Expressing Thanks and Appreciation
2022-04-15
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1Today on Everyday Grammar, we take a closer look at several ways we can express our thanks and appreciation.
2We will use the well-known 1984 film, The Karate Kid, as an example of how we can show our gratitude.
3Firstly, we will look at appreciation.
4When we appreciate someone, we are grateful for what they have done for us.
5Let's look at this scene from The Karate Kid.
6After Daniel is pushed down a hill on his bike, Mr. Miyagi fixes Daniel's bike.
7Pay careful attention to how Daniel uses the verb "appreciate" and the adverb "really."
8Daniel: "Hey, did you fix my bike?"
9Mr. Miyagi: "Ai"
10Daniel: "Thank you."
11Mr. Miyagi: "Welcome."
12Daniel: "I really appreciate that."
13In the example, the word "that" refers to the act of fixing the bike.
14Daniel could have said, "I appreciate that."
15But adding the adverb "really" makes his statement even stronger - "I really appreciate that."
16English speakers often use the verb "appreciate" with a direct object.
17In other words, they often use "appreciate" as a transitive verb.
18A common structure is: subject + appreciate + object
19For example, a person might say "I appreciate your help" or "He appreciates your kindness."
20To express extremely strong feelings, you could use the adverb "really," as in "I really appreciate your help" or "He really appreciates your kindness."
21Along with the verb appreciate, English speakers also use the verb "thank."
22This verb appears without a subject in the phrase "Thank you."
23English speakers sometimes shorten "Thank you" even further. They sometimes just say "Thanks."
24The difference is one of formality.
25In the previous example from The Karate Kid, Daniel said "Thank you."
26This was one of the first encounters between Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, so it is more formal.
27But note how Daniel uses "thanks" once he knows Mr. Miyagi better.
28"Thanks for helping me out with my...friends"
29The general structure of the sentence is:
30Thanks for + gerund - ing (informal)
31You can make any number of statements with this basic structure.
32For example, you could say, "Thanks for calling" or "Thanks for being a good friend."
33There are other ways of expressing our gratitude that do not always use the verbs "appreciate" or "thank you."
34If we are in unexpected or surprising situations, like a birthday party, we can express appreciation by using the modal "should."
35It is often used in a negative sense, as in:
36You shouldn't have gotten me such a nice gift!
37The general structure for such a statement is this:
38"You shouldn't have" + verb with past participle
39In our final example from The Karate Kid, Daniel used a similar negative modal phrase with "can't" to express his surprise and thankfulness for Mr. Miyagi's birthday present -- a car.
40Daniel: I can't believe it. Oh, wow. What a gift! You're the best friend I've ever had.
41Daniel tried to refuse the gift by saying, "I can't believe it."
42"It" refers to the car that Mr. Miyagi gave to Daniel.
43The structure for this phrase is:
44"I can't believe + noun"
45Daniel also used other phrases to express his thankfulness like:
46"What a gift!"
47"You're the best friend I've ever had"
48Today, we looked at how we can express our appreciation and thankfulness to others. We can use the verbs "appreciate" and "thank."
49We can use adverbs like "really" to make our expressions of thanks stronger.
50And we can use other expressions like "You shouldn't have..." and "I can't believe it!"
51Let's end this report with a homework assignment.
52Think about ways that you express thanks in your native language.
53Translate those terms or expressions into English and write them to us in the comments section of our website.
54I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Today on Everyday Grammar, we take a closer look at several ways we can express our thanks and appreciation. We will use the well-known 1984 film, The Karate Kid, as an example of how we can show our gratitude. 2Appreciation 3Firstly, we will look at appreciation. When we appreciate someone, we are grateful for what they have done for us. 4Let's look at this scene from The Karate Kid. 5After Daniel is pushed down a hill on his bike, Mr. Miyagi fixes Daniel's bike. Pay careful attention to how Daniel uses the verb "appreciate" and the adverb "really." 6Daniel: "Hey, did you fix my bike?" 7Mr. Miyagi: "Ai" 8Daniel: "Thank you." 9Mr. Miyagi: "Welcome." 10Daniel: "I really appreciate that." 11In the example, the word "that" refers to the act of fixing the bike. 12Daniel could have said, "I appreciate that." But adding the adverb "really" makes his statement even stronger - "I really appreciate that." 13English speakers often use the verb "appreciate" with a direct object. In other words, they often use "appreciate" as a transitive verb. 14A common structure is: subject + appreciate + object 15For example, a person might say "I appreciate your help" or "He appreciates your kindness." 16To express extremely strong feelings, you could use the adverb "really," as in "I really appreciate your help" or "He really appreciates your kindness." 17Thanks 18Along with the verb appreciate, English speakers also use the verb "thank." 19This verb appears without a subject in the phrase "Thank you." 20English speakers sometimes shorten "Thank you" even further. They sometimes just say "Thanks." 21The difference is one of formality. 22In the previous example from The Karate Kid, Daniel said "Thank you." This was one of the first encounters between Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, so it is more formal. 23But note how Daniel uses "thanks" once he knows Mr. Miyagi better. 24"Thanks for helping me out with my...friends" 25The general structure of the sentence is: 26Thanks for + gerund - ing (informal) 27You can make any number of statements with this basic structure. For example, you could say, "Thanks for calling" or "Thanks for being a good friend." 28Expressing gratitude in other ways 29There are other ways of expressing our gratitude that do not always use the verbs "appreciate" or "thank you." 30If we are in unexpected or surprising situations, like a birthday party, we can express appreciation by using the modal "should." It is often used in a negative sense, as in: 31You shouldn't have gotten me such a nice gift! 32The general structure for such a statement is this: 33"You shouldn't have" + verb with past participle 34In our final example from The Karate Kid, Daniel used a similar negative modal phrase with "can't" to express his surprise and thankfulness for Mr. Miyagi's birthday present -- a car. 35Daniel: I can't believe it. Oh, wow. What a gift! You're the best friend I've ever had. 36Daniel tried to refuse the gift by saying, "I can't believe it." 37"It" refers to the car that Mr. Miyagi gave to Daniel. 38The structure for this phrase is: 39"I can't believe + noun" 40Daniel also used other phrases to express his thankfulness like: 41"What a gift!" 42"You're the best friend I've ever had" 43Closing thoughts 44Today, we looked at how we can express our appreciation and thankfulness to others. We can use the verbs "appreciate" and "thank." We can use adverbs like "really" to make our expressions of thanks stronger. And we can use other expressions like "You shouldn't have..." and "I can't believe it!" 45Let's end this report with a homework assignment. Think about ways that you express thanks in your native language. Translate those terms or expressions into English and write them to us in the comments section of our website. 46I'm Faith Pirlo. 47Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 48____________________________________________ 49Words in This Story 50gratitude - n. an expression of deep thankfulness 51encounters- n. unplanned meetings