Daily English Phrases
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Entries in politeness (topic) (2)

Friday
Oct222010

“They don't even make eye contact with you!”

You went to a grocery store where the cashiers are often rude to you. You can't believe that they're so rude. You're complaining to a friend about the store employees. You say:

They don't even make eye contact with you!

They don't even (do something).

Use "They don't ___" for things that people often don't do, or things that they never do. The word "even" shows that you think something is basic. In the example the speaker thinks that making eye contact is a basic level of politeness that all store employees should follow. She can't believe that the employees act this way.

make eye contact with (someone)

"Making eye contact" with someone means looking at their eyes while they look back at you. When two people look at each other's eyes for a long time, you say that they're "staring at" each other. But when they look at each other for just a moment, it's called "making eye contact". In the United States, it's polite for people to smile and make eye contact with people who they deal with. You should make eye contact with a customer, someone you've just met, someone you see on the street who you recognize from your work, and so on.

you

The word "you" is used in English to talk about people in general. In the example above, the word "you" doesn't just mean the person who the speaker is talking to. It means all the customers at that store. Here's another example:

You need a solid foundation in basic math and science.

Friday
Oct222010

“That kind of behavior would be totally unacceptable where I come from.”

You went to a supermarket in the U.S. and the cashier looked bored and angry. You can't believe that a store employee would be that rude. You say:

That kind of behavior would be totally unacceptable where I come from.

that kind of behavior

A person's "behavior" is the way that they act. You can have "good behavior" or "bad behavior". But the phrase "that kind of behavior" always refers to someone who's doing bad things:

I do not engage in that kind of behavior. Unfortunately, that kind of behavior is common in large companies.

(something) would be (adjective)

Say that something "would be ___" to describe an imaginary situation. In the example above, the speaker is imagining what it would be like if the cashier acted that way in her home country.

(something) is totally unacceptable

Use this phrase to talk about things that someone must not or should not do. Parents, teachers, managers, and other people with authority use "totally unacceptable" when they're yelling at someone that they're in charge of. Customers also use it to complain about problems they have with a business. For example, if your luggage gets lost by an airline company, you might tell an airline employee:

This is totally unacceptable!

This phrase sounds formal, but it's also a very strong criticism, so only use it when someone has done something really wrong and you're angry with them.

where I come from

You can use the phrase "where I come from" to talk about differences between your home town, region, or country and the place where you are now:

Where I come from, people say "Excuse me" when they bump into you.

People usually use this phrase when they're complaining about things that people do, which are considered rude in the place that they're from. It's common for people from small towns to say things like this when they go to a big city.