1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,840 In this English lesson, you're going to learn the key phrases 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:07,480 that you need in order to make plans with friends and also the 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,640 phrases you need to make new friends. 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:14,040 This is Jack from to Fluency and this English lesson is going to 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:18,800 be super useful for you because making plans with English 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:23,640 speakers is a big part of being able to speak with confidence. 7 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:26,960 Often when you meet new people, you want to be able to make 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:31,280 plans with them, whether that's to hang out casually, if you 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,600 want a new romantic relationship, or if you just 10 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:39,400 want to meet new acquaintances and people at conferences, at 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,600 language schools, wherever it may be. 12 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:45,080 And at the end, I'll have some key facts and also a really big 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,240 tip when it comes to communicating and how to do this 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,600 through apps. And as always, try repeating 15 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,120 these out loud. So feel free to pause the video 16 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:58,800 and go back and repeat what I say. 17 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,440 I'll repeat most phrases twice so you can get some good 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,720 practice. All right, let's start with the 19 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,520 first group, which is all about inviting someone to do 20 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,320 something. And the first phrase is going to 21 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,240 include a casual term. And this is something I hear all 22 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,160 the time from English speakers, and it's this. 23 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:19,560 Would you like to grab a coffee this weekend? 24 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,760 Would you like to grab a coffee this weekend? 25 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,160 Now this doesn't mean grab and hold, but it just means would 26 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,560 you like to get a coffee this weekend? 27 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:33,080 So grab means to get something quickly like coffee or lunch. 28 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,320 And it's informal, but you'll hear people use this all the 29 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:38,520 time. Would you like to grab lunch 30 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,440 this weekend? The next one is more of a 31 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:45,320 British slang term. I'm going to use the word fancy 32 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,920 fancy and the phrase is this. Do you fancy go for a drink on 33 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,360 Friday? Do you fancy going for a drink 34 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:55,240 on Friday? Now this sounds like an 35 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,960 invitation to someone in a more romantic way. 36 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,280 Do you fancy going for a drink on Friday? 37 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:05,280 So fancy is a British term that means like, do you feel like 38 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,840 doing this? Would you like to do this? 39 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,600 Do you fancy going for a drink on Friday? 40 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,760 Now the next one is more inviting and a little bit more 41 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,080 open-ended, but it's this. I was thinking we could go to 42 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,240 that show this weekend. I was thinking we could go to 43 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,200 that show this weekend, but this one is obviously more open-ended 44 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,000 and not as strong. Now you'll often hear English 45 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,000 teachers saying don't say this, say this instead. 46 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,600 Now sometimes that's useful, but along the time they say don't 47 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,960 use the word want say this instead. 48 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,760 However, we use one everyday in English and it's very good for 49 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,960 you to use as well. So listen to this example. 50 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,160 Want to do something this weekend? 51 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,680 Do you want to do something this weekend? 52 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,560 So sometimes we'll drop the do and just say want. 53 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,880 That's very informal, but you could just ask, do you want to 54 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,240 do something this weekend? And again, a lot of teachers 55 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:05,440 might say use more advanced English, but this is a fantastic 56 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,360 way to ask someone to do something with you. 57 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:11,720 Now the next one is something you'll often hear when somebody 58 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,880 doesn't want to make a specific plan. 59 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,600 For example, let's say you bump into somebody in a supermarket, 60 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,040 so you weren't meeting them there, but instead you just see 61 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,320 them in the supermarket. You might say at the end of the 62 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,200 conversation, let's get together soon, let's get together soon. 63 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,800 You're not making any concrete plans. 64 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,440 You're not committing to a specific time and date. 65 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:41,800 Instead you're saying maybe we should do this soon or I'll text 66 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:45,400 you soon and we can arrange it. We should get together soon. 67 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,920 Now the next section is all about suggesting a specific 68 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,240 activity. And I love some of these phrases 69 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:54,440 because they're, again, they're just so common in everyday 70 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,600 English. And the first one is something 71 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:59,960 you might have heard before, and it's this, how about we try that 72 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:02,920 new restaurant on Saturday? How about we try that new 73 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:08,200 restaurant on Saturday? So how about we do something on 74 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,200 this day? And this is used between 75 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,520 friends, between partners. Also, it could be used as a way 76 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,440 to make new friends or new romantic friends. 77 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,120 Now, if you want to have a more creative way to propose 78 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,200 something, then you might say this. 79 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,640 What if we tried that new Italian restaurant? 80 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,200 What if we tried that new Italian restaurant? 81 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,760 So you've heard something about the Italian restaurant. 82 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,320 You are thinking maybe this is going to be good. 83 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,160 Why don't we try it? Why don't we try that new 84 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,960 Italian restaurant? The next one you'll probably 85 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,600 know. And it's this should we go for a 86 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,080 walk tonight? Should we go for a walk tonight? 87 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,640 But you can also make this a conditional too. 88 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,200 Should we go for a walk if it's not raining? 89 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,320 Should we go for a walk if it's not raining? 90 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,840 Again, this might be simple English, but it's a fantastic 91 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:00,880 way to suggest an activity, a specific activity. 92 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,800 Now the next one involves the word check out to check 93 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,760 something out. I often say check out my other 94 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,640 videos on my channel. Why don't we check out that new 95 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:12,200 gallery everyone's talking about? 96 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,120 Why don't we check out that new gallery everyone's talking 97 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,320 about? Now if you want to have some 98 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,440 enthusiasm and show your preference here, instead of 99 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,480 asking someone's preference, you can say this. 100 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:26,720 Let's do something fun like bowling. 101 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,400 Let's do something fun like bowling. 102 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,360 So the let's show some enthusiasm in your preference 103 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,200 for doing something. So let's do something fun 104 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,000 tonight like karaoke. The next set of phrases is all 105 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,760 about check in for someone's availability because they might 106 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,040 not be free. They might not be available to 107 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:48,440 do the fun things you want to do. 108 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,360 The first one is before you suggest an activity, you can 109 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,160 suggest the date. So you might say, are you free 110 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,520 on Thursday evening? Are you free on Thursday 111 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,360 evening? And here free means available. 112 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,760 Are you available? Do you have the time to do 113 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:09,000 something on Thursday evening? And then they normally say maybe 114 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,760 what you thinking and you can say, well, let's do something 115 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,040 for them like karaoke. Now the next one is offering 116 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,600 some flexibility and it's it's more polite in a way, but you're 117 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,160 putting the preference on the other person. 118 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:25,360 So you might say, oh, we should go check out that new 119 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,320 restaurant. They say, yeah, yeah, let's do 120 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,720 it. When works best for you, when 121 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,240 works best for you. So you're asking the other 122 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:37,560 person their preference for time when works best for you and a 123 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,640 casual way to see if someone's available. 124 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,280 Is got any plans this weekend or do you have, do you have any 125 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,880 plans this weekend? Do you have any plans this 126 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,720 weekend? If you want to mention a 127 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:53,240 specific time, but of the flexibility, you might say, does 128 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,920 Saturday morning work for you? Does Saturday morning work for 129 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,280 you or is there a better time? Does Saturday morning work for 130 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,840 you or is there a better time? And let's say you've not seen 131 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:06,760 one for a while and you want to meet them in a casual way. 132 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,680 You might ask, do you have some time next week for a quick catch 133 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,360 up? Do you have time next week for a 134 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:14,760 quick catch up? Or you'll often have a catch up 135 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,120 with somebody who you haven't seen for a while and you want to 136 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,600 share your news and you want to hear about their news as well. 137 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,000 And if you ought to be more direct, you can just ask them 138 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,440 like before, let's have a catch up next week. 139 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:30,920 Let's have a catch up next week. Now the last five are going to 140 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:35,640 be about accepting these offers to hang out with someone, to 141 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,240 have a catch up with someone, to go to a movie with someone. 142 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,120 And also we'll look at ways to decline this too, because that's 143 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:48,640 always difficult to do when you say no now, no, a very common 144 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:52,000 way to accept when someone says, do you want to do this on 145 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,760 Thursday? Should we do this next week is 146 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,880 sounds good, sounds good. I'll give you a text on the 147 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,560 night or sounds good. We'll arrange plans tomorrow. 148 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,840 You'll also see people say sounds like a plan sounds like a 149 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:11,680 plan and then declining it usually comes with an excuse or 150 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,560 a reason. Now an excuse means, oh, I don't 151 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,600 want to do it. The reason is you'd actually 152 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,840 have a reason, something that's happening that means you can't 153 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,720 do it. So for example, I'd love to, but 154 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,760 I have so much going on at the moment. 155 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:30,200 Maybe I'll I'll text you in a couple of weeks and maybe we can 156 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,400 do something then. So that one is somebody saying I 157 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:39,520 don't really want to, or I kind of want to, but I'm too busy, so 158 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:43,440 let's do something next time. Whereas if someone says, oh, I'm 159 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,080 busy that day, but how about Sunday instead? 160 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,920 Then in that case, they're telling you that they are open 161 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,240 to a different day. And then another way to accept 162 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,520 something in a very positive way is I'd love to. 163 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,080 I would love to. So someone might ask you, do you 164 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,040 want to go and do this tomorrow? You can say, oh, I'd love to, 165 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,240 I'd love to, yeah, let's do it. Now if you've noticed throughout 166 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:12,520 this, there's been a certain tone to accepting things or 167 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,200 asking people. And the tone is a very warm and 168 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,120 friendly 1. So in English, when we're making 169 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:24,200 plans and inviting people or saying yes to something, then we 170 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:28,680 often show excitement about it. So if somebody invites you over 171 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:32,080 for dinner, then you have that. Yeah, I'd love to. 172 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,920 And if you're doing it in a text message, you'll often use an 173 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,600 exclamation mark. So you want to show that 174 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:42,520 excitement and that warm tone when you are accepting offers 175 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,360 and also when you're inviting people. 176 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,440 And often times you can tell by the tone if somebody wants to 177 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:50,800 hang out or wants to do something with you. 178 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,880 So if the tone is a little less friendly, then you can say, OK, 179 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,120 no problem, maybe next time. Now I've got some stats for you 180 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,000 as well, including this one here, which I'm going to read. 181 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:06,520 According to a 2023 survey, I imagine that this has changed a 182 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:12,680 little bit. 68% of Americans prefer texting to make plans 183 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:16,120 with friends, while only 15% use phone calls. 184 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,080 I imagine that's higher now. So with this in mind, this is 185 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,720 also important to work on your writing nervously. 186 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:27,040 Followers these days correct your spelling, so there's not 187 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,240 much need to worry about that. But it's also good to learn 188 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,200 these phrases in a way to text them like before. 189 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,600 Sounds good. Exclamation mark is going to 190 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:38,920 work with texting. And another study showed that 191 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:44,320 73% of young adults in the United Kingdom use WhatsApp 192 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,720 daily to make plans, compared to just 25% who prefer face to 193 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,880 face. So which apps are used in your 194 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,640 country when it comes to making plans? 195 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,960 And what to do now is to go back and to learn these phrases 196 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,280 again. And what you can also do is go 197 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:05,280 to the description, see the list of phrases, read them out loud 198 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,120 and know which ones you need to practice a little bit more. 199 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:12,280 Oh, and then share this episode with a friend like the video and 200 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,240 then watch another episode which is on your screen now. 201 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:17,920 So thank you for being here and I'll speak to you soon. 202 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:18,680 Bye for now.