I just got engaged.
OK I won free concert tickets.
OK My train was cancelled.
OK
Do you sometimes feel like every piece of news gets the same reaction when you're speaking English?
Many English learners know what they want to say, but when it comes to reacting naturally in a conversation, they often fall back on the same expressions again and again.
Native speakers, on the other hand, use short reactions like no way, seriously and fair enough.
And these little phrases can make a huge difference to how engaged, confident and natural you sound in conversation.
I'm Nick from Coffee Break English.
And today I'll show you 12 reaction phrases English speakers use every day to express surprise, agreement, sympathy and more.
And just as importantly, how to say them in a natural way.
Let's get started.
And now let's start with reactions for showing surprise.
When somebody tells you surprising news, English speakers often react very quickly with short expressions like these.
No way!
Seriously?
You're kidding!
And really...
For example, I got upgraded to first class on my last train journey.
No way!
Notice how the voice goes up at the end there.
English speakers often exaggerate words like way when they react with surprise.
And if you want to sound really surprised,
Seriously also works really well.
For example, I met Ed Sheeran in a cafe yesterday.
Seriously?
Again, the voice rises at the end to sound genuinely surprised.
And if you really can't believe what you're hearing, try this one.
I won £5,000 in the lottery today.
You're kidding!
Here, you'll often hear people stress the word kidding to make the reaction stronger.
And to kid someone is the same as to joke or pretend something is true when it clearly isn't.
And one more that depends on the right intonation.
My grandmother still goes swimming every morning.
Really?
See how really goes up at the end.
And this shows surprise.
But it can easily sound like you're annoyed too.
And this goes for seriously and you're kidding too.
Listen to the difference.
Oh no, it's going to rain all weekend.
Really?
Really?
Seriously?
You're kidding.
Hear that difference?
Now we seem almost angry.
So we've covered surprise, but reacting to good news is easy.
What about when somebody tells you something disappointing?
If I say I didn't pass the exam, how could you respond?
Seriously, won't do here.
This time, we need something that clearly shows we understand that there's a problem.
And like the others, intonation is very important here.
In fact, in a moment, I'll share with you a phrase that sounds really sympathetic in one tone and really sarcastic in another.
But this next one is good for when someone's sharing surprising news, which creates a problem.
For example, my train was cancelled and I got home at midnight.
It was a really long journey.
Oh no!
The reaction is usually short and immediate and no is usually quite long and high pitched.
OK, the next one is quite strong.
I dropped my phone in the sea and now it's ruined.
Notice how strong the stress is on awful there.
You'll often hear people stress emotional words more strongly to sound more sympathetic.
And here's that phrase that can sound sarcastic if you get the intonation wrong too.
We had to cancel our holiday because the kids were sick.
That's a shame.
This one sounds softer and more gentle, but make sure you get that stress right.
That's a shame sounds real.
That's a shame.
Sounds quite sarcastic.
And if the problem is really big, you could say, we got stuck at the airport for 12 hours.
What a nightmare!
You'll often hear people stress night here to sound more emotional and expressive.
And when showing sympathy, really pay attention to how you say the words.
It makes a big difference to how genuine you sound.
But not every situation is about bad or surprising news.
Sometimes you want to show that you agree with what the other person is saying.
Or that you can see where they're coming from.
The following reactions are extremely common and are great for showing you understand the other person.
And if we want to show what we think someone made the right decision, we could say I took the train because parking was impossible.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Notice how this time the voice is high, then goes down at the end.
That is how we show agreement.
And English speakers often use short reactions like this instead of really long answers.
And they often shorten it even more to just make sense.
Okay, here's a nice informal one for you.
Fair enough.
This is a really useful phrase because it doesn't necessarily mean that you agree.
Sometimes it simply means I understand your reason.
For example, I don't want to move abroad because my whole family lives here.
Fair enough.
You may not make the same decision yourself, but you can still understand why the other person feels that way.
And again, fair is high and enough sounds low.
OK, here's another really useful one.
I don't want to move abroad because my whole family lives here.
Yeah.
I get that.
In this case, get means understand.
And we've explored this little word in more detail in another lesson.
We've shared that in the description.
OK, the last agreement phrase.
It's great for when you want to show that you agree with someone's opinion.
For example, Scottish weather changes constantly.
True.
This is a nice, simple one to remember and sounds really natural.
And now it's time to put all of that into practice.
I'll give you three sentences and I want you to respond naturally using one of the phrases from the lesson.
And if you can, try saying the phrase out loud.
Let's go.
I've lost my passport.
How did you respond?
Well, you could say, oh, no.
That's awful.
No way.
OK, on to the next one.
I can't come to the party because I'm too tired.
What did you say?
You could say, fair enough.
Makes sense.
I get it.
OK, one more.
I've just won two free tickets to New York.
What did you say?
Well, this time you could say, no way, seriously, or you're kidding.
Did you focus on how you said those phrases too?
Remember, sounding natural is about how we say things, not just what we say.
The good news is that natural English conversations are often built from very small reactions like these.
And once you start noticing and using them, conversations begin to feel much easier, smoother and more natural.
And if you'd like even more reaction phrases,
Don't forget to check out the free guide that goes with this episode.
You'll find it in the description.
And make sure you join us next time because we'll explore how native speakers buy thinking time in conversations with short, natural English phrases.
Until then, happy coffee breaking.
You have been listening to a Coffee Break Languages production for the Radio Lingua Network.
