said.

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But there are some phrases that can help you at least to lead the conversation

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so you don't have to think about what you have to say.

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If you are calling to set up a meeting you can say

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I'd like to set up a meeting with you at your earliest convenience.

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When are you free?

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If you want to schedule a phone call you can say are you free to talk next week?

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For example you're scheduling a call with your immigration attorney

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and you want to make sure that he has enough time to talk to you.

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Are you free next Thursday? Or

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if you're making an appointment

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you can say does Thursday 2 30 p .m work for you does 8 p .m work for you

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if you are the one who initiated conversation you can start it by saying we are here today to discuss

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and then you introduce the topic we're here to discuss a business contract

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or another phrase

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that you can use is you can say today I would like to outline our plans for

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and then you discuss the topic the next situation is

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when you agree with someone there are several phrases that you can use.

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You can say exactly.

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So instead of saying yes, oh yes, of course, yes, you're right, use different phrases because otherwise you will be repeating yourself.

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So you can say exactly as a way to agree with someone.

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Exactly, exactly my point.

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Another phrase is absolutely.

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That means you agree 100%.

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Absolutely.

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And the last but not the least, I couldn't agree with you more.

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It's kind of similar to absolutely.

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It shows 100 % agreement.

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Thanks for saying that, Eamon.

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And I couldn't agree with you more.

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There are also situations when you disagree with someone and there you can use other phrases.

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Instead of just saying no, you're not right, uh -uh, use phrases that are more polite.

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For example, I'm not sure about that.

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I'm not so sure about that.

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Or you can say, sorry, but I think you've missed the point.

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And then you introduce an argument in favor of your opinion.

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I know the story, Xander.

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But you missed the point.

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Or you can just say, I'm afraid, I disagree.

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This phrase is a little too strong.

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That means you're like 100 % disagree with that person.

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Well, I disagree, mom.

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The next situation, very common for girls and boys who love shopping you're at the store.

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There are several phrases that you can use.

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First phrase, very common, when a shopping assistant approaches you and asks what are you looking for and you're just browsing,

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you can either say I'm just looking around.

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Oh, I'm just looking, thanks.

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Or you can say thank you, I don't need any help, I'm just browsing.

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Oh no, you're just browsing, thank you.

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Or if you need something particular, you can say yes please, I'm looking for a red dress from a party.

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I'm looking for a tie.

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If you want to ask if there is any discount available, you can ask, is this on sale?

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If there is a discount saying 10%, that means this item is 10 % off.

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I'm kidding.

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It's on sale.

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Another kind of bargain that you can find is called 3 for 2.

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That means you take three pieces and you only pay for two of them.

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If you want to see whether something suits you or not, you can ask, can I try this on?

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And this question is very popular these days

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because in some countries fitting rooms are closed and you can't actually try things on Can I try it on?

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If you want a discount you can say can you do me a deal?

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If you're satisfied with the item

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You can say great.

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I'll take it.

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I'll take it

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If this item is a gift you can ask to gift wrap it

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Can you please gift wrap it for me?

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That means can you wrap it as a gift?

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Do you think you could gift wrap it for me, please?

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And at this stage, the salesperson would ask you, how would you like to pay?

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By cash or by card?

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And you reply, I would like to pay by cash or I would like to pay by card.

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How would you like to pay?

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Credit card.

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If you have a coupon for the store,

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maybe you had a magazine with something you could cut out or maybe you found something on the internet,

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you show this and you can say, can I redeem this?

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Can I redeem my coupon?

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Hello, I would like to redeem this coupon.

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Then another situation, no very pleasant one, is when you are late.

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There are several phrases that can help you in that situation.

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I am sorry for being late.

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You apologize for not being on time.

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When somebody calls you and asks, where are you?

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We're already starting everything.

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You can say, I'll be there in 10 minutes.

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I'll be there in 15 minutes.

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If you can't come, then you can say, would it be possible to reschedule our appointment for the next week,

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for tomorrow, for late afternoon, depending on when you can make it.

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Would it be possible to reschedule this call, please?

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When you finally arrive, you can say, thank you for waiting.

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Thank you for waiting.

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Or you can say, I am sorry for keeping you waiting.

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Sorry for keeping you waiting, Ms. Clark.

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And the last but not the least situation is when you're ending the conversation.

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I gotta go.

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Thank you so much for staying here with me today.

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Yeah, I don't have time to say thank you because I really gotta go.

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It was really nice chatting with you.

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Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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It was real nice chatting with you, Mr. Skoll.

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When you're in the middle of conversation and you kind of feel it's a little impolite to stop it right now,

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you can introduce your intent to stop the conversation you can say, I'd better be going.

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My baby's waiting for me at home.

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I'd better be going.

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Or when you're with your friends, you're like, guys, I really gotta go.

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I have this exam tomorrow and I have only two hours left to prepare.

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It was great to hang out with you, but you know, I gotta go.

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And the last but not the least, something that I would tell you right now, catch you later.

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Catch you later.

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Thank you guys so much for watching this video up to the very end.

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If you're not yet subscribed to this channel, hit subscribe.

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If you want to practice more English with me, the link to my course for intermediate learners will be below.

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Hit it and you'll have access to my classes where I teach you English.

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Again, thank you so much.

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Looking forward to seeing you on my courses and looking forward to seeing you on my next videos.

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Bye -bye.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “55 BASIC ENGLISH PHRASES FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS TO START SPEAKING AS A BEGINNER”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: phrase, situation, conversation. This video has 221 sentences and 2404 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:24. The speaker talks at a natural 179 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 47 of its 221 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
phrase noun	/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/	A short written or spoken expression.
introduce verb	/ˌɪntɹəˈdus/	To cause (someone) to be acquainted (with someone else).
wrap verb	/ɹæp/	To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper.
disagree verb	/dɪsəˈɡɹi/	To fail to agree; to have a different opinion or belief.
discount noun	/ˈdɪskaʊnt/	A reduction in price.
polite adjective	/pəˈlaɪt/	Well-mannered, civilized.
coupon noun	/ˈkuːˌpɑn/	A section of a ticket, showing the holder to be entitled to some specified accommodation or service, as to a passage over a designated line of travel, a…
browse verb	/bɹaʊz/	To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand.
redeem verb	/ɹɪˈdiːm/	To recover ownership of something by buying it back.
topic noun	/ˈtɑpɪk/	A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest.
menu noun	/ˈmɛn.juː/	The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.
nightmare noun	/ˈnaɪt.mɛɚ/	A very unpleasant or frightening dream.
subscribe verb	/səbˈskɹaɪb/	To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name).
indirect adjective	/ˌɪn.daɪˈɹɛkt/	Not direct
unsure adjective		uncertain, ambivalent.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look forward to verb		To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.
cut out verb		To refrain from (doing something, using something etc.), to stop or cease (doing something).
look around verb		To inspect a building or area.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Do you know how to get?
Do you have any idea?
That means you're not saying you, can you tell me that?
Mind if I cut in?
What can you recommend from the menu?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are forbidden · is considered · can be left
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've introduced · you've missed
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the best · the most basic · the nearest
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	start learning · start talking · start discussing

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 66 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, initiate /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/
Long words — get the stress right: universal /ˌjunəˈvɜɹs(ə)l/, immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, examination /ɪɡˌzæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/, apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, intermediate /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like phrase, introduce, wrap.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 55 BASIC ENGLISH PHRASES FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS TO START SPEAKING AS A BEGINNER - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?