‘To be honest, I don’t really like it.’ – Learn the language for dislikes.
Callum
Hello, I’m Callum Robertson and this is How To, the series from bbclearningenglish.com that shows you how to do things in English.
In an earlier programme we looked at different ways of saying that you like something. In this programme we’re going to be looking at the other side, talking about things you don’t like.
There are of course a lot of different ways of talking about your dislikes. In this programme we’ll start by looking at a few simple ways to answer a basic question.
In the programme on likes we had a situation where someone was inviting a friend to dinner. She asked the question, Do you like Chinese food?
This time we’re going to ask the same question, but in a different way.
EXAMPLE
How do you feel about Chinese food?
Callum
How do you feel about Chinese food? This time though the answers aren’t so positive. Listen to this one:
EXAMPLE
How do you feel about Chinese food?
To be honest, I don’t really like it.
Callum
To be honest, I don’t really like it. Notice that before he answers he uses the phrase to be honest.
This is an expression to use when you are going to say something you think is not good news for the person asking. The next thing he said was:
EXAMPLE
I don’t really like it.
Callum
I don’t really like it. We saw in the programme on likes that using the adverb really before the verb makes the feeling stronger.
But it’s not the same with negatives. Putting really before like here is actually another way to soften the strength of the statement.
Again, like using to be honest, it’s a way of trying not to disappoint the speaker too much.
EXAMPLE
To be honest, I don’t really like it.
Callum
But, by moving the adverb really to a different part of the sentence you can express a strong dislike. Listen to this example:
EXAMPLE
How do you feel about Chinese food?
I really don’t like it.
Callum
I really don’t like it. This is a strong expression of dislike. The adverb really goes before the auxiliary. This is much stronger.
Compare the two, and remember that really before the auxiliary makes the feeling stronger and really before the verb makes the emotion softer.
EXAMPLE
I don’t really like it.
I really don’t like it.
Callum
Today we’re looking at things you don’t like. We’ve heard this strong expression:
EXAMPLE
I really don’t like it.
Callum
Here’s another one.
EXAMPLE
How do you feel about Chinese food?
I can’t stand it!
Callum
I can’t stand it! That is a very strong statement! This is a very good expression for things you don’t like. I can’t stand it.
Notice that, although it has the word can’t which ends in the sound /t/, that sound is not pronounced when you say the expression. Listen again.
EXAMPLE
I can’t stand it!
Callum
I – can’t – stand – it becomes I can’t stand it.
And although this is a very strong statement we can make it even stronger by putting the adverb really into the sentence.
Where do you think it goes to makes this stronger? Before the auxiliary can’t or before the verb stand? Listen carefully to find out.
EXAMPLE
I really can’t stand it!
Callum
To make the expression stronger put really before the negative auxiliary.
EXAMPLE
I really can’t stand it!
Callum
Let’s now recap the expressions that we’ve looked at today. I’m going to say the phrases and give you time to repeat them.
To be honest
I don’t really like it.
I really don’t like it.
I can’t stand it.
I really can’t stand it.
Well done. Now, to finish we’re going to listen to a short conversation in which you can hear some of these expressions being used.
Which ones do you hear, and what decision does Helen make about her dinner party?
EXAMPLE
Helen
Hi, Finn! I’m having a dinner party on Saturday night. Neil’s coming: would you like to come?
Finn
Yes, sounds good. What are we having?
Helen
How do you feel about Chinese food?
Finn
Well to be honest, I don’t really like it; I had a bad experience once.
Helen
Oh, well, do you like Italian food?
Finn
No, I can’t stand it.
Helen
Mmmm, what about French?
Finn
I love it!
Helen
Great, that’s good news. I’ll do a French meal. See you on Saturday at 7.
Finn
I’m looking forward to it.
Callum
Oh, poor Helen! She has to change her plans. Now she’s going to make a French meal. We heard the expressions to be honest, I don’t really like it and I can’t stand it.
That’s all from this programme.
We’ve looked at some simple expressions for saying that you don’t like something, we’ve looked at using the adverb really to make something stronger or softer, and we’ve also seen how sometimes sounds in English words disappear when you are speaking.
You can find more information, downloads and quizzes on this topic at www.bbc-story.com
In this programme we look at language you can use to answer a simple question about something and say that you don’t like it.
We also look at how using the adverb really can change the strength of what you say and how it means different things if you put it in different places in the sentence.
Language for expressing dislikes
Subject (+ Adverb) + Verb + Noun
I (really) don’t like / can’t stand +
- it.
- them.
- ice cream.
- Chinese food.
- playing football.
- watching TV.
About the adverb really
This adverb, as we have seen, is very useful in making what you say stronger. When talking about things you don’t like though it can have a different meaning depending on where you put it in the sentence.
- I really don’t like it!
This means you have a strong dislike of something.
- I don’t really like it.
This is not very strong. It means that you do not like something, but it is not a very strong dislike.
Pronunciation – disappearing sounds
When speaking fluently, sometimes we don’t pronounce some sounds. This is different from words which have silent letters. For example, look at this word:
can’t
If you say this word by itself you would normally pronounce the /t/ sound at the end.
/ka:nt/
However, when speaking, if the next word begins with a consonant sound we usually don’t pronounce the /t/ sound. So the phrase I can’t stand it is pronounced without the /t/ sound at the end of can’t.
/ai ka:n stænd ɪt/