More often than not?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

There some expressions that I would classify as fillers because they contain much information. Here are two of them:
more often than not
I for one

What do you think of them? Do you use them? Maybe you have some more examples?[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: An artist at work[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

More often than not is definitely not a filler. It indicates that something happens more often than it doesn’t happen.

I suppose some people use I for one to mean just I, but it really means, “I think [or do] this, and I’m sure there are other people who agree with me or do the same thing.”

If used correctly, these expressions are not filler.

One of the weirdest filler expressions I’ve ever heard is when some people from England stick “sort of” into their speech but shorten it to “sor”. Then they’ll lengthen it and interrupt themselves with a long “soooooooooor”.

In my part of the US, people use, “You know?” as a filler expression, but they’re not really asking you a question. In the South, where people generally talk more slowly, a lot of people use the whole sentence, “You know what I mean?” as filler. I used to answer this every time, as if they really wanted an answer, but then I realized it was just filler.

A lot of Arabs speaking English use, “Believe me!” as a filler expression. It always sounds to me as if they are afraid I think they’re lying (which I often do, and they often are), but I know it’s just a filler expression transferred from their own language.

3

Hi Jamie, but often is more often than not? Maybe it can be used like an adverb of frequency and more often not as about as frequently as sometimes?[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: Preparation for a meeting[YSaerTTEW443543]

4

Hi Torsten

I agree with Jamie that the words you asked about are not just filler.

More often than not means most of the time and does function similarly to an adverb of frequency.

Other phrases:
[i]- Generally (speaking)

  • By and large
  • As a rule[/i]

I think I’d use the phrase “I for one” in a situation where I thought other people agreed with me, but for whatever reason hadn’t yet said so.

Regarding the “You know” filler that Jamie mentioned, I notice exactly the same sort of filler in Germany (in Swabia anyway). People around here say “Woisch?” all the time. :lol:

Amy

5

More often than not is more often that sometimes, but not quite as often as most of the time.