Hi, I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident English
and welcome to your Confident English Wednesday lesson.
This week we're focused on two simple words in English.
And you might be wondering: why are we focused on thank you and you're welcome?
These are such simple words.
These are some of the first words that you learn in any language.
Or if you're traveling to another country, most of us try to learn these words in the native language.
But my goal is to help you expand your vocabulary and communicate more naturally in English.
Using thank you and you're welcome are always appropriate but...
native speakers have many different ways that we use to say thank you or say you're welcome to someone else.
And I want you to know what those are so you can use them and sound more natural in English.
And understand native speakers more easily when they communicate with you.
So in today's video, we're going to focus on casual, informal, everyday situations when you might be
hanging out with friends, spending time with your neighbors or coworkers that you know really well.
And we'll also look at some examples that you can use in formal or business situations,
traveling for work, and talking to international clients.
Let's start with a casual, everyday situation. It's Friday night and your neighbor or English-speaking coworker
has invited you to their home for a BBQ, for a picnic. The weather is perfect, it's a beautiful summer evening
and you've had a great time. You're so glad that you got invited to this event.
And you want to tell your neighbor, your friend thank you. One easy way to do that, a way that native speakers
often use is: thanks so much.
Thanks so much! I had a blast ( = to have a great time). Thanks so much.
Similarly, you could also use: thanks a ton!
This was such a great time. Thanks a ton.
And finally, you're the best. You're the best. Thank you so much for inviting me to your party.
I had a great time. You're the best.
Now, imagine that a native speaker has just used one of those ways to say thank you with you.
And you want to respond naturally, for example, you could say:
No problem. No problem. This one might sound a little tricky. It has the word problem in it.
And you might be wondering, is this a problem? Are they telling me that this is a problem?
I'm not sure I understand it.
But no. When we say no problem, what we mean is it was not a problem.
There's no need for you to say thank you. It was easy for us. No problem!
You could also say: sure, no big deal! Sure, no big deal.
For example, if you remember in the video I did last week on different ways to use could in English
Maybe your friend asks you to help them move. They're moving to another apartment.
And you say yes. You help them move. You use your car to help them move furniture. And at the end they say:
Thanks a ton! I really appreciate your help. And you could say, "Sure. No problem/no big deal."
And finally, don't mention it. Don't mention it. This is just a simple way for us to say you're welcome.
Don't mention it. There's no need for you to say thank you.
Now, let's switch the situation to a more business/professional example.
Perhaps you're working with some colleagues or some international clients and
someone does something to help you. Maybe you had a major deadline and you were super stressed
about the deadline. And one of your coworkers helped you finish your project.
You could say: I really appreciate it. I really appreciated your help. I really appreciate it.
Or, that's really kind of you. Thank you so much for helping me. That's really kind of you.
And finally, my favorite, you made my day. You made my day. Thank you so much. You made my day.
And now, maybe one of your native English-speaking coworkers uses one of those expressions with you
the best way to say you're welcome is: it's my pleasure. It's my pleasure.
Or, I'm happy I could help. I'm happy I could help.
And finally, it was nothing. It was nothing. This is very similar to saying
it was no big deal or don't mention it. It was nothing.
And with that you have 6 new ways to say thank you and 6 new ways to say you're welcome
in the same ways that native speakers use every day so that you can expand your vocabulary and
use these expressions more naturally in English.
And now that you've finished watching this video, I want to hear from you.
I want to know what is your favorite way to express thank you in English?
It might be one of these new expressions that you've learned today.
Or it might be an expression that you've heard before.
But I would really like to know what it is. So share with me in the comments section just below this video.
Not only will you be able to share that with me but also the Confident English Community.
Don't forget to review all of the comments because you'll probably learn even more expressions.
Thank you so much for joining me. I love having you here every week and as you know
this is the place to be every Wednesday if your goal is to advance you English language skills
and communicate with confidence.