Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
English
This Levelty booklet is a great place to start if you want to sound just as smart in English
as you do in your native language. Evidently, selecting your words carefully will make
your speech more engaging and you’ll make a better impression on people. Plus, you
will understand subtle humour better :)
Let’s see an example: two possible ways of telling your newcomer friend about the
people present at a barbecue party.
‘Mrs Zellweger, who is our host, you ‘Our host, Mrs Zellweger, throws the
know, organizes very good parties in the most wicked garden parties in town, all
summer.’ through the summer.’
‘Do you see that strange, confident man ‘Do you see that flamboyant chap over
over there? He’s very funny.’ there? He’s such an unforgettable
entertainer!’
‘Do you want to drink something? Red ‘How about a drink? Would you care for
wine maybe? a glass of red wine?’
Speaking smart means using more sophisticated formulas instead of overused ones -
concerning grammar, vocabulary and visual language. By visual language we basically
mean similes and metaphors, such as ‘I’m hungry like a wolf’ or ‘I’m so hungry that I
could eat up a whole lamb’ instead of simply saying ‘I’m very hungry’.
Needless to say, stick with live language - you do not want to sound obsolete. Chose
structures that are used in everyday conversations, yet are not as simple as the
phrases you learnt at your first English lessons.
SMARTER PHRASES FOR YOU
GRAMMAR
VOCABULARY
She’s breath-taking.
I travel long I commute every day.
between my
workplace and my
home every day.
Without a doubt
COLOURFUL SPEECH
It’s not enough to know how to speak and write smarter in theory. You need to use the
smart versions. You might wonder how you will be able to shift to smart English when
you are used to speaking simplified English.
Here’s how.
When you say something too simple or uninteresting, stop for a second. Think it over
- how could it be smartened up? Could you use smarter grammar, smarter phrases?
Could it be more expressive with the use visual language?
Alternatively, if you notice somebody using a cool structure that you would express in
a less interesting way, take notes of it.
Next time when you are just about to use your old, simple sentence, stop and continue
with the smart version that you came up with or jotted down previously.
At the beginning, this practice might make you a bit slower and less flowing, but if you
keep up the practice and turn it into a habit, you’ll experience miracles!
Are you getting the hang of it? Want to keep on working on making your English real
smart? Further inspiring materials are awaiting you on LeveltyBooks.com.