Stop Saying "What?"

Stop Saying “What?”

When you don’t understand what someone just said or if you want them to repeat themselves, because you didn’t hear them, simply, saying: what? might seem too direct or a bit impolite. So, depending on the situation, there are better expressions that you can use when you want someone to repeat what they said, in other words.

We are separating these expressions into three categories. Quick and informal, just for your mates. Formal or on the phone, those are very different expressions than what you might say to a friend or in person. And when you’re very surprised, when you’re shocked. Oh my god, what? So, the most common way to ask someone, can you repeat that? Is: sorry? This is the most common. You can ask it formally, informally. It doesn’t matter. It’s good for every situation and you can put this before all of the other expressions that we’re going to see today.

Okay, let’s start with quick and informal. These ones you will just use with your friends, people you trust, people you’re not trying to be formal with. You what? This one I will use with my friends. But, be careful. Be careful, if you’re not friends with a person or if your intonation is wrong, it can sound confrontational. So, be very careful with this one because sometimes, in a pub, you what? are usually the words you hear before a fight. What was that? Again another informal, friendly way to ask, what? The pronunciation changes, depending on how quickly you speak. For example, I would pronounce this like this: what was that? If I slow this down, what was that? That’s a glottal T, what and I removed the th from that. Was that. Oh! That T is also glottal. What was that? What was that?

Okay, when you’re on the phone, you’re speaking very formally and there are certain expressions that you should be using on the phone, these ones. The first one: I missed that. This one kind of, falls into this category as well, depending on how you’re speaking. For example, in an informal situation, huh I miss that, what? But, if you’re being formal on the phone, it can sound quite polite: sorry, I missed that. Or you could say: sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. When we say catch that, we mean, I didn’t hear it properly, I didn’t understand it properly. Sorry, could you repeat that please? So, this one, really, only use it for the phone. I always hear this from students, in person, face-to-face. But it sounds unnatural, face to face. Face to face I would use one of these. But, over the phone, this is perfect. Okay, the pronunciation, could you, we use connected speech and it sounds like could you? Could you? Could you repeat that please? Could you repeat that please? This one is very interesting. Sorry, can you run me by that again? This one is very good for suggesting that, you didn’t quite understand the concept of what they said. So, it is more formal. It’s better for the phone. You can use it face-to-face, it’s not strange but you are saying that you didn’t understand the idea and you want them to repeat it or explain it in an easier way. So, we’re learning a new phrasal verb here to run something by someone. It’s to tell someone of a plan or an idea, usually to get their agreement.

And the last one. Sorry, come again. This one, it’s not very common. I wouldn’t recommend that you use it. However you probably will hear it. So, just know that it means can you repeat that please? Just that. Okay, there’s something interesting with this and that is: like I said before, some of the expressions, you can use in different contexts and these two. If you save them quite slowly or quite emphatically, they can sound very shocked. I’m sorry, did you say that you don’t like pancakes? Can you run me by that again? So they can sound like you’re shocked.

The final two, excuse me. Yes, you can use it informally. Yes, you can use it in person. I’m not saying it’s wrong. What I am saying, is it’s not as common as, sorry. Or if you’re being informal, sorry, what was that? So just know, it sounds a little bit more formal. So, it does sound a little bit more shocked.

I beg your pardon. I hear students say this one a lot. Don’t because it sounds like you’re very shocked. Like when someone says something shocking or something that upsets you. Then you say this one. You’re allergic to dogs, I beg your pardon? So, be careful with your, what. Don’t use it all the time, don’t say all the time. Be careful with your, I beg your pardons. It’s not casual . Think about the context, the situation that you’re in. Do you need to be formal? Are you on the phone? Are you just with a friend? You want to be informal. Think about your context and use one of these expressions instead.