English Sentences for Daily Use: In this lesson, you will be learning 30 super common English phrases that native speakers use all the time. You will find that when you learn a new language by listening to other people speak, you catch these phrases here and there, and you learn them as they are—as phrases without even thinking of their different components. That’s actually how the majority of people who learn English abroad do it. They learn phrases as they are, so you know it actually works and it’s really effective. Now let’s get into the 30 phrases to sound more fluent and native-like.
30 Super English Sentences for Daily Use
- I Can’t Help It
- It Is What It Is
- That Makes Sense
- Hey, It Happens
- Oh, That Explains It
- Do You Happen To…
- Tell Me About It!
- I Was Wondering If…
- Hands Down
- That’s Rich (Coming from You)
- I Couldn’t Care Less
- Can’t Be Bothered
- Give Me a Break
- Get Over It
- I’m Not So Sure About That
- Take Care
- I Don’t Know the First Thing About…
- I’ll Be the Judge of That
- Cut to the Chase
- Let’s Call It a Day
- Love You for That
- Third Time’s the Charm
- Let’s Agree to Disagree
- Can I Take a Rain Check?
- I Call Shotgun
- Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room
- It Was a Blessing in Disguise
- We Got Off on the Wrong Foot
- Cut Them Some Slack
- A Penny for Your Thoughts
1. I can’t help it.
This phrase is said when you are unable to act differently. It can be applied to countless situations. For example:
- I know I shouldn’t drink coffee, but I can’t help it (I cannot stop myself)
- I Can’t help Falling in Love with You.
2. It is what it is
People use this phrase when they’re in a difficult, challenging situation that cannot be changed and must be accepted. For example:
- I know it’s tough, but it is what it is.
3. That makes sense
People use this phrase when they can easily understand something and they think it makes sense, so they agree. For example:
- Why has Nora disappeared from social media?, she started college, so she’s probably busy, “Oh yeah, that makes sense.”
4. Hey, it happens
This phrase is used as a response to a problem without complaining. It’s usually a minor inconvenience, and it can be yours or someone else’s. For example:
- I know it sucks, but hey, it happens.
5. Oh, that explains it
This is used when you can’t understand something, but then you get new information that explains everything. [English Sentences for Daily Use] For example:
- Oh, that explains it.
6. Do you happen to…
You can use this phrase when you want to ask something politely. For example:
- Do you happen to know where he is?
- Do you happen to know if there’s a parking lot nearby?
7. Tell me about it!
This phrase is used ironically to tell someone that you understand what they’re talking about because you’ve had a similar experience.
- It’s been such a busy day at work, “Tell me about it“
8. I was wondering if…
This is another very common way that people use to ask something politely. Instead of saying “Can you help me?” say “I was wondering if you could help me.
- I was wondering if you could help me out.
- I was wondering if you could help me with my project tomorrow.
9. Hands down
Hands down is used to emphasize something we’re saying; it works like “definitely.”
If I say, “She’s hands down the best singer I’ve ever listened to,” I mean there’s no room for doubt”. She is definitely the best.
10. That’s rich (coming from you)
This is a response you can give to someone, informally of course, when they criticize you for something that they also do when they make a hypocritical accusation.
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11. I couldn’t care less
When you really don’t care about something, instead of just saying “I don’t care,” you can emphasize it even further by saying “I couldn’t care less.”
12. Can’t be bothered
That’s another one for when you don’t care about something, but in this case, people use it to tell us that they are not going to do something because they think it’s just unnecessary, they just don’t care about it, or even because they’re lazy at the moment and they don’t want to.
- I can’t be bothered with your fancy rabbit laugh.
- I really can’t be bothered right now; have someone else do it.
13. Give me a break
This phrase is used to tell people to stop treating you unfairly. For example:
- Aren’t you finished yet? Give me a break; I only started five minutes ago.
You could also use this ironically when someone tells you something that you don’t believe. [English Sentences for Daily Use] For example:
- Give me a break; that’s not possible.
14. Get over it
People use this when they want to tell the other person to stop being unhappy or bothered by something and forget what happened. For example:
- You’re still upset I didn’t call you? Oh my god, get over it. (like enough being upset about it).
15. I’m not so sure about that
This phrase is very common, and you can use it when you want to question what someone is saying because it might not be true.
- Well actually, I’m not so sure about that.
16. Take care
People use this phrase as a way of saying goodbye. So, a lot of times when you see two people parting after a conversation. They say “Take care” and they just go away.
17. I don’t know the first thing about…
This is very common when you want to say that you know nothing about a specific topic, so you want to emphasize that you don’t know anything.
- I don’t know the first thing about sports.
- I don’t know the first thing about architecture.
18. I’ll be the judge of that
This phrase is used when people want you to know that in a particular situation, only their judgment is important. They will decide, not someone else. For example:
- X Person: I’ve just cleaned my room; I’m going out.
- Y Person: Hold on, hold on; I’ll be the judge of that (like I will make sure that the room is actually clean, and I will decide if you can go out).
19. Cut to the chase
People say this when someone is telling them a story and they want them to get to the point, to the most important part.
- Just cut to the chase.
20. Let’s call it a day
After a long day of working maybe, or studying, or just doing something in general, you can say
- Let’s call it a day to mean that’s enough for today. (We’ll continue tomorrow or whenever, but that’s it for today).
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21. Love you for that
This phrase is used when you want to show someone that you’re really grateful for something they’ve done, [English Sentences for Daily Use] or in general that you appreciate it, liked something they’ve done. For example:
- Let’s pretend a friend gets you out of a really awkward conversation with someone. To thank them, as a way of thanking them, you can say, “Oh my God, love you for that.
22. Third time’s the charm
People use this phrase when someone already failed twice, and so they’re hopeful that the third attempt will be a successful one. For example:
- Let’s say, you didn’t pass an exam for the second time. “Well, third time’s the charm,” that means I’ll take it again for the third time, and I’m hopeful that this time I’ll pass.
23. Let’s agree to disagree
People use this phrase when they don’t agree with someone, but at the same time, they don’t want to fight with this person.
- Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, so let’s agree to disagree.
24. Can I take a rain check?
This is an idiom that people use when they can’t accept an invitation, but they would like to postpone it, do it at a later time.
- X person: Do you want to go get a drink tonight?
- Y person: Can I take a rain check? I have to work late. (That means I still want to do it another day, but this day I really can’t).
25. I call shotgun
This is pretty silly, but you might hear it because people use it when they want to ride in the front passenger seat of a car. For example:
- “I call shotgun.” Whoever says it first has the right to take the seat, so this is usually said while walking to the car or running to the car to get the seat.
26. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room
The elephant in the room is that awkward situation that everybody knows, and yet nobody talks about because it’s embarrassing, it’s rude. Because just like an elephant in a room, it’s very noticeable. If you want to address that unpleasant topic, you can say, “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”
27. It was a blessing in disguise
A blessing in disguise is something that seems bad at first but then ends up being something good. For example,:
Being fired from my job turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it pushed me to open my own business.
28. We got off on the wrong foot
People use this phrase when they want to tell someone that their relationship had a bad start. Let’s say you meet someone and you’re soon fighting with this person. You can say, Listen, we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s forget about it and start again.
29. Cut them some slack
You can say this when you want to tell someone to be kind to a person who’s having problems at the time.
- Cut him some slack, his mother recently passed away. Don’t treat him so harshly.
30. A penny for your thoughts
People say this when they want to know what you’re thinking. Perhaps they’ve seen you a little sad, a little down in the dumps.
- You haven’t said much. A penny for your thoughts (that’s like saying, “What is going on? What’s going on in your mind? Is everything okay?)
Conclusion
All right, guys, these were the 30 English Sentences for Daily Use / common phrases that you might hear a lot of native English speakers use and that you can now use too in casual conversation and everyday life. I hope you learned something new.
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