1. Can I help you? / Do you need any help?

     This is a question that you might hear from an employee or salesperson 

• No thanks, I’m just browsing.
  “Browsing” means looking casually at the items.

• Yes – do you have this in a larger size?

• Yes – where are the try-on rooms?
  “Try-on rooms” means the place where you can put on the clothes to see if they are the right size and if you like them.

• Yeah, could you tell me how much this is?

• Yeah, I’m looking for something under Tk. 3000.

2. How’s it going?

• Great! Couldn’t be better!
  This means that everything is excellent.

• Fine. How are things with you?

• Not bad.
  This means that things are OK.

• I can’t complain.

• Do you really wanna(want to) know?
  Normally when people ask “how’s it going?” they expect a positive response like “fine” or “good.” If you say “Do you really wanna know?” it means that things are going badly, but you are not sure if the other person wants to listen to your problems or not.

3. How are you feeling?

• Great! Never better.

• I’m all right.

• Like I need a vacation.

• A little depressed.

• Really awful.
  You can say you’re feeling “awful” for both physical and emotional pain.

4. How was your day?

• Really good!
• Pretty uneventful.

• This means that nothing particularly special or interesting happened during the day.

• Very productive.

• Super busy.

• A total nightmare.
  A “nightmare” is a terrible, scary dream. Describing an experience as a “nightmare” means it was horrible.

5. Did you like the movie?

• It was fantastic.

• It was terrible.

• It wasn’t bad.

• It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.

• No, I didn’t think it lived up to the hype.
  This means the movie was not as good as its publicity presented.

6. How was the party?

• Crazy – it was absolutely packed.
  “Packed” means it was crowded; there were very many people there.

• It was a good time.

• Small, but fun.

• There was hardly anybody there.

• Boring – I couldn’t wait to get outta there.

7. Can you give me a hand?

    This means “can you help me?” – often with a physical task like moving furniture or carrying a box.

• Of course!

• I’d be glad to.

• Will it take long?

• Sure – just a sec.
  This means “just a second” – you need the other person to wait one moment before you can help them.

• Sorry – I’m a bit busy at the moment.

8. What have you been up to lately?

     This question means “What have you been doing recently?” – you can answer it in the present perfect continuous.

• I’ve been working a lot.

• Mostly studying.

• I’ve been taking it easy.
  This means “relaxing, not doing anything intense or stressful.”

• Planning my summer vacation.

• Nothing much.

9. What’s the matter?

     This means “What’s the problem?” – you can ask it to someone who appears sad or upset.

• Oh, I’m just having a rough day.
  A “rough day” means a difficult, bad day.

• I’m not feeling so good.

• I just found out my mother’s in the hospital.
  The phrasal verb “found out” means “discovered or heard some new information.”

• I’d rather not talk about it.
  This means “I’d prefer not to talk about it.”

• Nothing, I’m fine.