Hey, it's Annemarie with
Speak Confident English. Just last week I was talking with a group
of my students about the importance of showing gratitude and that conversation
led to us discussing all of the different ways native speakers say thank
you in English and I thought this is the perfect time to update one of
my oldest Confident English lessons. Several years ago I did a lesson on 32
new ways that you can say thank you in English. There are three reasons why this
lesson is really important. Number one, you'll understand what native speakers
say when they express thanks or gratitude with an expression you've
never heard before. Number two, you can use the same language and with
32 different ways to express gratitude or give thanks. It gives you the ability
to be flexible in your English. And finally, reason number three that this lesson
is so important is saying thank you has power.
When you show gratitude, it gives you a more positive outlook, it allows you to share kindness
and joy with other people. And of course it makes them smile as well. Now at the end of this lesson I
also have a little bonus for you. There is one expression that native
speakers often used to say you're welcome that can sound a little bit
surprising or even confusing. So I want to tell you
exactly what that is. Let's start this lesson by looking
at a few different casual or informal situations that happen in our everyday
life and all the different ways that we can say thank you in English
situation number one, let's imagine that you're at work and
one of your colleagues goes down to the cafeteria or to a local coffee shop and
buys you your favorite coffee drink or tea because they know
you're having a long day. So when that colleague comes back with
your favorite drink, you could say, thanks a lot. Thanks a
bunch. Thanks so much. Or just simply thinks here
are a few example sentences: ah, thanks so much. I really need
that extra dose of caffeine right now. Or thanks a bunch. You're so awesome for
thinking of me. Situation number two, it's your birthday and everyone at the
office has bought a cake to celebrate with you. So you could respond by
saying, I really appreciate this. Or Oh, you shouldn't have, for example, I can't believe you did this. You
shouldn't have, but thank you, I really appreciate it.
Situation number three, one of your colleagues stays late at work
with you to help you finish a project. Here are three great ways
that you can say thank you. You're the best you
rock and I owe you one. I owe you one is short
for I owe you a favor. When someone does to help
you in a time of need, they've done you a favor and to let
them know that you appreciate it. You can say, I owe you one. The next time
you need help, I'll be there to do it. So when you put these together
in sentences, it might
sound like you're the best. I couldn't have done this
without you or thanks so much. I really owe you one next time
you need help. I've got it. And situation number four for casual
or informal ways to say thank you in English. Let's imagine that you've
had a very stressful week at work. You have a major deadline coming
and you've been working extra hours, so your husband says, Hey,
don't worry about dinner
tonight. I'll take care of it. I'll get the kids to bed and I'll
do all the dishes. You just relax. That would feel pretty amazing,
so you might want to say something like, what would I do without you?
I can't thank you enough. Or saying thank you isn't enough.
For example, you're wonderful for doing this.
What would I do without you? All right. Now let's switch to some more professional
or formal situations in which you might need to express gratitude and
say thank you. In English for example, you might want to say thank you to some
potential new clients at the end of a business meeting or maybe you're giving
a speech at a wedding or a networking event and again, you want to express gratitude but the
situation requires language that is a bit more formal. The examples I'm going to
share with you are also great for writing, whether you're sending a thank you note
to a friend or a thank you email to a client in situation number one.
For more formal ways to say thank you. Let's imagine that you're writing a
thank you note to a friend who has been helping you after giving birth to a child
or maybe while you've been taking care of a sick parent. Some great sentence starters that
you can use are I'm so grateful for. I'm so thankful for or many thanks for
and here are some example sentences. I'm so grateful for your help.
While I've been taking care of my mom, it's been a really difficult time, but
you've made it easier. Thank you so much. In situation number two, you want to send an email to
your whole team to say thank you. Maybe they've been working overtime to
get a project done or perhaps everyone volunteered their time on a Saturday. Here's some great ways you can start
those sentences. I truly appreciate. Thank you ever so much
and it was kind of view, for example, it was so kind of all of you and your
families to give up time on a Saturday and volunteer for our 10 k race to support
cancer research or I truly appreciate everyone's willingness to work overtime. I know this has been a stressful period
and I want to say thank you for helping us get this project finished on time.
And situation number three, one of your business contacts spent
extra time with you to get you some information that you needed. A great way to say thank you and an
email or a phone call is to say thank you for going through the trouble of,
for example, thank you for going through the
trouble of answering all my questions. I know you're busy and I
appreciate your time now. If you're writing to a business contact
you don't know well or if you're writing a business letter, we definitely want to
increase the formality of our
language and here are some great ways you can say thank you
with that increased formality, thank you for your assistance with or
thank you for your attention to this matter. For example, thank you for
your assistance with this request. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Here are three more great ways that you
can say thank you in formal business writing:
your support is greatly appreciated. I'd like to express my appreciation
for and thank you for your kind consideration.
That last one is fantastic. If you're sending an email
after doing a job interview. Now at the beginning of this video I said
I was going to share with you one way that native speakers
often say you're welcome that can sound a little bit
strange and before I do that, I have one more situation
of how to express gratitude
and thinks that I want to share with you.
And this one is a little bit sensitive. There are times for all of us,
when something tragic happens, a loved one passes away,
a divorce happens, someone loses a job or a family
member becomes very sick. And in those situations we often have
friends and family members and even colleagues who help us. And after that difficult time passes, you might want to send
a note to say thank you. And here are some ways that
we often do that in English. I'm utterly grateful for.
I cannot thank you enough. I want you to know how much
I value what you've done. Words cannot describe how grateful I am.
And finally, please accept my deepest thanks.
For example, you might say, words cannot express how grateful I am
for your help during this difficult time and now including the expression.
Thank you. You've got 32 different ways that you
can use to say thank you in English and express your gratitude. So now let's finish with one way
that native speakers often say, you're welcome and it might
sound a little funny to you. Have you ever heard a native speaker say,
no problem. That is an informal way
of saying you're welcome. So if you're saying thank
you to a colleague who just
brought you some coffee, they might respond with no problem.
In other words, it wasn't a problem at all for them
to do that small favor for you, it was something they were glad to do. It's a perfect way to say you're
welcome in more informal situations, whether it's with a friend, a family
member, or a coworker that you know well, now I'd love to hear from you. What is your favorite new expression
that you learned in this video? For how to say thank you in English.
If you enjoyed this topic, I recommend watching my lessons on how
to give a compliment to a colleague at work and how to accept
compliments in English. You can find those in my playlist and
be sure to subscribe to this channel so you never miss a future
Confident English lesson.
