Polite English Phrases for Daily Life: Ask Someone to Move

معنی واژه با لمس

1. 0:00Please move. That sounds kind of polite, right?
2. 0:04Like when someone is standing in your way at the grocery store with a cart full of food, all you wanna do is just grab some yogurt real quick,
3. 0:14but they're standing there looking at all the options, maybe reviewing a recipe on their phone and checking something off their list.
4. 0:24But those words please move. They're not at all polite in English.
5. 0:29And what about, excuse me, please move. Nope, it's still rude.
6. 0:34In fact, I wouldn't even say that to my sister if she were on the metro and I wanted her to move over just a little bit so I could sit next to her.
7. 0:44So why is this simple statement so rude in English?
8. 0:47And what are the more polite alternatives that you can use for situations just like this in your daily life? The truth is those two words,
9. 0:57they sound like a command. And even with the addition of the word, please, it still sounds demanding and pushy as if someone else's
10. 1:08time schedule or needs are more important than your own.
11. 1:12So whether you want someone to create space for you at a presentation where people are sitting elbow to elbow, or you just quickly want to get through a crowded space at the airport,
12. 1:24the phrases English speakers actually use in these moments.
13. 1:28Things like scoot over, squeeze past and slip by are not taught in most English courses. So that's exactly what we're going to do today. Now,
14. 1:39there's one thing we need to know before we learn specific polite phrases.
15. 1:43To get someone to move over or create space, we have to understand how to shift a rude demand into a polite request.
16. 1:53All we need for this are some small little words like just a bit and a little.
17. 1:59These words make a huge difference in the tone of our request.
18. 2:04When we combine them with words like modals, such as could and would along with, sorry, or excuse me,
19. 2:12we have everything we need to appropriately soften the language as a result. An abrupt, rude, please move becomes, sorry,
20. 2:22could you move over just a bit?
21. 2:24You are going to hear these words again and again in requests that we share to get someone to move to indicate that you want to move past someone
22. 2:34or to reach around someone like when you want to grab your coffee and leave quickly at a busy coffee shop.
23. 2:43Before we get into the specific phrases today, I want to mention one important thing Today.
24. 2:48You're going to walk away knowing exactly what to say in those moments.
25. 2:53If you want that same confidence, knowing that you have the right words in any.
26. 2:59Situation, I've got a free training for you.
27. 3:02It's called Get the Confidence to Say What You Want in English.
28. 3:06It's a free English fluency training that I've shared with more than 20,000 people, and I'd love to share it with you as well.
29. 3:13I'll be sure to share a link in the episode description below.
30. 3:16And now let's start with our first common situation.
31. 3:19You are somewhere crowded and you just need a little bit more space like in a movie theater on a city bus or in a waiting room at the doctor's office.
32. 3:30Maybe someone is sitting or standing a little too close or they're simply taking up too much space in those moments.
33. 3:39Here's what you could say. First, could you scoot over just a bit?
34. 3:45This verb to scoot means to slide or wiggle your body a short distance.
35. 3:52And we use this when we want someone to move just a few inches or centimeters, so there's just a bit more space for someone to sit down or
36. 4:02slide by. Another word that we often use here is scooch.
37. 4:07Could you scooch over just a bit? For example, on a crowded city bus, someone might say, would you mind scooching over just a bit so my mom can sit down?
38. 4:19Or Do you mind moving over just a little?
39. 4:22Would you mind moving over just a bit? And finally, could you slide down a bit?
40. 4:28This one with the phrasal verb to slide down is always used for seated situations like people sitting on a bench in a waiting room or
41. 4:37in a movie theater. I want you to pay attention to those examples. In each case, do you notice that we're using could or would in almost all the examples
42. 4:48or we're using a polite alternative with do you mind?
43. 4:52In each case, the request is polite and warm.
44. 4:56To truly understand this, I wanna walk through a quick real life scenario.
45. 5:01Imagine for a moment that you're on a subway during rush hour.
46. 5:05Your stop is coming up next, but someone is standing right in front of you.
47. 5:11And once those doors open, you need to get through those doors quickly.
48. 5:16In this situation, you might say, excuse me, could you scoot over just a bit?
49. 5:20My stop is next.
50. 5:22Adding on a reason like so my mom can sit down or because my stop is next, contributes to the politeness of the request.
51. 5:31You don't need to go into a lot of detail here. All you need is a quick, simple explanation. Now, sometimes the problem isn't that someone is too close. Instead,
52. 5:42the problem is that they are completely blocking your path and you need to get through.
53. 5:48This happens all the time in busy places like a grocery store or airports, and it can feel totally awkward if you don't know what to say.
54. 5:58So here's how to handle these situations smoothly. One, you could say, could I just squeeze past you?
55. 6:06I love this expression to squeeze past.
56. 6:09It means that you're trying to make your body as small as possible, like squeezing a balloon to flatten it so that it can fit through a small gap.
57. 6:20I have to thank my niece for reminding me of this common English expression, which is particularly helpful when you want to politely move around someone
58. 6:30as an alternative to this polite request. You could also say, sorry, I'm just gonna squeeze past you real quick. Now, for a more straightforward approach, you could say, excuse me,
59. 6:41could I get by you? Or excuse me, could I just get through here?
60. 6:46These two are especially useful when someone is blocking an entrance or an exit. And here's a couple more. Sorry,
61. 6:55could I just get past you or do you mind if I slip past you with each of these? Your goal isn't to get in front of someone, instead,
62. 7:05it's to move around them so that you can keep going on your way.
63. 7:10So again, let's take a look at how we might use one of these in a real situation.
64. 7:16Imagine you're getting ready to leave your apartment building and your neighbor is in the narrow hallway with a bunch of grocery bags and they're blocking your way,
65. 7:26but you need to get through in that moment to encourage them to move slightly out of your way. You could say, excuse me, could I just squeeze past you?
66. 7:36And now our last set of phrases is for when you need to reach past someone to grab something. Maybe it's something on a shelf at the grocery store,
67. 7:46or perhaps you're reaching for a door handle, or you want to get something that is across from you at the dinner table.
68. 7:54Most of the time reaching across someone is considered a bit rude because it invades their personal space. On top of that,
69. 8:04reaching your arm out on a crowded table, for example, could knock over a glass of water or a stack of documents.
70. 8:12So it's usually more polite to ask someone to pass you what you need. For example, could you pass me the stapler or could you pass the salt and pepper?
71. 8:22But sometimes reaching across or around someone is more practical.
72. 8:28Maybe their hands are full of grocery bags or they're deeply focused on something else. So in those moments, here's what you could say first, sorry,
73. 8:38could I just reach past you for a second? If, for example, there's something specific you want, you could add. Sorry, can I just reach past you for the salt and pepper,
74. 8:49or do you mind if I reach across? Pardon me?
75. 8:53Could I grab that real quick?
76. 8:55You'll notice that these phrases often start with, sorry, rather than, excuse me, both work, but sorry, feels a bit more natural here because again,
77. 9:06you're reaching into someone's personal space. That word, sorry, adds a little bit of extra warmth. In this situation.
78. 9:14I want you to imagine that you're in a meeting room at work.
79. 9:17Someone is sitting right next to the stack of handouts and you want to get one before the meeting starts on the table.
80. 9:26They have their laptop and coffee spread all around them, and they're obviously very focused on something you don't want to interrupt.
81. 9:35So in that moment, you could say, I'm so sorry.
82. 9:38Could I just reach past you for a second? Or pardon me, could I just grab one of those handouts real quick?
83. 9:45These moments on the subway, in the hallway, in the grocery store or in the meeting room, they don't have to feel stressful or awkward,
84. 9:54and we certainly don't need to use rude, inappropriate demands.
85. 9:59All you need is a quick, sorry, or excuse me, IM modal like could or would, and those small words such as just or a bit,
86. 10:10using that language together is all it takes to transition from a rude demand into a polite request to get someone
87. 10:21to move in the way that you need. As always, if you found today's lesson helpful to you, I would love for you to subscribe or follow wherever you're watching or
88. 10:30listening from today. Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to next time.