I bet that must have been scary

    Have a look at the short exchanges below. As you read them, pay particular attention to the responses made by B in each of them:

    Example One:

    1. So, there we were walking through the forest and, suddenly, we saw this bear standing in front of us.
    2. Wow! I bet that must have been scary.

    Example Two:

    1. My grandfather was Danish and my grandmother was Dutch. When they got married, he couldn't speak her language and she couldn't speak his language, and neither of them could speak English very well.
    2. That must have been difficult. How did they manage to communicate?

    Example Three:

    1. I've done absolutely nothing today. Just sat here all day listening to the radio.
    2. That doesn't sound very exciting.

Comments

    If you want to communicate well with other people, it is important to show interest in what they say to you. When, for example, people talk about their experiences, you can reply with expressions like these:
    • That sounds _______________________.
    • That must have been _______________________.
    • I bet that was _______________________.
    • I bet that must have been _______________________.

    If the conversation is about something unpleasant, we often choose to say things like:

    • That doesn't sound very nice.
    • That doesn't sound like much fun (*see the note below).
    • I bet that wasn't very interesting.
    • I bet that wasn't very exciting.

    We can do this to avoid saying something "hard" like:

    • That sounds terrible.
    • I bet that was boring.

    *Note:
    Nice is an adjective; fun is a noun. When that sounds is followed by a noun, we use like (that sounds like fun).
    Also note that in all the examples above that is normally said with a slight stress.

    Exercise

    Imagine you are talking to an English-speaking friend. How would you respond to the following?

    1. I did a bungee jump last weekend.
    2. _________________________________.

    1. I've just met an old friend I hadn't seen for more than 20 years.
    2. _________________________________.

    1. I spent most of Saturday afternoon listening to speeches at City Hall.
    2. _________________________________.

    1. Last Saturday my sister drove all the way from Tokyo to Kagoshima in one day.
    2. _________________________________.

      Click here for some suggested answers and a study tip.

    Click here to try some other one-point lessons.

    © Robert E. Jones, 2003