I'm grateful for...
Although I don’t do it enough, I like to practice gratitude through a variety of different methods whenever I remember to do so. I feel that practising gratitude is one of the most important things for a happy life. As well as looking at that today, we can learn some useful expressions you can use in English when expressing your thanks to people.
How to express gratitude
One way, regarding the things I own, is to imagine a time where I wanted everything that I now have. It really helps me appreciate the things I have more and feel gratitude for them. I stop looking to obtain new things and I try to appreciate what I already have.
Another method is to think about the life that you have and try to understand that there’s someone else out there who wants the exact life you have. They dream of it! It’s almost certainly true if you have the technology to access this page now.
What are you grateful for?
Casual Situations
I get a lot of really kind comments and emails from you guys. I read every email and comment and I appreciate all of them. I like to think that we’re friends (I hope you agree!) so I tend to use a more casual way to express my thanks. I might reply with:
Thanks a bunch / Thanks so much / Thanks a million
Stronger Gratitude
A few months ago, my downstairs neighbour’s bathroom was flooded due to a damaged pipe in my bathroom. Late in the evening, a neighbour whom I hadn’t met before came down to help me fix the leak. Of course, I was a bit flustered, but so thankful for his time too. I thanked him profusely and said, “I don’t know what to say! I can’t thank you enough”.
I often feel a strong sense of gratitude for people who help me when I’m travelling. When people spend 5 or 10 minutes to help me find where I want to get to, before we part I might say
“I truly appreciate your help” or “Thank you ever so much for your time”. It’s so kind of you to help. It’s so kind of you to take time out of your day to help.
Eternal Gratitude
For the most serious situations, there are other phrases we can use.
I’m fortunate to not have experienced too many serious situations in my life, but I’m sure I’m not alone when I say music definitely got me through my teenage years. If I could meet some of my favourite musicians from that time, I’d love to express how much their music meant to me and the meaning it imbued into my life.
If I could meet Serj Tankian, I would tell him that
I cannot thank you enough for your music. Words can’t describe how much I appreciate what you did for me. I’m eternally grateful.
Vocabulary
- Possessions – Objects that you own
- Grateful for / Thankful for
- Morbid – Uncomfortable things related to death
- Flustered – A state of nervousness and confusion
- Profuse – A large amount of something, over the top
- To imbue – To fill, to soak into something
- To stretch oneself too thin – to do too many tasks and projects and not do any of them to a high level of quality
What are you grateful for?
Join Level Up English
Sign up to Level Up English to access online courses and join our global learning community.
Sign Up