Learn English - British English in Three Minutes - Asking about Names

welcome to English class 101 coms British English in three minutes the

fastest easiest and most fun way to learn English hey everyone I'm Gina this

series will teach you some easy ways to ask and answer common questions in

English it's really useful and it only takes three minutes in this lesson

you're going to learn some new ways to ask someone what's your name including

one that you can use when you forgotten someone's name now what's your name was

probably one of the first questions you learned when you started studying

English I have to tell you though that most native speakers of English with

never sabers in English just like in other languages it is often more polite

to be a little indirect of course the easiest way to avoid asking the question

directly is not to ask at all just introduce yourself and most people will

respond by doing the same when introducing yourself simple is nearly

always best just say hi I'm Gina to show that you want to know the other person's

name just that and you at the end hi I'm Gina and you hi I'm Gina and you just

like before take out my name Gina and put your name in its place after you say

this the person will tell you his or her name okay now let's talk about an

embarrassing situation that happens to everybody

you've already met somebody once before but you've forgotten their name the most

polite thing to do in this situation is to apologize and ask again there's a

simple way to do this that's all so polite and

sorry what was your name again I'm sorry what was your name again this sentence

is very similar to what's your name but it has three important differences first

we say I'm sorry a small apology can go a long way after

that we say what was your name this is just like what is your name but instead

of is we use the past tense was this is really important as it tells the other

person that you remember meeting them you haven't forgotten him or her you've

just forgotten the name this little word makes all the difference I'm sorry what

was your name finally we add again to the end this is another hint

that tells the other person that you remember learning his or her name before

but you just can't recall it right now I'm sorry what was your name again this

phrase is appropriate for both formal and informal situations now it's time

for Gina's tips in the United Kingdom it's normal to address people by name in

conversation more than once in both formal and informal situations it's a

way to show respect or interest in the other person and can help you make

friends it is also a great way to practice someone's name so you don't

forget it if you're talking to someone named Andy

for example instead of just what do you do for fun you could say Andy what do

you do for fun you can also put the name at the end of the sentence what do you

do for fun Andy you don't want to say the person's name too often or it will

sound a little strange but if you practice someone's name like this you

won't forget it and people love to hear their own name in this lesson we learn

what to say when we forget someone's name in the next lesson you'll learn

what to say when you want to get in touch with someone whether by telephone

email or even newer ways to communicate what's your favorite let us know in the

comments and join us the next British English in three minutes lesson see you

next time

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