AVOID repeating SAID 50 best alternatives through STORY
- Hello everyone and welcome
back to English with Lucy.
I’m right here in front
of my favourite tree.
A lot of you seemed to like it last time.
So don’t worry if not,
I will bring back the white
background when necessary.
However, I have some very important news.
Said is dead.
Yes, that’s right, the
word said is dead now.
We’re not going to use it anymore.
(chuckles)
Obviously I’m joking.
However, English is my mother tongue
and I overuse said.
I actually remember
having lessons at school
when I was a little girl,
about alternatives for said.
This really helped me with
my writing and my vocabulary
so now naturally, I’m going to
pass that knowledge onto you.
In this lesson, I am going to give you 50,
I hope that’s 50, (chuckles) who knows?
50 alternatives for the word said,
and these alternative will
be conveniently grouped
into 10 little categories.
Now 50 might sound quite a lot,
but I have included all 50
alternatives into one story.
Yes, today, I’m going to
be reading you a story
that is also a vocab and listening lesson.
And the best part is, it’s a true story
about my first job as a waitress.
Now this is a lot of vocabulary,
so I have created PDF with
all of the vocabulary.
You can download it.
All you have to do sign
up to my mailing list.
The link is in the description.
Now, before we get started with the story,
I would just like to thank
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Right, let’s get started with the story
and the vocab lesson.
Here is the first part of the story.
As I’ve previously stated,
I used to work as waitress.
I’ve remarked on this and
a couple of older videos.
I am pleased to report
that nobody was harmed
during my time as a waitress,
but I will add that some customers
didn’t receive what they ordered.
Okay, so in that section of the story,
we have four, that’s three,
four alternatives for said,
and these are all grouped
under the heading of
no emotion or normal.
You’ll see going forward, that a lot of
the other alternatives
have emotion or feelings
attached to them, or they’re
used for a specific purpose.
So we have one, to state.
To state.
Two, to remark.
To remark.
Three, to report.
To report.
And four, to add.
To add.
Now onto the next group of alternatives,
we have alternatives for when you’re
asking a question or replying.
So this is how I got my first job.
It’s a conversation between me and my mum.
“How can I get a job when
I live in a tiny village
“with no shops?” I asked.
“Why don’t you try the
local pub?” answered my mum.
“That’s a very good idea,” I acknowledged.
So later that day, I walked into the pub.
“Do you have any vacancies
“for a weekend waitress?” I inquired.
“We might be able to
make some space for you!”
replied the landlady, Linda.
“Please make space for me!” I begged.
“Can I see your CV?” she requested.
“I can show you my exam grades
“but I don’t have any work
experience,” I explained.
“Why would I care about your exam grades?
“This is a pub.
“You can start on Saturday!” she retorted.
Okay, we finished the
second part of the story.
This is all based on my experience.
I remember feeling so embarrassed
when they didn’t want
to see my exam grades.
Let’s take a look at the
alternatives for said,
when you’re asking questions.
We have, to ask, pretty normal.
We also have, to inquire, which means
you want to receive
information about something.
To beg means you really want something.
You’re trying to persuade
this person to do something.
And we also have, to request,
which is maybe a little more polite.
Moving on to answers.
We have, to answer, pretty simple.
But an interesting one is, to acknowledge.
This means you accept something’s true,
or you accept that something’s good.
You accept someone’s idea.
We also have, to reply, to explain.
They’re fairly simple as well.
But a really good one is, to retort,
which is to reply sharply,
almost with a bit of attitude.
Okay, let’s move on to the
next part of the story.
And this includes alternatives for said
that you can use to show happiness.
When I got home to see my
parents, Richard and Kim,
I was so happy.
“I got the job!” I rejoiced.
“I knew that landlady
was completely nuts!”
joked my dad.
“You can’t say that,
Richard!” laughed my mum.
“Nuts or not, I’m officially
employed!” I giggled.
“You can start paying
rent now!” smirked my dad.
“Jokes aside, we are really
proud of you,” beamed my mum.
I remember this so well.
I felt so proud because
I did just walk in there
and come out with a job.
I never in a million years
expected that to happen.
So let’s look at those
alternatives more closely.
We have, to rejoice,
which means you say something
sort of whilst celebrating,
you’re so happy.
We have, to joke, when
you’re making a joke.
We have, to laugh, when
someone is laughing
whilst saying something.
The same goes for giggle.
A giggle is a cheekier laugh.
If you smirk, it means you’re smiling
in a sort of silly or smug way.
So my dad was pleased with his joke.
And we also say, to beam, which
means to be really smiling.
Let’s move on to the next category.
We’ve got two here.
We’ve got alternatives
for saying things loudly
and also alternatives for saying things
in a scared or worried way.
I nervously entered the
pub the following Saturday.
“What do you want?” shouted Emily,
the other waitress who
was hoovering the floor.
“I’m the new waitress!” I
yelled back in response.
“John, the new waitress
is here!” screamed Emily
to the landlord, John.
“Nice to meet you, John,” I trembled.
“How old are you?” boomed
John, who clearly had a temper.
“15,” I stammered.
“Why are you so young?” he exclaimed.
“I, I was just born a
little late,” I stuttered.
“Oh dear, John is not
very happy,” gulped Emily.
Right, let’s take a look at the vocab.
Firstly, let’s look at
the loud alternatives.
We have, to shout and to yell,
which means you’re using
the top of your voice.
You’re speaking very loudly.
We also have, to scream, which
means even louder. (chuckles)
To boom is a good one.
This means you say something
in a very imposing,
low but loud voice.
And we also have, to exclaim.
This means, to say something loudly,
but also showing a bit of surprise.
And I’m not kidding,
they did genuinely ask me
why I was so young and I struggled
to find an answer for that.
You employed me.
Moving on to the
alternatives that you can use
when you’re scared.
We have, to tremble, which
means you’re shaking,
if you’re trembling.
We also have, to stammer and to stutter,
which means you’re
struggling to say your words.
S-s-sorry.
That was me stammering or stuttering.
The words aren’t coming out smoothly.
And we also have, to gulp.
And this comes from when you go, (gulps)
you know, when you’re scared
of something, you swallow.
It’s a good way to show
that someone’s worried
about somebody’s reaction or
something that might happen.
Okay, now we can move onto the
next group of words, anger.
This is a fun one.
So John and Linda, the
landlord and the landlady,
were a very passionate couple.
They fought like cats and dogs,
but they loved each other very much.
Here’s an example of the first interaction
that I heard between them on my first day.
“Where have you left the
bottle opener?” demanded John.
“How should I know?” snapped Linda.
“You were the last one
to use it!” he thundered.
“No I wasn’t.
“You had a drink after
closing yesterday!” she fumed.
“Well, you must have moved it!” he barked.
“I swear I haven’t
touched it!” she hissed.
“Whatever.
“I’ve just found it,” he grunted.
“Every time!” she ranted.
Oh, those were fun to do. (chuckles)
So there are eight here.
It turns out there are
lots of ways to show
anger and annoyance.
So to demand is to ask, but
in an angry or insistent way.
To snap is to say something
in a quick or hurried way,
normally with a negative attitude.
So Linda said, “How should I know?”
really quickly and nastily.
We have, to thunder.
That’s to say something
very loudly and imposingly.
To fume is to really show your anger
whilst saying something.
To bark, well it comes
from the sound a dog makes.
They bark.
And it’s to say something
like that, very loudly
and maybe a bit aggressively.
To hiss.
This is a good one.
This is when you’re trying
to hold in your anger.
“I said, I didn’t do it.”
You maybe keep your mouth quite closed.
To grunt.
That’s when you say something
gruffly without much effort.
“Whatever, I’ve found it.”
It comes from the sound of pig makes.
You know, like (grunts).
I can’t believe I’ve
just done that on camera.
Similar to that, it’s
definitely a negative term.
And then we have, to rant,
which is like to nag.
You’ve done this and this,
you haven’t done this.
It’s to moan at someone.
Okay, onto the next one.
I have combined saying
things in a bossy way
and saying things quietly.
The waitress, Emily, made it quite obvious
that she didn’t want me to be there.
She made me do all of the rubbish jobs
so I was hardly able to leave the kitchen.
It was quite ironic as she
had a terrible attitude
and most of the customers hated her,
but she insisted on doing
all of the serving work.
I had to stay in the kitchen.
“To start today, you need
“to clean the toilet,” she commanded.
“Not a problem,” I mumbled.
“Then you can finish the washing up
“that I didn’t do last
night,” she ordered.
“Okey dokey,” I muttered.
“After that, you have to
polish all of the knives
“in the cutlery drawer,
“whilst I go and serve the
customers,” she dictated.
“Shouldn’t I learn
“how to serve the customers
too?” I whispered.
“I’m the only person qualified
“to talk to the customers,” she insisted.
Honestly, I don’t have
many negative things
to say about people, but Emily,
I’ve given everyone fake names,
was the least pleasant person
I may have ever met in my life.
She was so rude to people, not just to me.
I wasn’t the only one here.
So let’s look at the bossy alternatives.
We have, to command, to order, to dictate.
These are all alternatives for
telling someone what to do.
We also have, to insist, and
this is to really emphasise
that you want someone to do something.
And then we have the quiet alternatives.
We have, to mumble, and to
mumble is to say something
not so clearly, quietly and clearly
so that maybe the other
person can’t hear you so well.
We also have, to mutter,
which is to say something
kind of intending that the
other person doesn’t hear it.
And we also have, to whisper,
which means to say things
without using your voice.
Okay, let’s move on to the
final part of the story.
We have words that you can
use to show that someone’s sad
or words that you can use to show
that you are comforting someone.
During my break, I called my
mum to vent to her about Emily.
To vent is to let everything out.
Just let all of your emotions out.
“Mum, I am having a
terrible time!” I cried.
“Oh no, what’s gone wrong?” she groaned.
“Emily is making it obvious
“that she doesn’t want
me there!” I bawled.
“Oh I can’t stand that woman.
“She is so unprofessional,”
reassured my mother.
“She’s making my time here
very unpleasant!” I sobbed.
“I’m sure the landlady
will see her for who she is
“very soon,” she consoled.
“I don’t think she will.
“She loves her!” I whined.
Okay, so let’s look at the
ones expressing sadness.
We’ve got three that
show that you are crying.
To cry, to bawl, which means really crying
and to sob, which means
that you’re crying,
but you’re sort of struggling
to catch your breath.
(sobs) Like that. (chuckles)
Then we have two that
can be used for moaning.
We have, to groan.
To groan is to make the
sound (groans) like that.
So if you groan a sentence,
(groans) “I don’t want to,”
she groaned, for example.
And we also have, to whine.
To whine is to complain about something.
So when I said that last sentence,
“I don’t think she will,” I was whining.
Then we have the last two, to comfort.
To reassure and to console.
Both of these are used
to show that someone
is saying something to try and make
another person feel better.
So we’ve had our 50 alternatives.
What was the outcome for Emily?
And what was the outcome for me?
Well I was 15 then and I
carried on working in that pub
for, I was about to say
18 years, that’s not true,
for three years until I was 18
and it was a fantastic weekend job
and I have definitely
dramatised the landlords a bit.
They were lovely.
Emily, however, I have not dramatised.
She was horrible. (chuckles)
And she actually got
fired or did she walk out?
I can’t remember but
there was a big argument
and the workplace was much more pleasant
when she wasn’t there.
I think she would be great at a job
that doesn’t involve people, potentially.
Maybe she could be a dog walker.
Right, that’s it for this lesson.
If you want more information
on all of the vocabulary,
you can download my free PDF.
The link is in the description box.
Also don’t forget to sign up for, italki.
You can claim your $10
worth of italki credits
by clicking in the link in
the description box as well.
If you would like further
listening practise,
I also have a channel
where I upload vlogs,
subtitled vlogs of my daily
life on an English farm.
That was just a little snippet back there,
but many people seem to like
it, so maybe you will too.
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I will see you soon for another lesson.
(blows kiss)
(upbeat music)