Certain situations need special vocabulary…
Congratulations!
You can say Congratulations in many circumstances, such as for weddings, promotions, passing exams, or to the parents and family of a new baby.
Well done!
You can say this to someone who has passed an exam or achieved something difficult like a promotion.
Birthdays
The most usual ways of referring to someone's birthday are by saying Happy Birthday! or more formally, Many happy returns!
Cultural note: Some birthdays are more special than others in Britain. Your 18th birthday is special as you then become an official adult. In the past, 21 was the age of adulthood, and some people still celebrate it in a special way by giving silver keys, which represent the key to the door.
Before an exam or something difficult
Wish someone good luck before something difficult, by saying Good luck! But if people are superstitious and believe that saying "Good luck" will have the opposite effect, you could also hear Break a leg!
If someone has failed at something, you can say Bad luck!
Toasting
At parties and gatherings, you might be asked to drink a toast to celebrate a happy event.
Here's to …
Let's drink to…
Ladies and Gentlemen, "The Bride and Groom".
Please raise your glasses to…
Writing to someone who has passed an exam
If you are writing a card or a letter to someone who has passed an exam, you can use the following expressions:
Well done! It's a fantastic result.
Congratulations on passing! You deserve it after so much hard work.
Writing wedding cards
Here are a couple of standard phrases to write on wedding cards:
Congratulations! Wishing you many happy years together.
Wishing you the best of luck in your future together.
Writing in sad situations
In difficult situations you can write I was so sorry to hear that ….
If you are writing to the relatives of someone who has died, you can also write
I was deeply saddened to hear…
or
Please accept my deepest condolences on the death of…
(You can replace "I" with "We", such as "We were very sad to hear that…")
50 comments on “How to respond appropriately in special situations”
How to respond when someone gives you their condolences
You can just say "Thank you" to the person when they give you their condolences.
we say: "congratulations for the new baby?" or "on the baby"? or what??
I'd say "Congratulations on the / your new baby!"
The formal phrase is: Congratulations on the birth of your new baby.
However if it is someone you know well, we simply say Congratulations! we would also ask after the health of both the mother and the baby.. normally like this. "How are mother and baby doing?"
What does "Good job!" mean ? Can I say it to my teacher when he has just finished his class and is going to leave it ?
"Good job" is what your teacher says to you! It means you have done an exercise well. To your teacher, you can say "Thank you for the lesson".
Please!what can we say to someone who is waiting for an operation in the hospital?
SIMOHAMED » You can say "Good luck" or "I hope it all goes well".
simomed" you can say dont wory every thing wil be easy" bay
please what I can say when i like to demand to someone to excuse me
kaoutar » "Please excuse me for a minute."
what is meant by "raise your glassis'
faisal » It means you should raise your glass, ready to drink to the toast.
How can I respond to our co-workers when they say "have a ncie week-end"?
Apple » Thank you. You too!
what do i say to some who says, sorry to hear that?
jet » You don't really need to say anything, as the person is responding to you. However, if you want to, you can say "Thanks".
want 2 send thank you letter to the sister of my boyfriend for the warm accommodation her family gave to us specially giving us fare for our plane tcikets..want to ask sorry also for the disturbing them.please help..
Thank you very much for your warm hospitality and for giving us the money for the plane tickets. Your kindness and generosity were much appreciated.
(Then go on to say how much you enjoyed the visit, and maybe invite them to your house.)
what do you say to a person you ask to do something and they respond, "I'm disabled."
It's a strange thing to say. Can you give more information about the context?
Can you please tell me when to use the phrase 'Never Mind'?
We use it when we want to tell another person not to worry about something:
- Sorry I'm late.
- Never mind.
what can i say when i want to introduce myself in an interview? thanks
In a job interview? I'd smile, hold out my hand, and say "Hello, I'm Clare…" I'd then expect the other person to shake my hand and introduce him / herself to me.
well, this is the first time i'm visited your site, so allow me to tell you that you're great. i'm from morocco and i like English, and i think that it's useful to visit ur site as usually as possible.
i really mean it …..Thanks a lot
(i'm visiting ) ((((w u read it !! ))))
well, last time when i posted a comment, i was in a hurry !! from time to time i usually have a special desir of writting in english .
now i want to talk about this site, i guess that after somedays of navigation in your site, i feel that i've learned many things ( vocabularies, expressions….etc ) . that's why i want to thank every one who created this site, and i wish to learn more and more……
How do I respond when someone asks me if I've heard news of someone's death? (There is a delicate family situation surround the deceased, and the asker is on the opposite side of me in the situation.)
Well, I think it depends on whether you have or haven't heard. If yes, you can say something like "Yes, XX told me last night". Or you can comment on the death instead of saying when you heard. Perhaps "Yes, it was expected" or "Yes, we were all hoping he'd pull through, but…" If you haven't heard, perhaps you can say "Oh no, thanks for telling me. How are the family?" and leave it at that.
Hi,
What do the English say when giving presents to a person who is from abroad. I have bought him a present but I do not ecactly know what to say. 'Please take that present from the students and remember us.' or 'We have a nice present for you, please accept is and remember us.' What do you suggest?
If the present is from you and other people, you can say:
We clubbed together to get you this. We hope you like it!
We've got you something from all of us. We hope you like it!
i `m from viet nam.i read your web the first time.however ,it attract me a lot.thank u very much.can u tell me what can i do when a person say"oh!man".thank u very much
I don't think you need to say anything, as the other person is showing you that he / she sympathises, or is despairing of something. It depends on the situation what the expression means.
hi i am very much thanks to you for this one.
i would like to ask one thing, if somebody helped me too much so how i can write mail to them for saying thanks.
Have a look at the page and comments about writing thank you letters in the real life section of the site.
Perfect again Clare, I hope your site helps me to pass my hard exam next Thursday evening. CU
Good luck in your exam!
could you add something about greeting?
There's a page on greetings in the speaking section of the site.
I have problems to answer the wright way. Semple: How are you = ? = +the meaning
how are you duing=? + " " "
Hello =? +" " "
Hi =? =" " "
Ho you been???= ? please help.
How are you? Fine thanks. And you?
how are you doing? Fine. And you?
Hello. Hello.
Hi! Hi!
How you been? Fine. You?
If sm1 says sorry to hear that..what do i say?
thx, its ok??
How do I congratulate someone on their 50 years in business?
Yes, something like that would be fine.
You can say / write something neutral like: "Congratulations on your fifty years in business!"
pls help me to explain the sentence "pls excuse me for the minute". What does it mean?
Kind regards
Maybe someone needs to go away from you for a short period of time, and they are asking you to excuse them.
Thank u very much for yr explanation.
If i am with someone and suddenly my phone ring, so what shud i say in formal and also in informal way?
pls let me know some tips.
Thanks
Would you excuse me for a moment?
Sorry, I think I need to answer this call.
More informally:
Hold on a sec.
Let me just take this call.
What do you say when someone is saying how sorry they are to hear about your mother becoming ill with cancer recently?
person: oh i'm so sorry about your mum!
me: ?
"Thanks."
