Trying to sound polite in work emails—how do I avoid coming across as too timid?
I'm writing a lot of emails at my new job and want to make sure I'm being polite, but not overly passive. For example, when I need someone to complete a task, …
Questions and answers tagged #natural-english.
I'm writing a lot of emails at my new job and want to make sure I'm being polite, but not overly passive. For example, when I need someone to complete a task, …
I'm giving a presentation for my college class next week, and I'm not sure if my language is too casual. For example, I want to start by saying, 'Hey guys, tha…
I'm applying for jobs and want my emails to sound friendly but professional in English. I'm never sure how to start and finish these emails naturally. For exam…
Hi everyone, I'm writing an email to a colleague because I took a long time to respond to their message. I want to apologize, but I’m worried about sounding to…
I'm proofreading an email to my English speaking colleague and keep changing between different phrases to express my opinion. For example, in one sentence, I w…
I'm trying to improve my spoken English, and I'm not sure how to agree with people in a way that sounds natural. For example, when my friend says, "This movie …
Hi everyone, I’m working on some emails and casual messages in English and keep getting stuck on when to use 'kind of', 'sort of', or 'a bit'. For example, I w…
I'm writing an email to a client and want to sound both polite and professional. In my draft, I wrote, 'Maybe we could schedule a meeting next week,' but then …
I'm having a hard time figuring out when to use 'actually', 'currently', or 'eventually' in my sentences. For example, if I want to say what I am doing now, sh…
I often get mixed up about when I should use 'put on', 'wear', or 'dress' when talking about clothes. For example, when I'm telling my friend about my day, sho…
I'm often unsure about how to use the verb 'get' correctly in different sentences. I keep seeing it used in so many ways, and it makes writing emails and messa…
I'm writing an email to a colleague and got totally stuck trying to use these phrasal verbs correctly! For example, should I say, "I will take off early today,…
I'm writing an email to my professor and I'm not sure if I should say "I will carry out the research" or just "I will do the research." I want to sound polite …
I'm editing an essay and getting confused about when to use 'big', 'large', or 'great'. For example, should I write, 'He lives in a big house' or 'He lives in …
Hi everyone, I had a situation recently where I went to the movies without anyone else. When I wanted to tell my friends about it, I wasn't sure which phrase w…
I'm trying to improve my English by using a wider range of vocabulary, but sometimes when I use new words, it sounds a bit forced. For example, I wanted to say…
I'm working on a short story and I'm not sure which sounds more natural in this sentence: "She stared at me like she had seen a ghost" or "She stared at me as …
I'm an intermediate English learner, and I've started studying idioms to sound more fluent. But when I try to use them in my writing, sometimes it feels unnatu…
Hi everyone! I'm writing an email to a native English speaking friend, and I want to make my message sound natural. I often come across idioms like “raining ca…
I’ve been studying English for a while, but I still get confused when people make jokes or use sarcasm. For example, if someone says, “Oh, great, another meeti…