1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: Would you mind checking out this English lesson? Maybe you 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,599 could try using some of the phrases here in your 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,880 own conversations this week. Do you think you could even 4 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:18,960 tell a friend about this podcast? That would be great. 5 00:00:22,399 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,920 New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael. 7 00:00:30,679 --> 00:00:35,399 Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael 8 00:00:35,439 --> 00:00:39,920 here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 9 00:00:40,359 --> 00:00:45,479 And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight seven four 10 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:52,200 American politeness Indirect Ways to say things. Thanks for tuning 11 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,000 in and welcome back to the Happy English Podcast. Let 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,439 me start with this. Imagine you're in the office and 13 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:05,719 you say to your coworker, close the window. Yeah, it's clear, 14 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,439 it's correct, but it sounds a little bossy, doesn't it. 15 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,920 So then you could include the magic word, right, and 16 00:01:15,079 --> 00:01:22,319 know the magic word is not abracadabra, it's please. When 17 00:01:22,359 --> 00:01:25,519 I was a kid, I asked my mom like can 18 00:01:25,519 --> 00:01:28,959 I have a cookie? And she would reply with what's 19 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,319 the magic word? And then I would ask can I 20 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,359 have a cookie? Please? Wow, that was a blast from 21 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,560 the past. So, getting back to the closed the window scene, 22 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,239 you could ask your coworker like this, close the window 23 00:01:46,359 --> 00:01:51,920 please using please make your request polite, but it's still 24 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,920 too direct. Now. Of course Americans can be direct, but 25 00:01:57,319 --> 00:02:01,879 in everyday conversation we often like to soften our requests. 26 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:07,239 We make them indirect. It feels more polite, more friendly, 27 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:12,240 and honestly, it just sounds more natural. So today I 28 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,520 want to show you some of these indirect phrases that 29 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,919 we use all the time. Trust me, when you start 30 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,919 using these, people are going to think, Wow, your English 31 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:27,080 sounds really natural, no magic needed. The first one is 32 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,240 would you mind? This one is super common, so like 33 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,560 instead of saying turn off the TV, you can say 34 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:42,120 would you mind turning off the TV? It's polite, it's casual, 35 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,479 and it works everywhere at home, at work, even in 36 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:51,840 a restaurant, like would you mind bringing us some extra napkins? 37 00:02:52,599 --> 00:02:56,000 Or at the office you can ask like would you 38 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,759 mind looking over this meeting agenda I put together? Just 39 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:05,280 remember that the structure is would you mind, followed by 40 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,800 a gerrand would you mind helping me? Would you mind 41 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,759 closing the window? Like that? Now, a lot of English 42 00:03:14,879 --> 00:03:18,599 learners get stuck when it comes to answering a would 43 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,000 you mind question. The tricky part is that If you 44 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,800 just answer with yes or no, it's not even really 45 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,159 clear what you mean. Like if I said would you 46 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,919 mind turning off the TV and you just said no, 47 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,680 does that mean no, I won't do it? Or no 48 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:47,439 I don't mind. That's even confusing for native speakers. So 49 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,319 the best way to answer would you mind is to 50 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:59,599 not use just one word explain yourself, So instead say 51 00:03:59,599 --> 00:04:03,439 something like sure, I can do that, or of course 52 00:04:03,759 --> 00:04:07,520 or no problem. And if you can't do it, you 53 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:12,080 can soften your not by saying sorry, I can't right now, 54 00:04:12,439 --> 00:04:16,120 or I'd love to, but I'm in the middle of something. 55 00:04:16,759 --> 00:04:22,519 That way, your answer is always clear and always polite. 56 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:27,639 Next up is do you think you could Let's say 57 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,319 your friend has a car but you don't. You could 58 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,160 say can you pick me up at the station? Please? 59 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:39,680 But even with can and please, it's too direct, so 60 00:04:39,759 --> 00:04:42,839 this works better. Do you think you could pick me 61 00:04:42,959 --> 00:04:46,480 up at the station? Now? It sounds like a friendly 62 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:50,519 request instead of an order. And if you happen to 63 00:04:50,639 --> 00:04:54,839 have a roommate who is way too into Metallica, you 64 00:04:54,879 --> 00:04:58,480 can try asking them, Hey, do you think you could 65 00:04:58,519 --> 00:05:01,920 turn the music down a bit? I'm trying to study 66 00:05:01,959 --> 00:05:05,959 for my exam. How about you. Do you think you 67 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:08,560 can try that and let me know how it goes. 68 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:14,879 Next up is I was wondering if this one's a 69 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,160 little softer, and I like to use it in emails too, 70 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,480 like I was wondering if you had a few minutes 71 00:05:21,519 --> 00:05:25,759 to talk tomorrow, or I was wondering if you could 72 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,480 join us for dinner on Saturday. It's a nice way 73 00:05:29,519 --> 00:05:33,839 to ask because it doesn't pressure the other person. I 74 00:05:34,079 --> 00:05:38,199 was wondering if is really indirect, and it has kind 75 00:05:38,199 --> 00:05:41,199 of a humble nuance. So the next time you're at 76 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,800 a restaurant, you can try asking the server. I was 77 00:05:45,879 --> 00:05:49,319 wondering if you could bring us the dessert menu. It's 78 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:54,720 a very natural and indirect way to ask. And you'll 79 00:05:54,759 --> 00:05:59,000 notice that in all of these phrases we use could 80 00:05:59,399 --> 00:06:05,879 instead of can and would, would and could are used 81 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:12,120 in conditional sentences to talk about hypothetical or unreal situations. 82 00:06:12,879 --> 00:06:17,560 If I had a million dollars, I could buy a yacht. Well, 83 00:06:18,079 --> 00:06:21,560 that's why we use would and could to make these 84 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:27,160 polite and indirect requests. It's like you're framing your request 85 00:06:27,439 --> 00:06:31,519 in an imaginary way, like I was wondering if you 86 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,480 could help me with my homework. That if part of 87 00:06:35,519 --> 00:06:39,399 that is implied, I was wondering if you could help 88 00:06:39,439 --> 00:06:43,399 me with my homework if you have some free time. 89 00:06:44,639 --> 00:06:49,199 That's where this kind of language comes from. The last 90 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,920 part for today is how to indirectly make a suggestion 91 00:06:54,759 --> 00:07:00,480 We use maybe you could and perhaps you could, Like 92 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,319 if your coworker is having technology issues, you can say, 93 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,240 maybe you could try restarting your computer. Or if a 94 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,639 friend is having relationship trouble, you can suggest like this, 95 00:07:15,399 --> 00:07:19,399 perhaps you could call her instead of texting her. See 96 00:07:19,839 --> 00:07:23,600 it's not too pushy. It just leaves space for the 97 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:28,360 other person. So why do we do this well? In 98 00:07:28,399 --> 00:07:32,720 American culture, being too direct can sometimes sound a little 99 00:07:32,839 --> 00:07:38,759 rude or unfriendly. These soft phrases show respect. They make 100 00:07:38,839 --> 00:07:43,160 your English sound warm and polite. And here's your challenge. 101 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,079 Think about something you need to ask someone this week. 102 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,720 Instead of being direct, try using one of these indirect 103 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:56,360 phrases like would you mind? Do you think you could? 104 00:07:57,279 --> 00:08:01,480 I was wondering if I was wondering if you could 105 00:08:01,519 --> 00:08:05,839 give it a try and see how people respond. And 106 00:08:05,879 --> 00:08:08,759 there you have it. A few ways to sound more 107 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:13,959 polite and more natural when you speak English. Just by 108 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,560 speaking indirectly. Try using one or two of these today. 109 00:08:19,079 --> 00:08:23,680 Your friends and coworkers will definitely notice the difference, and 110 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:29,000 you'll feel better about how you communicate in English. And Hey, 111 00:08:29,319 --> 00:08:31,879 if you want to practice these with me and a 112 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,120 group of other awesome learners, come check out my podcast 113 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:40,360 Learner's Study Group. We meet once a week and practice 114 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,200 the language from these podcast lessons together. It's a great 115 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,919 way to build confidence and improve your speaking. Just click 116 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,840 the link below where you're listening to this podcast, or 117 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,919 visit Myhappy English dot com and choose podcast episode eight 118 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:01,519 seventy four for more info. And remember, learning another language 119 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,120 is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here 120 00:09:05,159 --> 00:09:08,399 to help you on your journey. 121 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,399 Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please 122 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:17,039 visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy 123 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,840 English by leading us a review. Get English, Get Happy, 124 00:09:21,039 --> 00:09:32,480 Happy English.