STOP saying I DON'T LIKE IT | How to speak better English

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to  advanced English lessons with Harry, where I try  

to help you to get a better understanding of the  English language. If you're preparing for those  

proficiency exams, IELTS, whatever it might be.  Preparing for the job interview. Or if you just  

happen to want to improve your conversational  skills and business English, well, this is the  

place for you. And if you have any suggestions  you want anything included, drop me a line,  

always happy to hear from you. And before we  start this advanced English lesson, if you do  

like this particular lesson, then please like the  video, and if you can subscribe to the channel,  

because it really, really helps. Okay, so back to  the lesson. As I said, it's a an advanced English  

lesson, and we're talking about better ways to  say, I don't like. I don't like it. So they are  

advanced English polite ways to say, I don't like  something. Okay, so let's get cracking with these.  

And it's split into two parts. One part is dealing  with when you maybe perhaps don't know the people  

so well, so what would you say? And then something  phrases where you do know the people, okay?  

Or you know them a little better. Now, if we start  with those people you don't know so well. Okay,  

so you're going to be a little bit more polite,  and you're probably going to be a little bit more  

formal. So one expression, it's not my thing.  Okay, so somebody invites you to bowling or  

invites you to play some computer games is that  Ah, thanks, but no thanks. It's just not my  

thing. It's not something I usually do. It's not  something I've got a real interest in. But you  

don't want to insult them, so you say, Nah, it's  not my thing. You go off and you enjoy yourself.  

Or I'm not into that. So you might not be into  bowling. You might not be into horse racing. They  

invite you to with a gang of guys to go horse  racing on a Saturday afternoon. It's great fun.  

But for you, it's not so interesting. You're just  not into it. So when you're not into something,  

it's not something you've got a great interest  in. Okay, so another way to say I don't like  

it. I'm not into that. Or simply, I'm not a  fan. I'm not a fan of horse racing. I'm not  

a fan of sport in general, I really  don't take to sports so much. But,  

you know, I watch it on the television. And of  course, I always watch the World Cup. But I'm not  

a fan in the way that some people are fanatical  about their football team. And I'm not a fan.  

The old expression that everybody I'm sure  they've heard of, it's not my cup of tea.  

It's not my cup of tea, meaning  I like other things. Not this,  

I just like other things. So yeah, thanks  again, but no, thanks. It's not my cup of tea.  

Or if you want to be really polite, and you you  want to refuse an invitation, as somebody has  

asked you to, for a meal or to go to the opera,  or I'd rather not, I'd really don't like it. The  

last time I went to the opera, I fell asleep. So  I'd rather not. If it's all the same with you,  

I'd rather not. But thanks very much for thinking  of me. All again. Very, very simple. That's not  

for me. That's not what I like. That's not for  me. I'm afraid it's, it's something I have no  

interest. I prefer to sit at home and I read  a book. Okay, it's not for me. And then again,  

less formal. I'm not crazy about that. I'm not  crazy about the theatre. I'm not crazy about  

opera. I'm not crazy about getting in the car and  driving for five hours on the motorway in this  

traffic. Yeah, just I'm not crazy about that idea.  So if something doesn't appeal to you, something  

you're not really interested in. And again, rather  than just saying, I don't like it saying, Well,  

I'm not crazy about the idea of driving for five  hours. I'd really tired and exhausted at the end  

of the journey. I'd much prefer to go by train, or  indeed if we can get a plane, much prefer to fly.  

And then another one something, whatever the  the offer is, whether it's a night at the opera,  

whether it's a horse racing event, whether it's  a football game, whether it's crazy golf, whether  

it's some indoor night of board games, whatever  it might be, you might just say, that doesn't  

tickle my fancy. So this is an old expression  when something doesn't tickle your fancy,  

it doesn't amuse you. It doesn't excite you.  And it's something you really don't like. Okay,  

so these are the expressions when we're talking  to somebody who we don't know quite so well, okay.  

And we want to tell them in a nice way in a polite  way that we don't like it. So it's not my thing.  

I'm not into that. I'm not a fan of that. It's  not my cup of tea. I'd rather not so a little  

bit more polite, I'd rather not. That's  not for me. I'm not crazy about that idea.  

That just doesn't tickle my fancy, it doesn't  tickle my fancy. So I'm going to tell you a  

little story here against myself. When I first met  my wife before we got married. And I was asking  

her for a date. The first date I took her on was  to the movies, and I thought she would actually  

enjoy it. And I picked a movie that I thought  would be good, very intriguing, very detailed. It  

was about her Howard Hughes called The Aviator.  Yeah, and but it turned out to be a little bit  

longer than normal, a little bit boring. Not for  me, but very definitely for my then girlfriend,  

and now wife. So it as I said, it was our first  date. So when I asked her after the movie was  

over, what did she think of it? That words I  got from her were like this. It was interesting.  

It was certainly different. It was an experience.  And... and after the third expression like that,  

I realised I was on a little bit of thin ice,  and I was losing this pretty quickly. So iI  

really undershot in relation to the first date.  And thankfully, we survived that, but because  

she didn't know me so well, she wasn't going to  say I don't like it, or I didn't like it. It was  

interesting. And you could read between the lines  and say, it was boring. It was different. Yeah,  

boring. It was an experience that I don't want  to repeat that. So reading between the lines, she  

was trying to tell me that she just didn't like  it. Now, as I said, if you know someone a little  

better than you could use phrases like. I can't  stand that type of movie. I can't stand those  

sorts of movies to go to. I loathe that actor.  I really loathe that type type of documentary. I  

despise him or her. So you can be really stronger  with your language, really more emphasis on the  

words that will tell your partner or the other  person exactly what you think. So there won't  

be any room for misunderstanding when they use  those sorts of phrases. So if you know somebody  

a little better than you can use those sorts of  phrases. I cannot stand that. I loathe opera.  

I despise board games. I hate wasting time in  the rain chasing the little white ball around  

a golf course. Yeah, whatever, whatever it  might be, then these are the expressions  

that you can use. Okay? So there are better  ways that you can say I don't like something,  

they're more polite. And that all adds to your  advanced English experiences. Okay, so hopefully,  

you've enjoyed those. Hopefully, you've  been able to use some of them and hopefully,  

you can put some of that into practice and  take my tip. Don't take your girlfriend or your  

wife to the Aviator because it's not a really  good movie. Okay, so when you might watch it,  

you might enjoy it. I actually thought it wasn't  so bad. Okay, so this is Harry saying goodbye.  

Thanks for listening if you need to contact  me, www.englishlessonviaskype.com Always  

happy to hear from you. Always happy to get  your comments. Join me for the next lesson.