5 phrases · A2 · B1

When it goes wrong mid-sentence in English

Every phrase below is a fixed shape you can fill in and use immediately, ordered from the simplest to the most advanced. Each one carries what it means in English and in Hindi, three examples that vary the slot, and the situations it actually gets said in.

The phrases

Simplest first. The braces mark the part you change.

  • I didn't quite catch that

    A2

    Say you did not hear — without saying "what?".

    मैं ठीक से सुन नहीं पाया/पाई।

    • Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.
    • I didn't quite catch that — could you repeat the last part?
    • I didn't quite catch that name.

    Polite — strangers, seniors, customers · say it as: I didn't quite / catch that · used on the phone, at work

  • Could you say that again

    A2

    Ask for a repeat, politely and specifically.

    क्या आप इसे फिर से कहेंगे?

    • Could you say that again, please?
    • Could you say that again a bit more slowly?
    • Could you say that again — I want to write it down.

    Polite — strangers, seniors, customers · say it as: Could you say that / again please · used on the phone, travelling

  • What's the word for {NOUN}?

    A2

    Ask for the word you cannot remember, instead of stopping the sentence.

    ___ को अंग्रेज़ी में क्या कहते हैं?

    • What's the word for the person who fixes pipes?
    • What's the word for this in English?
    • What's the word for when a shop gives your money back?

    With friends · say it as: What's the word for / the person who fixes pipes · used everyday life, at work

  • What I meant was {CLAUSE}

    B1

    Repair something you said badly, without starting an argument about it.

    मेरा मतलब यह था कि ___।

    • Sorry, what I meant was that we need one more day.
    • What I meant was the second option, not the first.
    • What I meant was that the delay is on our side.

    Anywhere · say it as: What I meant was / that we need one more day · used at work, interviews

  • Let me put it another way

    B1

    Start again with different words, when the first explanation did not work.

    मैं इसे दूसरे तरीक़े से कहता/कहती हूँ।

    • Let me put it another way.
    • Let me put it another way — nobody has actually tested it.
    • Let me put it another way: the money is not the issue.

    Anywhere · say it as: Let me put it / another way · used at work, college

What goes wrong

The versions that get said instead, and why they land differently.

Commonly saidCorrect English

Come again?

Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.

"Come again" is very casual and can sound sarcastic to somebody who does not know you.

What is the meaning of the person who fixes pipes?

What's the word for the person who fixes pipes?

"Meaning" asks what a word means. You want the opposite — the word for a meaning.

Where you will need these

The same phrases, sorted by the room you are standing in.

More phrase groups on the phrases index, or browse by situation on the speaking pages.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

A phrase you have read is not a phrase you can reach for. CoCap makes you produce it, in a conversation, and corrects what comes out.

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