For questions related to natural spoken conversations. Please use the dialogue tag for authored or scripted conversations
Questions tagged [conversation]
205 questions
11
votes
3 answers
What does "there, there" actually mean?
It came from an episode of Big Bang Theory; when Penny gets hurt, and asks Sheldon to be more comforting, he starts the conversation with "there, there."
What does that mean?
daisy
- 2,241
4
votes
1 answer
Is it better to write 'I' or 'Me' for the name of a speaker in a dialogue?
What should I choose when I write a conversation? Should I write like this?
I: How are you?
John: Fine.
or like this?
Me: How are you?
John: Fine.
4
votes
1 answer
How can I describe preparing before travel?
If I am preparing before my travel and I pack my things, how can I better describe this process in conversational speech, "packing up one's things" or "I pack up one's things"?
3
votes
1 answer
Best reply to "Have a nice weekend"?
Someone says: "Have a nice weekend!"
Which of these replies suits best? Consider saying this to a foreign person, not a friend:
"Same to you."
"You too."
"I wish you, too."
Feel free to post if there's an even better answer.
mabu
- 139
2
votes
3 answers
How to answer cheers?
I occasionally have meetings with my supervisor. When the meeting finishes, my supervisor says: "cheers". I don't know how to answer that. What is a natural response to that? What do native speakers say in this situation?
user366224
- 31
2
votes
1 answer
Can "And so?" serve as a request for completion or continuation of the thought?
Can "Yes. And so?" serve as a request for completion or continuation of the thought?
For example:
Merry: Jack, you can speak Japanese, French, Korean and Arabic.
Jack: Yes. And so?
brilliant
- 8,970
2
votes
0 answers
How to shout to a stranger 80ft away to let her know that her cards have fallen onto the ground?
During my recent trip visiting U.S. I noticed a girl's credit card falling onto the ground. She was walking and did not notice this. The girl (maybe ~20 years old) was ~80ft away from me. I tried shouting "Hey! You lost your cards." but she did not…
Oliver
- 21
2
votes
1 answer
"I'm not fit for public consumption "
A new girl around me had been hospitalized over the weekend for a non-urgent issue. The same day, I wrote to her that I was available to visit her, to see if she needed any help or something (and if things were OK we might have had some fun…
deeep
- 71
2
votes
1 answer
Good night for greeting
Is it appropriate to use Good night for saying hello?
I've heard that a person in a movie said good night for greeting, is it OK?
M.Afri
- 21
2
votes
1 answer
Response to "What's up?" in various conversations
Exact Duplicate:
What is an appropriate response to “what's up” greeting?
What should be the response to "what's up"?
I don't get satisfied and often confused with my answer saying "fine/working/chatting".
There are various situations and time of…
niksvp
- 265
2
votes
3 answers
meaning of two , four and eight in this conversation
I was watching How I Met Your Mother when I heard a conversation between some actors and it just bounced over me. But from the background I could hear people laughing and I was sitting static without getting a single point:
It started like…
Prateek
- 137
1
vote
2 answers
response to thank you after helping
I kept a door for somebody to pass and he said: "thank you". What should I say in response? I said: "no problem!". But I am not sure my response was the best one.
user359064
- 11
1
vote
0 answers
What is this type of non-answer called?
I walk into a store and ask the clerk: "Do you have any diet Dr Pepper?"
The clerk answers, "We have regular Dr Pepper."
Searching for a description of this type of response, I've found a lot of material on question dodging. But in this case, the…
GotYaNumba
- 27
1
vote
0 answers
What would you call "the other party" in a conversation in which you are participating?
The ideal word would be "conversee" but that obviously isn't correct. "Recipient" doesn't feel right either. I suppose "interlocutor" is somewhat better, but that doesn't refer to the "other", in this context and feels very formal.
Daniel
- 123
1
vote
1 answer
"I know you are" as a response to introduction
I was watching a movie and noticed this sentence used as a response from a person introducing himself/herself. This is quite odd for me as a non-native speaker of the language.
Example:
Setting: In a bar
Scenario: Person A is friends with Person B.…
Burning Crystals
- 121
- 5