Category: Spoken English

  • Use of ‘get’

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    You get anything when someone gives it to you, you obtain it by your own efforts, someone brings it to you or you buy it. Why not use get instead of take, obtain, bring or buy? It sounds nicer, let’s try:I got a gift from her this morning. (Instead of She gave me a gift…

  • Time expressions

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    Units of time Smaller units of time combine together to make larger units: 60 seconds together make a minute. 60 minutes together make an hour. 24 hours together make a day. A week has seven days. 30 days is a month. 12 months make a year. 10 years make a decade. 10 decades or a…

  • Telling the date

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    Names of the days of the week Here is how you say (and write) the days of the week. [Brackets below enclose written abbreviations of the words. A written abbreviation is spoken as the full form of the word.] Saturday (Sat.) /ˈsæt.ə.deɪ, ˈsæt.ə.di/ Sunday (Sun.) /ˈsʌn.deɪ, ˈsʌn.di/ Monday (Mon.) /ˈmʌn.deɪ, ˈmʌn.di/ Tuesday (Tue. or Tues.) /ˈtjuːz.deɪ, ˈtjuːz.di/ Wednesday (Wed.) /ˈwenz.deɪ, ˈwenz.di/ Thursday (Thur.…

  • Asking and telling the time

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    Asking the time You can ask the time in any of the following ways: ~ What’s the time? ~ What time is it? ~ What time is it now? ~ Do you know what time it is? ~ Could you tell me the time, please? ~ Excuse me, what’s the time? ~ Excuse me, what…

  • Greeting and saying goodbye

    When you meet someone, you greet them. You say someone goodbye at the end of a meeting. Here are some expressions used for greeting: Informal greetings Hi /haɪ/ Hallo/ hullo /həˈləʊ/ Hey /heɪ/ Hiya /ˈhaɪ.jə/ Howdy /ˈhaʊ.di/ Hello stranger! Long time, no see! These two expressions are used when you meet a friend after a…