Speak Better English with Harry | Episode 532

This epsiode teaches you advanced English vocabulary to describe how people speak in real-life situations. Instead of always using simple verbs like 'say' or 'tell,' you’ll learn more precise English verbs that help you express tone, feeling and intention — just like native speakers do.

These speech verbs will improve your English skills for both spoken and written communication. They’re especially useful for students preparing for English proficiency exams like IELTS, TOEFL or CAE, where a wide range of vocabulary is essential. By using these verbs, you’ll sound more fluent, understand native speakers more easily, and take a step closer to natural English.

Transcript

Hi there, this is Harry. 
 Welcome back to Advanced English Lessons with Harry, where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language, to help you with your conversational skills, your business English skills, interview skills, whatever your goals are, we're here to help. 
 And for those of you and your friends or family who want one-to-one lessons, well, you know what to do. 
 Just get in touch, www.englishlessonviaskype.com and you can apply for a free try lesson and we'll be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. 
 

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So in this advanced English lesson, we're looking at speech and we're looking at verbs of speech, ways that you can improve how you speak and different verbs that you can use not just to say he said this or she said this or I told him or just different verbs that we can use to mention about speak. 
 And some of them have particular uses so I'll go through them and give you a situation, an example when you can use them. 
 Okay, so let's move on. 
 We've got 14. Number one blurt. 
And usually we use this to blurt out something.
 It means somebody says something very, very quickly. 
 They say it without thinking and perhaps they're just trying to stop themselves, but they couldn't stop themselves. 
So they just blurted it out.
 It's him, it's him, it's same, it's him. 
So they blurted out the answer.
 Oh, if you're in a pub quiz and you're really excited as you get and you've got the answer, oh yeah, I know it, I know it. 
 And well, you give the answer and everybody around you hears it. 
So you couldn't help yourself.
You blurted out the answer.
You give it without stopping yourself to blurt out the answer.
 Young kids often blurt out the answers and the teacher keeps saying, didn't I tell you to put up your hand if you want to answer the question? 
Don't just blurt it out.
Follow the rules.
Don't blurt it out.
To chant is number two.
Chant is almost like singing.
 If you go to a football match, then the fans will chant the names of their favourite players. 
 Beckham, Beckham, Beckham, Messi, Messi, Messi. 
 Yeah, so they chant the name of their favourite footballer. 
 Or if they go to the concert, they will chant the name of the rock star. 
We want Jagger.
We want Jagger.
That's me to show my age.
Mike Jagger.
Who's going to go and listen to the Rolling Stones anymore?
 Yeah, okay, Boomer. 
So they chant the name.
So it's almost like singing to chant.
 Number three, entreat. 
 Well, this is quite an old-fashioned word and it's quite formal. 
To entreat almost means to beg.
His friends entreated him not to go on such a crazy diet.
 His wife entreated him not to resign his job just because he'd had a row with his boss, to think about it before you did it. 
 So to entreat means to beg or to really plead with somebody not to take a certain course of action, to entreat. 
 Now the next few words, and I'll give them to you now and I'll go through them, to hiss, to whine and to snap. 
 These are ways of speaking, but there are certain ways of doing it, okay? 
 So usually we use these verbs when it's reported the way somebody spoke, okay? 
 So when we hiss, it's like a snake. 
 Hmm, who's that? 
 Yeah, like a snake. 
 And when we whine, it's a very, I don't like that, to whine, okay? 
 And when we snap, we say something very angry. 
Who said that?
Yeah.
 So to hiss, hmm, hiss, what do you want? 
Yeah.
 To whine, I don't like that. 
 And then to snap, what, what? 
Who said that?
Yeah.
 So hiss, whine, and snap. 
 So when we use those type of speech verbs like hiss, whine, snap, it's usually conveying how somebody, how the words feel. 
 Okay, so they can, they replace the verb to say. 
 So when we're using it, we use it in this way. 
 He hissed, yeah, okay, or he snapped, yeah, or he whined, okay? 
 So it's usually after direct speech, okay, but it's not, we can use it in reported speech. 
 So I want to go home, she snapped, yeah, so it's direct speech, not reported speech. 
We're not saying she snapped that she wanted to go home.
 So you can't use it in the reported speech, but in direct speech. 
 You'll find it at the bottom of the stairs, he hissed. 
 So you use it that way, not he hissed that you'll find it at the bottom of the stairs. 
 I don't like orange vegetables, he whined. 
Not he whined that he doesn't like orange vegetables.
 So we can only use it in that direct speech, not in that reported speech. 
But they're very good verbs for describing exactly how the person sounds.
 Don't whine like a baby, yeah? 
 He snapped angrily, yes. 
He hissed in a fit of anger or despair.
 Hiss, hiss, snap, and whine. 
 Now, the next one, number seven, to mouth. 
 Now, this is our mouth is the noun, okay? 
 But to mouth something as a verb, you've got a different pronunciation, a different stress, but the same word and the same spelling. 
 So to mouth something is to show somebody the letters, to mouth the sound. 
So you understand clearly what I'm saying.
 Yes, he mouthed. 
 Yeah, to mouth means to show and demonstrate to the person, perhaps, the shape of the mouth, how you pronounce a certain word, to mouth the response. 
 It's almost like not saying something at all, to mouth. 
No.
 To mouth, no. 
 Okay, number eight is to nag, okay? 
 Now, nag is a very, very informal word, almost a slang word. 
Nag is when somebody says something repeatedly.
 They ask you, could you take the bins out? 
Would you mind taking the bins out?
I've asked you a hundred times to take the bins out.
When are you going to take the bins out?
But just stop nagging me.
I'm going to do it in a few minutes.
When are you going to collect my mother?
You said you'd go over and pick up my mother.
She's expected here.

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 She's waiting for you to, she's probably got a coat on, sitting waiting, yeah? 
 Okay, don't nag. 
I'll go and I'll get her now.
So that's nagging.
 So when somebody goes on and on and on, you say, oh, please don't, no more nagging. 
I hate it when you nag.
So to nag somebody is to continuously ask them or to repeat something over and over again to nag.
 Number nine, retort. 
Now this is quite formal to retort.
Usually it's somebody saying something in response to a comment or a question and it's usually an angry retort or it's a witty retort.
 So that could be a politician, for example. 
 He's on stage, he's talking about the forthcoming elections and somebody in the crowd shouts something out, ah, you're useless. 
Yeah.
 And so he retorts, not as useless as you. 
So that would be a retort.
Maybe it's a witty remark and the audience laugh.
Or perhaps some reporter asks some particular question and it's really deep question.
So what about the corruption charges that have been talked about?
 And the politician might say, that's nothing to do with me. 
So they really retort in an angry way.
 Okay, so to retort means to answer something, but not just a polite way, usually harsh or in a snappy way or in an angry way or in a witty way. 
So it's quite a formal to retort.
 So it's about answering, responding to questions. 
To scold somebody.
 Well, this is what our mothers, grandmothers, teachers used to do. 
They scold us when we do something wrong.
 So if you break the glass or you drop the glass and it shatters all over the floor, what do you do that for? 
You stupid boy.
 Oh, what a stupid child. 
What did you do that for?
Or you cut yourself on something.
 Oh, you're so stupid. 
So they scold you for something that you have done or something that you did.
 Or if you didn't do the homework properly, or perhaps when you're four or five, you peed your pants in the classroom. 
 I think I did that once or twice, certainly. 
I remember my brother doing it when we were in school.
So the teacher would scold you and then you'd be sent home to clean up and your mother would scold you when you get home.
 Okay, so to scold somebody is to give out to them, to complain or to be really annoyed or angry with them, to scold. 
Number 11 is to snivel.
Snivel usually involves crying and whinging to snivel.
Don't snivel.
 Yeah, speak clearly. 
 So if son or daughter comes home from school and they're a little bit upset, maybe they've had an argument with their best friend, maybe the teacher has given out to them, maybe they've got bad marks and they're and you say, look, come on, don't snivel. 
Tell me exactly what happened.
I can't hear you when you're snivelling.
 Yeah, you have to be careful and clear so I can understand you and perhaps then I can help you. 
So you try to calm down the snivelling child to snivel.
Squeal.
We usually squeal with delight.
 Oh, yeah. 
Okay.
 To squeal with delight, like a little mouse. 
 Okay, so perhaps you bring home a beautiful present that your partner wasn't expecting. 
 And when she opens the box, there's a most beautiful pair of earrings that she's been waiting for, that bracelet or whatever it was. 
 And she'll, oh, you really haven't forgotten. 
I thought you'd forgotten our anniversary or you'd forgotten my birthday.
 Oh, you're such a doll. 
This is wonderful.
This is great.
So to squeal with delight.
Or somebody wins some money on the lotto.
And they squeal with delight.
 So anytime you've got some really, really good news, something exciting happens, then perhaps it's not just a question of laughing or woohoo, it's squealing with delight. 
 To tease somebody, when we tease somebody, we make fun of them. 
Sometimes we do it in a joking way and everybody laughs.
 Oh, don't tease me, don't tease me, yeah? 
 Okay, oh, if you're planning a holiday and your partner wants to know, well, where we're going, oh, well, it's a really nice place. 
It could be a tropical island.
 Then again, it could be an adventure holiday. 
 Oh, stop teasing. 
Tell me where we're going to go.
So that's about teasing.
 But of course, some people take it a little bit too far. 
 And in school, kids often tease other kids, perhaps because they wear glasses, perhaps they've got these train tracks or wires on their teeth, or perhaps they just behave a little differently than other people behave. 
 When I moved from the UK many, many, many, many decades ago, I used to get teased because I had a very English accent. 
 And of course, then that would cause a little bit of problems. 
 Eventually, you get over it. 
But to tease somebody might not be so nice and you have to be careful how far you take it.
So to tease.
 And then finally, number 14, to yell, to scream and yell, to shout. 
 So yelling is about shouting, raising your voice or screaming, to yell, to yell out loud when something happens. 
 Yeah, so yell, go and get your brother. 
Tell him his dinner is ready.
 And so the young David stands at the bottom of the steps and shouts, your dinner is ready. 
 Don't yell, go up and get him. 
Everybody will hear you.
Just be careful about the neighbours.
 Okay, don't make so much noise to yell, yell out loud. 
 Okay, there are 14 verbs of speech, different verbs that you can use to explain how somebody speaks and in certain ways and why they speak in a certain way. 
 And some of them there, those hiss and whine and snap, are very specific because they can only be used in direct speech and not in reported speech. 
 So he's hissed, he snapped, he whined. 
 Okay, so just remember those. 
 So as always, practice them. 
 See which ones you like, see which ones you understand. 
 If you need some more examples, come back to me. 
I will help you.
And you'll get me on www.englishlessonviaskype.com.
 So as always, this is Harry. 
Thanking you for watching.
Thanking you for listening.
Don't forget the next lesson.