8 phrases native English speakers NEVER say | And what to say instead

Don't ever say these phrases if you want to sound like an English native speaker. I cover 8 words and phrases native English speakers don't use, and I tell you what to say instead.

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[Janmakarta]

Spot on, Agnieszka. I would myself probably prefer "My friend and I" to "Me and my friend" but that's because I'm an old fuddy-duddy who was brought up to regard it as impolite to put oneself first. Apart from the fact that the accusative "Me" cannot be the subject anyway. But you're right, lots and lots of people do say it, so it's fine.

Sometimes it goes the other way: People want to sound especially correct and so they overcompensate; they will (wrongly) say rather carefully "I" instead of "me", as in: "My friend asked my sister and I to tea".

The question "What do you do in your free time" is indeed a classic textbook question. It really does sound like a cross-examination, doesn't it? You can imagine the searchlight trained on the hapless suspect. A more natural way of tackling the subject (apart from your own excellent suggestion) might be to ask "What do you do when you're not at work, then?" - assuming, of course, you've already asked the person what they do actually do for a living, since this usually comes before asking about hobbies etc. when you're getting to know someone.

And yes, definitely, "Morning" is much more common than the rather stilted "Good morning". And really no-one I know would ever even THINK of asking "How do you do?" To which the official answer, as I'm sure most people with old-fashioned English languages textbooks know, is also "How do you do?". Information content: zero. But oh so tremendously polite ;-)

[vidalrenaolopelo]

Good morning Aga, for me the must surprising one is, ME AND MY FRIEND, instead of MY FRIEND AND I.
I really enjoyed the video. Thanks.

[pineapple]

Hi, I'm English. 'Good morning' is said alot, usually at work. Or you can just say 'morning'. A fun one is 'ey up' this is a greeting in Yorkshire/up north.

[supermidiacaxias]

Hi from Brazil, I'm Diego.
I learned a lot from this video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Doubledig]

I am a native British English speaker and found the video interesting and spot on! I do say, 'Good morning ' (tends to be formal, ie to someone not met before or formal setting) or 'Morning' (informal - could be a brief greeting passing someone in the street). I would use either greeting to a friend but more likely 'Morning ' or 'Hi'.

[spamjoshuam]

i really though u were british LOL jajaja

[sehlsehl]

Thank you very much.
Please, do more videos like this, because the eveyday english is different of the academic one.

[scottpage]

Most of these expressions aren't so out of date, although I have to admit I've only heard someone (a foreign woman) say "Not at all" once. Some of them are used in more formal, structured situations. If you walk into work in the morning and you want to greet your co-workers, you could get away with a full "Good morning, " as long as you've had enough caffeine, of course. I heard Cary Grant say "How do you do?" in an old movie, as he met his future father in law. Me and my friend is still pretty common, but my friend and I seems to be spreading even to where it doesn't belong. "We asked, and he lent his new car to my friend and I." Could be over-correction, or people think it sounds more elegant. And finally, most supermarkets have an express lane at the cash registers, with a sign that says 10 Items or Less. I was in a fancy, upscale (expensive) supermarket once that had a sign that said 10 Items or Fewer. I rolled my eyes, suppressed a laugh, and thought "As I live and breathe!" (Check out an ancient grammar book by Edwin T. Cornelius for more expressions like that.)

[andrea_am_i]

I’m Texan and the way I was raised my mama would slap me if I didn’t say good morning lol. As far as I know everyone here says it.

[JaviAranibarC]

It is very interesting the seventh phrase, "Me and my friend" instead of "My friend and I" comparing to the same one in spanish. The polite form to use that frase un spanish is "Mi amigo y yo...", "Ella y yo", exactly the same estructure of "My friend and I". It is very useful to learn the correct way in english. Thank you very much. Best regards from Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

[ellisdp]

Well observed! As a native English speaker I agree with most of these.


I would encourage people to still say "fewer people" rather than "less people", which is still incorrect - all better educated speakers would say "fewer people". We will even correct each other about that.


I do think "What do you do in your free time?" is OK, and people still use that, e.g. when meeting someone for the first time at a party, this is a natural question and does not sound out of place.


One small tip from me. A mistake I often hear non-native speakers make is to ask "Is it fine?" as a question. When asked something you can say "It's fine" as an answer, but it doesn't sound natural as a question. Ask "Is it OK?" instead.

[idabagusdarmaputra]

Great to know natural English...thanks Agnieszka❤❤❤

[christopherfleming]

I found you because I'm learning Polish. Maybe you could help us long-suffering Polish learners, and give us some more easy Polish phrases. There are more of us than you think!

About this video, as a British native speaker, I never say "less people", despite hearing it all the time. Nor do I say "me and my friend". As far as I'm concerned, that's how children speak; educated adults should not make those kinds of mistakes. But maybe I'm getting grumpy and old-fashioned now I'm approaching 50.

You are absolutely correct when you explain that nobody really says "good morning" anymore, nor "how do you do". That's probably a change in the culture, because if you watch old films, you will certainly hear these phrases. Perhaps more formal modes of speech are going out of fashion.

[Mark-ejoi]

The 'Good Morning' thing baffled me. People say good morning all the times (in the morning obviously). 'How do you do' is still pretty much in use mostly among elderly people. 'Please repeat' or similar idiomatic phrase is very much used during phone conversations (telephone lines tend to be of not very good quality here in the UK) because if you use 'pardon me' or 'excuse me' without a facial expression the interlocutor cannot understand what the hell you want. The bottom line: it isn't exactly how you are saying....

[dharanig]

Thank you mam❤️❤️❤️.but usually I always use just morning alone to wish someone.thank you for making this video 🙏🙏👍👍👍. I'm an indian girl.so I always prefer to use British english.thanks a lot mam❤️❤️❤️❤️

[americancolombian]

I haven't heard anyone say "how do you do?" for the last 40 or 50 years. It would seem very formal in an introduction. If I were to introduce two of my friends to each other, I would say something like this:
Mary, do you know my friend Tom?
Tom, ...Mary.
(To which one of them would respond, "Nice to meet you." The other would say something like "Nice to meet you" or maybe "likewise."


Something else that native speakers never say in real life is "It is I."
If I were to knock on your door, you would call out, "Who is it?"
"It's me, " I would say.

[nicknicholas]

hmm, mabye I speak oddly, American almost 40 years old, I always say good morning if it is an aquentiance or a starnger, I say how do you do if someone tells me hello or good morning first ... , for not at all, I do not say that after I get thanked, I say Thankyou back, its better then your welcome, I read somewhere that saying your welcome can be heard as a negitive, such as, you better be greatfull ect.. the rest I do use them but very rarly, Free time I normaly say what is your hobbies ? , I always use someone and I, sister and I my father and I, it is the only one that sounds good to me .

[salwasalahussein]

Mostly all the outdated expressions are used in interviews as a formal or professional way, and also in fantasy and historical fictions. However, the other examples are used in life basis, basically nowadays street language... Thank you for this video!

[ahmedbaflah]

👍✌️ You are a great teacher, Aga.
Thanks

[OO-bqff]

How do you do does not mean 'how are you?'.The reply is simply ''how do you do?'