Hello, this is Jack from To Fluency.
Now in this English lesson, you're going to learn 30 phrases
all about emotions, some of these emotions are happy and
exciting, some express sadness. While others talk about fear and
even relief, and this is a super useful lesson because, often in
English, we talk about our emotions and how we're feeling,
and a lot of learners don't know how to do this properly.
So I'm going to break this down for you.
I'm gonna explain these phrases and also talk about if they're
used in the UK or the USA, because as you're going to see
with the first one, this is very USA specific.
But before we get started, know that I have left all of these
phrases in the description for you so that you can read the
different phrases and see the different examples.
And while you're down there, also check out the resources
that I've left to help you improve your English.
Let's start in a happy space by talking about phrases you can
use to express happiness and excitement.
Like I said before, the first one is very American.
And I'm gonna try my American accent here.
And it's this. That's awesome.
After 15 years of living in
America, my American accent still needs a bit of work.
But I'm sure you've heard the word awesome before and it's
used all the time here. People use it, maybe even
overuse it. Now, a British equivalent is
brilliant. That's brilliant.
And this is something that I still say here in the US.
So we can use it to describe something that we're really
enjoying or that we really like. For example, this restaurant is
awesome. Or responding to somebody who
might say, by the way, I just got a new job.
You can say, that's awesome. That's awesome.
It is a little bit more informal, so responding to
formal types of news or use it in a work environment doesn't
work as well. But again, you're gonna hear
this all the time. The next one is often used when
someone shares some good news and you want to respond to that.
Let's say it might be. An engagement, pregnancy or
somebody got a new job. And it's this, I'm so happy for
you. I'm so happy for you.
So you are explaining that you have this positive emotion
because of somebody else's good news.
And it's often used with a little hug or something like
that, especially between close friends.
So someone might say. We are gonna have a baby in a
few months. You can say, oh, I'm so happy
for you. That is great news.
I'm so happy for you. The next one is used when you
want to say how something has affected you.
So let's say you are at home and somebody knocks at your door and
you think, okay, who's this right now who is knocking at my
door? You go to answer the door and
you open it and a neighbor has brought around some cookies and
you think, oh, this is amazing. This is exactly what I want
right now. This has made my day.
So this is used for something
that brightens your mood and makes you feel better.
It could be like the last one as well, for example, that news has
really made my day. That news has made my day.
Now the next one is all about showing happiness in a physical
way because often after good news or some type of special
event, you have a smile on your face, you smile.
And a phrase to be used here is, I can't stop smiling.
Or if you're talking to somebody
else, you might say, You seem so happy, you can't stop smiling.
You can't stop smiling. And let's talk about something
in the past here, you might say, I couldn't stop smiling after
hearing the news. I couldn't stop smiling after
hearing the news. The next one is an idiom, and
this is before we move on to the next set of emotions from what I
know, I think this is British. It's very British, in fact.
And it means to be extremely happy.
And it's this to be over the moon.
To be over the moon. So this is a very strong phrase
to say that you are extremely happy about something.
So it could be I'm over the moon about my new job.
I'm over the moon about my new job.
Or she was over the moon when she found out she got the house.
She was over the moon. the next set of phrases are all about
surprise and shock. When you are genuinely surprised
about something, and they're more or less in a happy way.
But you can also use these sometimes, depending on the
intonation, if something is shocking in a negative way.
But let's look at the first one. Which is used for surprise, and
it's this No way. No way.
It's often said loudly, and you might have seen this in movies
as well, so people Responding to some surprising news will say,
no way. I can't believe that.
No way. The next one is very American.
And it's used when something sounds unbelievable and it's
this. You're kidding.
You are kidding. And to kid means to joke but if
you use your kidding, this is slightly stronger than you're
joking, because you'll also hear people say, you're joking,
you're joking. So if you're on the phone to a
friend and they say, I met Taylor Swift last night at a
restaurant you can respond with. You are kidding.
Really? You are kidding.
So that's quite a strong way to react to something that sounds
unbelievable. The next one is a little bit
more neutral and not as strong. And it can be used for both
positive and negative surprises, and it's a simple one.
I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting that.
So this is a very neutral way to react to some type of surprise
or some type of situation. For example, let's say you
didn't think you did well on a test, but the test results come
back and it says that you did really well and you passed the
test. You might say, oh, I wasn't
expecting that. I thought I was going to fail.
I wasn't expecting to pass. The next one is used for
emotional or genuine surprise. And it's more a matter of
statement rather than being really emotional and using
strong intonation. A little bit like the last one.
And I'll just give you an example.
The ending of that movie really took me by surprise.
But if you wanna make it stronger, you can use the next
one, which is to be blown away by something to be blown away by
something. So this is used for being amazed
or deeply impressed by something.
Let's say you go to a restaurant and you have incredible food,
you might say something like, I was blown away by that
restaurant. I was blown away by that
restaurant, meaning that you were deeply impressed by this.
So it's used a lot to talk about things that you are impressed
by. Before we move on to sadness and
disappointment, just a reminder, all these phrases are in the
description for you. And be sure to follow me on
YouTube, on Spotify or Apple, iTunes, wherever you are taking
this lesson. So let's now start with
disappointment and sadness and start with a British example,
and it is this. That's such a shame.
That is such a shame. Now with these, it's important
to know that your tone and your intonation makes a big
difference because you might sound sarcastic or you might
sound like you don't really care, which can be used in a fun
way with friends and people you know.
But tone really matters here, especially if you want to
express disappointment. For example, it's such a shame
they can't make the party. It's such a shame that they
can't make the party an American alternative here is to say,
that's too bad. It's too bad you can't make the
party. Now, this next one is very
common to talk about the way that you feel if you're feeling
sad. Or if you're not feeling very
energetic and it's this, I'm feeling a bit down today.
I'm feeling a bit down today, and it's very common to use bit
here as well. Instead of, I'm feeling down
today, I'm feeling a bit down today.
An example here is that everyone feels a little bit down after
the holidays, especially in January when the weather is
terrible and the holidays have finished.
Everybody's back to work. The weather's terrible.
It's gray. It's common to feel a little bit
down at this time of the year. The next one is a lot stronger
to express sadness and disappointment.
So think about this for using deep sadness when you're really
down about something or something makes you feel really
sad or disappointed, and it's this, it broke my heart.
It broke my heart, for example, it broke my heart to see him
leave. This might be a really close
friend who has moved away from where you currently live, and
you're saying it broke my heart to see him leave.
This is very common in love songs and movies as well,
because you can talk about it in a way as somebody broke your
heart in a relationship, let's say it might be after she left
him, she broke his heart. Now, before we talked about how
food blew you away at a restaurant.
Now we're gonna look at an example of when food isn't up to
standards when you don't like it.
A good way to think about this one is when something doesn't
meet your expectations, and you can say this, I was a bit
disappointed with the food at the restaurant.
I was a bit disappointed with the food at the restaurant.
Now we can also use disappointed in when we're talking about
people, you might hear a teacher or a parent say to the child.
I'm disappointed in you recently.
I'm disappointed in you recently, which means that you
are not meeting the expectations that we are setting.
But another example we're disappointed with is the
weather. So you might say while you're on
vacation. I'm really disappointed with the
weather while we're here. I'm really disappointed with the
weather. And the last one in this
category is British slang. You might have heard this
before. I use this quite a lot and it's
to be gutted. I'm gutted.
This means to be very upset or disappointed about something.
Let's use a sports example now, you might say after your team
loses again. I'm gutted we lost today.
Or he was gutted he didn't get
into that university. He was gutted he didn't get into
that university. So we've done sadness and
disappointment. Let's go into frustration and
anger now. Frustration and anger.
And let's start with a strong one.
When you are saying that you can't tolerate something any
longer, and this is a good one with teachers and parents, you
might hear them say, I've had enough.
I've had enough of you. I've had enough.
And this can be quite serious, and the tone shows a level of
anger that someone is showing. For example, a bus driver in the
US might say, I've had enough of this noise.
I've had enough of this noise. It has to stop.
But you can also use it in a playful way, like, I've had
enough of this weather. We need to go somewhere.
I've had enough of this weather. A very common one that I'm sure
you've heard before. But we've got a good example of
using it with a conditional is annoy used for mild irritation
or repeated habits. So you might say this to someone
like this example, you're really annoying me.
Or what you are doing is really annoying me.
This is quite direct and telling someone that what they're doing
is irritating you. But we can use it with
conditionals like I mentioned. An example is it really annoys
me when people are late, it really annoys me when people are
late. The next one is common in the
UK. I've also got an American
version for you as well. We can use this for frustration.
Or sometimes boredom too. And it's to be fed up with
something. I often use this if I have to
wait too long for something, I might say, I'm fed up of
waiting. I'm fed up of waiting, , or I'm
fed up of always having to wait here.
I am fed up of always having to wait here in the US You might
hear sick of, to be sick of something.
I'm sick of waiting. I'm sick of waiting all this
time. Now the next one is when you
want to think back on something. But it can also be used in the
present as well. The main thing to know is that
this one is useful for when somebody loses their temper or
becomes too emotional. If someone gets really angry.
And you're talking about the story, you might say he
completely lost it when he found out.
He completely lost it when he found out that bad news.
So to lose it is when you don't have control.
Over your emotions, especially your anger.
Again, it can be used in a funny way or not such a serious way,
like, oh, I completely lost it when my phone broke.
I completely lost it when my phone broke.
And the last one in this category is used for when you're
feeling too overwhelmed or too stressed to continue.
And it's common in casual speech as well.
So it's not just used in terms of when things become serious,
and I'm gonna share a little slang phrase as well, that
Americans use here, but the phrase is this.
I can't deal with this right now.
I've heard parents use this before.
If the parents have a lot of things going on and the children
are coming to them and saying, can you do this?
Can you do this? Can you help?
They're arguing. They're arguing.
You'll hear parents say, I can't deal with this right now.
Stop what you're doing. I can't deal with this right
now. And then the slang term here
that you might hear in movies and people in the US is: I just
can't. I just can't.
Or in American English, I just can't.
I just can't. Okay, let's keep going because
we have 10 more to go. And the last one is one of my
favorites, although it is overused a little bit.
But the next set are all about fear and nervousness when you're
nervous about something. So imagine you have an upcoming
event, maybe a speech at a wedding, or a speech at your
school, and you're given a presentation.
To express how you're feeling. You can simply say, I'm a bit
nervous about it. I'm a bit nervous about it.
Now, you've seen bit used before and we use it again here, and it
just softens this a little bit. I'm a bit nervous about the
speech. I'm a bit nervous about the
presentation. Or talking about it in the past,
I was really nervous about the presentation, but it went okay.
Lemme know in the comment section if you get nervous about
public speeches. But then sometimes as well when
you're feeling fear and nerves about speeches, you can use a
phrase that describes a physical fear.
Because oftentimes when you have this feeling, your heart races,
your heart beats fast, and you can feel your heart.
And the phrase is, my heart was racing.
My heart was racing before the speech.
It can be used for both fear and also thrill.
But another example is. Imagine you are opening a letter
and it's an important letter. You might say, whew, my heart is
racing a little, my heart is racing a little.
Now the next one I've only heard it been used before a wedding,
and this is when somebody is feeling really nervous about
getting married. And I'll give you the example.
She almost canceled the wedding because she got cold feet.
So to get cold feet means to have so much fear about doing
something that you nearly cancel it, or in some cases you will
actually cancel it. The next one is used a lot and
we're moving on to embarrassment and awkwardness, and this last
word awkward is used all the time in British and American
English. So it's a really important one
to learn. And the phrase is, that was so
awkward, or this is so awkward. And it's used when something
feels uncomfortable or socially strange, socially weird.
An example might be, he forgot her name.
When he was introducing her to his friends, it was so awkward.
It was so awkward, so everyone felt uncomfortable because he
couldn't remember his girlfriend's name.
Another one is the silence after that comment was so awkward.
It was so awkward. The next one is embarrassed.
To be embarrassed. A great example is that parents
often embarrass their kids. So if the parent is just doing
something, maybe singing, dancing, asking their friends
too many questions, the child might say, you're embarrassing
dad. Dad, you're so embarrassing.
So it's like a feeling of self-consciousness and not a
good feeling. It's disagreeable.
For example, let's say you're in a busy restaurant and you stand
up to go to the bathroom, but as you stand up, you knock your
drink over, it smashes on the floor, and everybody looks at
you. This is an embarrassing moment,
and you feel or you probably feel embarrassed about doing
this, and you can say, it was so embarrassing.
Everyone was watching. It was so embarrassing.
The next one is used in embarrassing, awkward, or
humiliating moments. I often hear it in terms of
soccer commentary. When somebody makes a mistake on
the field, let's say a goalkeeper lets the ball go in
very easily, you might hear the commentator say.
He looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up.
This is when you feel so embarrassed by something or
awkward about something. You want the ground to swallow
you up so then nobody can look at you anymore.
For example, when I called him by the wrong name, I wanted the
ground to swallow me up. We've got four more to go and
you might be thinking, what a relief.
What a relief. And this is said after stress or
worry ends. When something stops being
stressful or stops being worrying, it is often said with
a sigh or an exhale light. Oh, what a relief.
What a relief. So you might be worried about
some news coming up. Let's say again, going back to a
test or an exam about not passing.
So you are in fear. You have all this worry for
days. And then you open the letter and
it says that you passed. You can say, oh, what a relief.
What a relief. something similar is this phrase: That's a weight
of my shoulders. That's a weight of my shoulders.
And it's based on the idea of carrying emotional weight.
It's like you are carrying this weight on your shoulders that is
emotional. For example, I finally did my
taxes. That's a weight off my
shoulders. So it's used when a problem or a
responsibility is finally gone and you've completed it.
The last two are about neutral or mixed feelings.
So the first one of these two is, I am not sure how I feel
about it. I'm not sure how I feel about
it. So this is explained that you
have mixed emotions, you're unsure about your feelings
towards something. And it's good for honesty,
polite, honesty in uncertain situations.
For example, I'm not sure how I feel about moving abroad.
You might be planning this trip to move abroad.
But you have mixed feelings about it because there are
pluses and minuses for doing this.
I'm not sure how I feel about moving abroad.
And then finally, it is what it is.
It is what it is. You hear sports people say this
a lot. And it's used to accept
something that you can't change or to talk about something
without really describing what it is.
So a boxer might get interviewed and say, you lost that fight.
How'd you feel about it? They say, it is what it is.
I can't change it. I have to deal with it now.
So what to do now is to go through the description and
ensure that you've understood all of these different phrases
and then you can copy and paste them into your notebook to
practice over the long term. Or if you want to learn through
space repetition software, then check out the resources in the
description to learn how to do that.
Be sure to follow me on the platform that you are taking
this lesson on. My name is Jack from To Fluency
and I'll speak you soon. Bye for now.