Useless phrases?

Hi, let’s talk about ‘useless’ phrases. I mean those are phrases that don’t carry a lot of meaning, they are there to buy you time to think of an answer, to link parts of a sentence or simply to fill a blank. What do you think about those phrase, do you use them and if so when? Here are some examples to show you what I mean:

  • come to think of it
  • by the way
  • saying that there
  • you know
  • like
  • well

and so on. Any ideas?

I have recently watched an interview with the British pop singer Dido. I think it was about her participation in the Band Aid concert for the G8 summit. Anyway, I was quite shocked at the rate she would use the phrase you know. It occurred in almost sentence she spoke. She definitely can sing better than she can speak :slight_smile:

Hhhmm, not sure if those phrases are really useless. After all they somehow came into being so there must have been a reason for that. For example, come to think of it means now that I really think about it. The other one saying that there I have never come across before. However, there certainly are phrases that we often use without thinking about their meaning. My favorite one is to be honest or honestly. Does this imply that most of the time the speaker is dishonest and now they are making an effort to be honest?

Doesn’t “I don’t like sport” sound very harsh compared to “Not really, to be honest - you know”? :wink:

[color=blue]One of my favorites is " for that matter." It is normally used to embellish what you are saying at least that’s what I think.
Also, “for one” is used a lot for Americans, what the meaning is I don’t know for sure.

Hhhmm, you do have a point here but then again (hey, that might be another of those useless phrases!) it boils down to your not liking sport no matter how you phrase it. Yes, you can say: Well, come to think of it, actually, to be honest, it’s probably safe to say - I think you wouldn’t exactly call me a sports fan.

I think it’s I for one, isn’t it?

Yes, but we are humans, no robots. Language is not only about efficient communication but always has a subtext, which expresses affections, emotions, sentiments. To which extend you incorporate these phrases into your language in my opinion depends on personal taste, educational background, intentions and the like.

For me, one of the most annoying phrases like that is" and then I was like… or … and then it was likewe were like…bla bla bla it appears in almost every sentence when you are talking with a young american

[color=blue]Yes, exactly Andreana thanks and by the way I prefer it this way: “you do not lose gold you win silver” 'cause those who say so have never won anything.

Here is another phrase I would classify as a filler: Needless to say. If something is needless to say why say it then in the first place?
Rich, I’m not sure I can follow your comments on my signature. Can you elaborate?

I’d say that losing a gold medal sounds ungrateful since you’re winning a silver one which is remarkable especially if you are in an olympic competition.

You are righ! But, when it comes to speaking, these phrases are what gives colors to the language. That is, without them, the speaker wouldn’t sound natural at all. Those are the so called idiomatic expressions, used by native speakers.