Business English for the workplace

hi Tim here with another 925 English

lesson. In today's lesson we're going to

learn how to talk about things you don't like

I'm a pretty positive person but

there are lots of things I just don't like:

getting stuck in traffic,

bad customer service, long meetings.

I really don't like long meetings. And you're

probably the same way. There are things

you just don't like and things you hate.

So how do we talk about these things?

How do we say we don't really like

something?

Well you can say exactly that: I don't

like getting stuck in traffic, for

example. To say you dislike something you

can just change a positive sentence into

a negative one. In the same way you can

say you're not all that fond of

something because being fond of

something means liking it. There are even

more ways to talk about dislikes.

You can say that something isn't really your

thing that's a useful expression if

you're talking about a preference so if

you're having the conversation about

where to go for lunch

you might say Greek food isn't really my

thing

you could also say i don't care for

greek food that's not really about

taking care of something rather to not

care for just means to not like

now how about practicing some of these

ideas

we're going to present some examples

after you hear each example try

repeating it yourself ready let's give

it a go

I don't really like living in a small

town

I'm not all that fond of long meetings

sales isn't really my thing

I don't care for the new TV ads

so those expressions are useful for

talking about basic dislikes and we

often use them when we're being polite

or trying not to make someone feel bad i

mean sometimes we don't want to sound

too negative right but then again

sometimes we really don't like something

and we want people to know it if someone

suggest something that you just can't

accept or if you need to really make it

clear how you feel

you might need a stronger expression in

this case you might say you really hate

something

hate is certainly a strong word

in fact you should be a bit careful with

it

nobody minds if you say you hate getting

stuck in traffic but if you say you hate

someone's idea they might get upset

in that case it's best to use a softer

expression other expressions you can use

our can't stand or more simply really

don't like so you might say I can't

stand waiting around in airports or I

really don't like waiting around in

airports those are both pretty strong

there's also another word that is

similar to hate but even stronger and

that word is to test if you say you

detest something then you really hated

and for an even stronger statement you

can say you absolutely detest something

for example I absolutely detest exams

that's about as strong as you can

express a dislike without cursing now

it's your turn to try using these

expressions

once again you'll hear some examples

after each example repeat what you hear

ready let's begin

I really hate websites that are slow

I can't stand this new software

I absolutely detest powerpoint

I really don't like public speaking at

all

ok so we've done some practice on

talking about things you don't like

but there are some things that you don't

really think positively or negatively

about for me that's how i feel about

where to go eat lunch

I don't really care and that's exactly

what you can say i don't really care

you could also say it's all the same to

me that's useful if a group is trying to

make a decision and it's not important

to you what they choose one more useful

expression is I don't mind if you don't

mind something it means it doesn't

bother you if you ask me whether I hate

android i'll say i don't mind it

and by that i mean i don't like or

dislike it

it's just ok let's practice using some

of these expressions for when you need

there like or dislike something once

again repeat the examples after you hear

them

I don't really care one way or the other

it's all the same to me

I don't mind taking the bus to work

alright we've been doing some great

practice but how does this sound in the

conversation we're going to hear a short

dialogue between two co-workers they are

talking about where to go for lunch

John suggested we meet at the new cafe

on the corner

hmm well I don't really care for that

cafe

alright so what about the deli across

the street

yeah okay I don't mind that place

how did that sound

one possibility is a new cafe on the

corner but the lady doesn't really care

for that cafe

however she doesn't mind the deli across

the street now it's your turn to

practice will repeat the dialogue but

this time we're going to be about the

woman's words you will have to say those

parts yourself remember to start by

saying you don't care for the cafe then

you'll say that you don't mind the deli

here we go John suggested we meet at the

new cafe on the corner

alright so what about the deli across

the street

alright so we've learned some great ways

to talk about things you don't like as

well as things you hate and things you

don't really care about in our next

lesson we'll move on to look at how to

talk about your ideas and make

suggestions

until then so long and happy learning