Over the next few paragraphs, I’m going to explain how you can express surprise, just as a native English speaker does. Even somebody from Southern California.
And you do want to sound like a native speaker, don’t you?
1. WHAT?
- I’ve just won the lottery!
- What?
We are starting with the basics.
Always start with the basics!
If you are surprised, but you are not a naturally exuberant person and your level of English is lower than you’d like, this option is IDEAL.
It’s mono-syllabic, so it’s perfect for you.
All you need to do is to raise the tone at the END of the word.
LIKE AN ANGRY TEENAGER.
This is one is so easy and so basic, that even your Mum or Granny could learn it. Get practising with them next time you see them.
2. REALLY?
- I met Rihanna last night and…
- Really?
We are staying with the basics but taking it up a notch.
“Really?” is a very American way of expressing surprise or disbelief. I’d even go as far as saying that it is one of the commonest words among 15-29-yearolds.
In SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
If you really want to sound just like them, you will need to raise your intonation at the end.
See how easy it is to show your surprise!
3. YOU DON’T SAY!
- Did you hear about Violet? She was caught shoplifting when she was on holidays!
- You don’t say!
Now, if you want to sound a little bit old-fashioned, perhaps, a bit like Doris Day, or any of the characters on the British soap opera Coronation Street, you could use this expression.
Nowadays, people use it ironically as a way of showing that they are not surprised at all.
4. YOU’RE KIDDING!
- My brother has just started going out with one of the Kardashians.
- You’re kidding! You are just making that up!
When what you really want to do is express disbelief, rather than showing surprise, THIS is what you need to say.
That’s right! You do not believe what you are hearing. At all.
In fact, it seems so hard to believe, that you think it must be a joke.
And a very bad one at that! Just like our favourite reality family.
5. GOOD GRIEF
- Good grief! I left the car window open!
- Oh well! Everything is here! It’s not as if you had anything worth stealing.
Surprises can be shocking.
They can even be upsetting.
Life is hard.
But at least now you know what to say when you are surprised and frustrated.
And you’ll be in excellent company. Charlie Brown used to say Good Grief! all the time.
And he was one frustrated little boy.
6. COR BLIMEY!
- The girl in the picture sent me a friend request on Facebook last night.
- Cor Blimey! She’s a bit of a babe.
‘
Now, it’s time to go back in time.
Right back to 1889.
Great Britain in 1889, to be precise. Which is when Cor blimey was recorded for the first time.
Cor Blimey is 100% British. It’s incredibly rare in the United States and Ireland, although James Joyce used a modified version of it in Ulysses. Australians, do however say Cor Blimey or just plain Blimey quite a lot.
So, let’s get back to 1889!
When this expression first appeared, it was a contraction of God blind me!
So, the people who used it were seeing something shocking that they weren’t supposed to be seeing. As Christians are not supposed to take the name of the Lord their God in vain, it transmogrified from God blind me, through God blimey to the Cor Blimey that is still in use today.
7. WELL I NEVER!
- Mum! There are two zebras mating in the back garden.
- Well I never!
Mum is surprised.
Of that, there is no doubt. What are the chances of finding a real live zebra in your back garden?
Now, re-ask the question and substitute “pair of mating zebras” for “a real live zebra”.
So, Mum is also a little scandalized.
And that is why she says Well I never!
Next time you are surprised and scandalized, you can try it out too.
8. WHAT A SURPRISE!
- Can you believe it? The royals have called their new child Kim. Princess Kim!
- What a surprise!
There’s not much to say about this that you can’t work out for yourself.
You are surprised.
You say you are SURPRISED!
This is a very general expression of surprise. One you could used in just about any situation.
9. NO WAY!
- We won the match, and I scored the winning goal.
- No way! That’s amazing.
Although the adverb has been around since the 1300s, the expression No way! has only been in common use since the 1960s.
There’s really not too much to say.
We use this expression when we are amazed.
As simple as that.
10 OMG! (OH MY GOD!)
- I have some really exciting news. I managed to get us backstage passes for the U2 concert.
- OMG! OMG! OMG! *faints
Sometimes we are SO surprised or shocked by something that has happened that there is no choice but to invoke the name of the main man, Mr God.
If you believe in Him.
Or Her.
If God loves us as much as we are lead to believe, then I am sure he won’t mind.
This sounds like something you might hear in a T.V. series like Gossip Girl, but no….!
The origin of the acronym OMG is over 90 years old and it was first used in a letter from none other than Admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher to Winston Churchill in 1917.
Surprised?
I bet not as much as I was!
Now that you know how to be surprised like a native English speaker there’s only thing left to do.
Get out there.
SPEAK!
With anyone who is willing to speak to you.
And practise, practise, practise!
You’ll be surprised how quickly all this vocabulary becomes second nature for you.
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