Common Expressions in English

Plans and Social

1 How would you say these expressions in English? Try not to translate them
literally.

1. Tener ganas de
2. Mandame un mensaje
3. Todavía sigue en pie...?
4. Lo dejamos para otra vez
5. Te paso a buscar
6. Dar por terminado el día
7. Tomalo con calma / tranquilo
8. Mi culpa / mala mía
9. Lo hiciste perfecto / La rompiste

2 Watch the video and check your answers.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JQDHFNc_0ghdLjywc-hsBRDntA_4t-Gn/view?usp=sharing

3 Complete the sentences below using the appropriate expression from the list.
Each expression should only be used once.

1. I can't make it today. Can I get a _________________ for our coffee

date?
2. Don’t worry about getting a ride; _________________ at 7 PM.
3. Wow, that presentation was amazing! _________________!
4. I am not really _________________ pizza tonight; how about sushi
instead?
5. _________________ ! I didn't mean to step on your foot.
6. When you get there, _________________ so I know where to meet you.
7. _________________ the movie tonight? I wanted to confirm.
8. You’ve been working hard; _________________ this weekend and relax.
9. We've done enough work for today; let’s _________________.

4 How would you use the expressions? Think of a context and write sentences.
  Be in the mood for
 Shoot me a text
 Are we still on for..?
 Rain check
 I'll pick you up
 Call it a day
 Take it easy
 My bad
 You nailed it

Workplace

1 How would you say these expressions in English? Try not to translate them
literally.

1. Manteneme al tanto.
2. Volver a este tema.
3. Estar en la misma sintonía.
4. Pensar de manera creativa.
5. Hacer un seguimiento de…
6. Hacer una lluvia de ideas.

2 Watch the video and check your answers.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bNsAH3gA9XWZbBw16BDN_nvNF6LIGV1l/view?usp=sharing

3 Complete the sentences below using the appropriate expression from the list.
Each expression should only be used once.

1. I would like _____ our last conversation to see if you have made any
progress.
2. It’s important for us _____ before we start the project to avoid
misunderstandings.
3. Let's gather everyone tomorrow _____ some new ideas for the marketing
campaign.
4. Please _____ about any updates on the project so I know what's
happening.
 5. Let's _____ to this topic later in the meeting after we discuss the other
points.
6. We need _____ to come up with a solution for this problem that is
creative and effective.

4 How would you use the expressions? Think of a context and write sentences.
• Keep me in the loop

• To circle back

• To be on the same page

• To think outside the box

• To follow up on

• To brainstorm

Welcoming and Being a Good Guest

1 What expressions might we use in these situations?

a) You are apologizing for how your home (or office) looks.

b) You know someone is tired and you want them to relax.

c) You are inviting someone to sit down, maybe at work.

d) You want someone to feel relaxed in your house.

e) You give permission for someone to use something that is yours.

f) You are offering someone food.

2 Match phrases 1–6 to situations a)–f). Then watch the video

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q7H1SSY5Kq7kU8p4xQnm97Rxja9xJqZ/view?
usp=sharing
 1. Make yourself at home.
2. Excuse the mess.
3. Be my guest.
4. Help yourself.
5. Have a seat.
6. Put your feet up.

3 Discuss the questions.

1. When was the last time you were a guest? What was the situation?
2. When was the last time you had a guest? Was he or she a good guest?
Why? / Why not?
3. What type of things do good and bad guests do in your country?

4 Listen to six situations. Which speakers did something wrong? Which speakers
are asking for advice? Listen again and complete the notes below.

1. She says her family doesn’t …

2. He wants to know if he should bring …
3. He should come back in …
4. She forgot to take …
5. In the restaurant you have to …
6. It’s Thanksgiving but her family doesn’t eat …

5 Look at the phrases in the table and tick the ones you heard in the
conversations in Exercise 2.

asking for advice

question answer

Is it OK if I (do this)? Yes, of course. / No, you’d better not.

It’s considered a bit rude.

What should we do (in this situation)? If I were you, I’d…

Do I need to (bring a dish)? Yes, you should. / No, it’s not

 necessary.

Did I do something wrong? No, of course not. / It’s OK. We can

sort it out. / Don’t worry about it.

Is this a bad time? I can come back Can you come back in ten minutes? /
later. Not at all. It’s fine.

apologizing

Sorry about that. I didn’t know…

My apologies. I didn’t realize…

Shopping and Dining

1 How would you say these expressions in English? Try not to translate them
literally.

1. ¿Esto está en oferta?

2. ¿Cuánto cuesta? / ¿Cuánto sale?
3. ¿Me podés rellenar?
4. Voy a pedir el/la...
5. ¿Me lo podés poner para llevar?
6. Solo estoy mirando.
7. Quedate con el vuelto / Redondealo a “x” pesos.

2 Watch the video and check your answers.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10Y5_dkghE1qd8VXy3u1T_SaFFFiLNkvg/view?usp=sharing

3 Complete the sentences below using the appropriate expression from the list.
Each expression should only be used once.

1. The shop assistant approached me, but I told them,

"________________."
2. Before deciding whether to buy it, I always ask, "__________________?"
 3. After finishing my coffee, I approached the waitress and asked,
"_______________________________?"
4. At the restaurant, after looking at the menu, I told the waiter,
"____________________ chicken, please."
5. After paying the taxi driver, I told him,
"___________________________."
6. When I saw the low price in the price tag, I immediately asked the
salesperson, "_____________________________?"
7. I was in a hurry, so I asked the barista,
"__________________________?"

4 How would you use the expressions? Think of a context and write sentences.
 Is this on sale?
 How much does it cost? / How much is it / are they?
 Can I get a refill?
 I'll have the…
 Can I get this to go?
 I'm just browsing
 Keep the change / Make it “x” dollars
 As you can see in the slide… (giving presentations)

1. Look at the list of presentations and think about one you have seen
recently. Name three things you remember from it.
a) product presentation e) financial report presentation
b) roadmap presentation f) onboarding presentation
c) project update g) conference presentation
d) training session h) TED talk

2. Discuss the questions.

 How often do you listen to other people’s presentations?
 How often do you give presentations? How do you feel about presenting
something? Have you ever done it in English?
 How do you prepare for a presentation? Do you have any tips or
 for creating a great presentation?
 What are the key elements of a successful presentation?

3. Read the text and decide who the presentation is for. Find details that
support your opinion in the text. For now, ignore the gaps.
1. company customers
2. product team

Hello everyone! Today I’m going to __________ you about our marketplace
app’s new voice search feature. Let’s __________ with the most important
thing: how it works. Instead of typing, you just say what you're looking for – as
easy as that.

Let me __________ you an example of the voice search. I say: 'Find running
shoes in my size.' As you can __________ on the screen, it shows you
hundreds of running shoes to choose from!

Now I’d like to __________ to some numbers. Typing and then filtering the
search results can usually take you about a minute. In contrast, with the voice
search, it’s no more than five seconds.

Let’s __________ on to how this can affect our customers’ behaviour. This
quarter, we expect that the number of people who buy something from us will
grow by five to ten per cent. That might mean a little salary increase, ha ha.
I’ll __________ up by saying that this feature is about simplicity. It will make the
searches faster, the customers happier, and the number of buyers greater.

Do you have any questions?

4. Read the text in ex. 3 again and complete the gaps with the verbs in the
boxes.

5. Look at the text in ex. 3 again and find five more phrases to structure a
presentation. Put them in the correct boxes.

6. Order the statements to make a presentation. Then, rewrite the

beginnings of the statements using five phrases in the boxes in ex. 5.

A. Now, about some numbers. They show that remote working companies using
the collaboration tools that I mentioned before have seen a 450% increase in
keeping talented employees and a 20 to 30% increase in productivity.

B. For example, I’ll show you one of the features: Slack’s integration with Trello.
It lets teams quickly move from discussion to creating and assigning tasks.

C. This slide shows that we have analyzed tools like Slack, Zoom and Trello.
The features users consider most helpful include real-time messaging, file
sharing, video calls and task management.

D. To finish, I’d like to say that it is important that we start using collaboration
tools to make our work more effective and bring our teams closer together.
E. My presentation is about how we can use collaboration tools to make remote
working more effective.

7. Watch a video and complete the statements with one word.

A. During a presentation, you should be clear because if people don’t

understand you, you cannot do the presentation ___________ .

B. If you want people to understand your presentation, use ___________

language.

C. When you prepare your presentation, make sure it doesn’t sound like a(n)
___________ paper.

D. Try first presenting to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of your
___________ .

8. Discuss the questions.

• What do you think about the tips from the video (using simple language, using
a conversational tone, practising on somebody who doesn’t know your topic)?
Have you ever used any of the tips?

• Can you think of more tips to make sure a presentation is clear?

• Imagine you have decided to do some exercises to improve your presentation

skills. Which of the exercises would you try? Why?

- talk for a minute about a random object

- do breathing exercises

- practise tongue twisters

- practise in front of the mirror

9. Think about a work-related presentation in which each situation from a

pair is more appropriate than the other. Explain why.
EXAMPLE: specific terms OR simple language: A presentation with a lot of
specific terms is more appropriate when your audience has a deep knowledge
of the topic. It’s better to use simple language when you present to clients or
investors.