Hi and welcome to the Espresso English Podcast, where you can improve your English in just a few minutes a day.
My name is Shaina and I'm the teacher at Espresso English.
Make sure to visit the website EspressoEnglishnet, where you can get online courses and e-books that will help you learn English even faster.
Let's get started with today's lesson.
What should you say in English after an embarrassing moment?
That's exactly what I'm going to teach you today, so that you can handle these situations with confidence.
This is a lesson you'll definitely want to remember, so make sure to download the free PDF.
Click on the link in the description, enter your email, and I'll send it to you right away.
Our first embarrassing situation is if you make a bodily noise.
For example, if you burp, fart, cough or sneeze, then you should simply say, excuse me.
When someone else does this and says, excuse me, no response is necessary.
The most polite thing is simply to pretend it didn't happen and continue the conversation.
The only exception is when someone else sneezes, it's polite to say bless you or God bless you, and then the person who sneezed would reply with thanks.
If you drop, spill or break something, the common exclamation used for minor accidents is oops or whoops.
You can also say, I'm so clumsy.
This means you tend to be physically uncoordinated.
Another possible phrase is, I can't believe I did that.
If there's a mess that needs to be cleaned up or if you spilled something on someone else, you can say let me get some napkins or let me get some paper towels.
If you caused damage to or broke something that belongs to someone else, you can say I'm so sorry and perhaps later offer to pay for it to be fixed or replaced.
I'll cover the cost of a repair or a replacement.
Another embarrassing situation is if you forget someone's name.
If it's someone you've very recently been introduced to, you can say sorry, what was your name again?
Or sorry, could you remind me of your name?
But if it's someone you've known for a longer time, we'd use a different phrase.
You could say, I'm so sorry, but I've forgotten your name.
Or this is so embarrassing, but I can't seem to remember your name.
When the other person tells you their name, say thanks.
If you want, you can add I don't know where my brain is, if you're having an unfocused day or moment.
Or, I'm terrible with names if you tend to forget people's names in general.
Then continue the conversation by saying anyway and moving on by asking a question or making a comment.
If you forget some other information that you really should know, you can say sorry.
I'm drawing a blank here.
This means that you normally know the information, but you just can't think of it at the moment.
One option is to ask for help.
You could ask a coworker or friend who might know the information.
Could you help me out?
You could also say let me check my notes or let me look it up, or let me get back to you on that, if you will find the information and deliver it later.
As for any other embarrassing mistake, the phrase I can't believe I did that is a good general one for reacting to something you did that embarrassed yourself.
You could also say I don't know what I was thinking, if you said or did something silly or made a thoughtless mistake.
If you forget about a meeting or task, you can say, I'm sorry, it totally slipped my mind.
If you misspeak, meaning you say something wrong, you can correct it by saying what I meant to say was, and then say it the correct way.
Finally, another phrase you can use to react to a mistake or accident is today is not my day, meaning that things in general are going badly for you today.
Embarrassing situations happen to everyone, but now you have the phrases to handle them with confidence.
Instead of feeling awkward or panicking, you can stay calm, respond politely and move on smoothly, because you know exactly what to say in English.
Go ahead and download your free PDF to review these phrases.
Again, the link is in the description.
And if you want to improve your English for everyday life even more, I'd highly recommend joining my Everyday English Speaking courses, which are available at EspressoEnglishnet.
Comment below and tell me one embarrassing situation you've been in.
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Keep practicing your English, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
