21 Ways to Speak English More Like a Native

So you have good vocabulary and grammar, but your English still does not sound like “native speaker” English. How come?

In everyday speech, native speakers use patterns, phrases and structures that you probably don’t know.

But if you learn and copy these speaking features, you can begin to sound more like a native speaker, too!

Here are 21 native English speaking features that will help you speak less like a learner – and more like a local!

1. Use real English greetings

Saying “Hi, how are you?” and “I’m fine, thanks” all the time is really boring, isn’t it? Native speakers almost never use these phrases, so why should you? Instead, try using real greetings– and start greeting people in a more natural way.

Here are a few informal, natural-sounding greeting phrases you can try:

Hey, how (are) you doing? – Answer : “Yeah, good thanks. You?”
How’s life? – Answer : “Yeah, good thanks. (How about) you?”
You OK? – Answer: “Yeah, you?”
Hey, good to see you! – Answer: “Yeah, you too!”
Hey, what’s up? – Answer: “Good thanks, you?”
Hiya! – (Answer however you like)
Alright? – Answer: “Yeah, you?”
Morning! / Afternoon! / Evening! – (Answer with the same word)

2. Stop saying “should” and “must”

Guess what? English speakers don’t usually say, “You should..” or “You must” when giving advice and suggestions. Instead, they tend to prefer gentler phrases like “How about..”, or “You really need to”. And these expressions can make you sound more like a local, too!

Try out these common expressions that native speakers use to make suggestions and give advice in English:

How about..? = you should – example: “How about we meet up, later on?”
It might be worth.. = you should – (+ verb + ing) example: “It might be worth asking Jake. He knows more than I do.”
You might want to.. = you must – example: “You might want to get that door fixed. It won’t shut properly.
You really need to… = you must – example: “You really need to stop drinking so much coffee!”

3. Use “What..” statements

You’ve probably heard native speakers express surprise with phrases like “What a…?” “What..” statements show that you are angry, surprised, annoyed or even very happy about something. “What a…” means roughly the same thing as “… is such a” (also useful).

We make “What..” statements by adding “What” to a noun phrase, e.g. “..a lovely day”:

Wow, what a lovely day! = It’s a lovely day, today!
What a shame you can’t make it to the party! = It’s unfortunate that you can’t come to the party – I’m sorry you can’t come.
What a waste of money! = That thing was not worth buying.
What a prat! = I think he / she is a silly or foolish person.
What an amazing present – Thanks! = I really love the present you’ve given me.

Adjectives like “total” make “What..” statements stronger when the noun is your main focus:

What a total waste of money! = (I’m really angry about this!)

And we can also use adverbs when the adjective is the main focus:

Thanks! What a totally amazing present! (I really love it!)

4. Use more “It” statements

Native speakers like to use the word “It’s” to make casual comments in natural conversations. English learners on the other hand often start sentences with, “I am happy that..” or similar. Using “It” statements instead can make your casual comments sound much more natural.

Here are a few common examples of “It” statements that English speakers use when chatting:

It’s nice to see you. = I’m happy to see you.
It’s great that you’re here. = I’m glad that you’re here.
It’s a good job we brought our umbrellas! = It’s lucky that we brought umbrellas (because it’s raining now)
It’s a shame you can’t visit more often. = I am sorry that you can’t visit more often.

Don’t forget, you can also use “It” statements with different tenses and moods:

It was lovely to see you. = I enjoyed seeing you. (past)
I think it’s going to be lovely again today! = I think the weather will be nice again today (future with “going to”)
It would be great to see you again some time! (2nd conditional with future meaning)

5. Use more “softener” words when speaking

Softeners like “kind of” “sort of” and “a bit” help you describe people, actions or feelings less directly. Softeners are really useful when you want to say bad things about someone, but in a polite way. Native English speakers use softeners all the time, but learners often leave them out. Start now!

You can use “kind of” and “sort of” to soften adjectives and verbs:

I’m feeling kind of sad. (adjective)
I think Jenny kind of knew what she had to do. (verb)
I’m sort of worried about the future, I guess. (adjective)

You can use “a bit” to make negative adjectives sound less direct:

I like Jack, but he’s a bit lazy.
She’s a great boss, but she is a bit rude sometimes. = I like my boss, but she is sometimes impolite.

In the same way, you can use “a bit of a” to soften negative nouns:

Driving from London to Manchester is a bit of a drag. = The journey from L to M is long and boring.

6. Add tags to your statements

Adding tag questions like “isn’t it?” to statements is a common native speaker habit. Tags are a great way to check people are listening, and they make you sound less like an English learner. Remember that tag questions like “isn’t it?” are more common in British English. In American English, speakers generally prefer tags like “right? or “huh?” instead.

When we make statements with tags, we often don’t need a real answer – we just want the other person to agree:

A – It’s hot today, isn’t it? = I think it’s hot today. Please agree with me!
B – Yeah. / Yeah, it is. = I agree / I’m listening to you!

Here are some more examples of tag questions at the end of statements:

Oh, this place is lovely, isn’t it? = I think this is a lovely place. Please tell me if you think it’s lovely, too!
Wow! You’ve been busy today, haven’t you? = I can see you have been busy today. I’m very impressed.
Well, that wasn’t a very good meal, was it? = I didn’t enjoy that meal. I’m quite sure you didn’t enjoy it, either. Please agree.

Remember, if the main verb is positive, you need a negative tag; if the main verb is negative, you need a positive tag:

This curry isn’t very nice, is it? (negative verb + positive tag)

7. Shorten your questions

When speaking to people directly (and in less formal situations), native speakers often use “short question” forms to ask questions.

To make short questions, you just remove the annoying “Are you..”, “Do you..” ,”Have you” bits from your questions:

You coming to the party tonight? / Coming to the party tonight? = Are you coming….? (~~Are you.~~)

You see the news last night? / See the news last night? = Did you see..? (~~Did you~~..)

You got the money? / Got the money? = Have you got the money? (~~Have you~~..)

8. Use “So…then” questions

Starting questions with “So,” and finishing with “then” makes them sound softer and friendlier.

So, did you do anything nice last weekend, then? = Did you do anything fun last weekend?

So, are you off anywhere nice on holiday, then? = Are you going anywhere nice for your holiday?

For super “native-sounding” questions to confirm facts, you can use “So,.. then” with a statement and a tag question:

So, you’re leaving, then, are you? = Is it true that you are leaving?

9. Stop saying “yes” and “no”

Instead of just saying “yes” or “no“, native speakers often give detailed answers which provide more information.
These can be short answers, like “Yes, I do”, single words like “Absolutely” and phrases like “I hope so” or “Not really“.

Try out these natural ways to say yes and no:

A – Have you got £5 in change, please? = Do you have £5 in coins, please
B – Sure! = Yes, I have / No, I’m afraid not. = No, I’m sorry, I don’t have any change.

A – Is Abuja the capital of Nigeria?
B – I think so. = Yes, but I’m not 100% sure / I don’t think so. = No, I don’t think that’s right.

A – Is Mike coming to the party, tonight?
B – I hope so. = I want Mike to come / I hope not. = I don’t like Mike, and I don’t want him to come.

A – Do you think kids should be allowed to have smartphones?
B – Absolutely! (Yes, they should) / No way! (No, they shouldn’t) / Well, not really. (I disagree, but not strongly)

10. Shorten “is”, “has”, “would”, “will”, etc

Native speakers almost always shorten (or contract) some English words like “is” , “has” and “would” when talking. For example, they say “Dinner’s ready“, and not: “Dinner is ready”. If your English still sounds too “foreign”, then try shortening these words in your conversations. It really works!

Here are some native speaker contractions you need to start using now!

Coffee’s much nicer with sugar = Coffee is ..
London’s not far from Oxford = London is ..
Dave’s had lots of bad luck, lately = Dave has had..
My wife’s always late for things = My wife is ..
When’s the wedding? = When is ..?
What time’s your meeting? = What time is..?
How’s your headache? = How is..?
The person I know’s called Jim. = The person I know is called Jim (cleft sentence!)
It’s a shame you left so early. = It is ..
It’s been two hours since I’ve had a coffee = It has ..
I’ll tell you later! = I will …
Who’s coming? = Who is coming?
I’d love to meet Jonny Depp. = I would ..

11. Stop saying “going to” “have got to” and “want to”

Instead of saying “going to”, “want to,” and “got to” native speakers often use contractions like “gonna“, “wanna” and “gotta“. These words are very common nowadays, and they are an easy way to make your English sound more authentic.

Here are some examples of “gonna”, “wanna” and “gotta” in sentences:

I’m just gonna go out for ten minutes. = I am just going to ..
I’m not gonna apply for that job = I’m not going to..
I’ve just gotta go and get some milk, ok? = I have got to .. (I need to / I have to)
I haven’t gotta work tomorrow = I haven’t got to work / I don’t need to work tomorrow
I just wanna relax this weekend. = I just want to ..
I don’t wanna leave my job = I don’t want to ..

12. Use more pronouns (and fewer nouns!)

English learners often repeat the same words (especially nouns) again and again when they speak.
On the other hand, native speakers usually mention a name or place just once when they start talking.

After that, they use pronouns like “it” “he,” or “that” to refer to those nouns as they speak. So, practice using more referring pronouns in your conversations, and you will be doing what natives do!

Try not to say the same nouns again and again:

Ali went to London, and Ali said London was great. In fact, I love London too, just like Ali does. (Not very natural)

Instead, try using pronouns to “point” to nouns you’ve already said:

Ali went to London, and he said it was great. In fact, I love it (there) too, just like he does. (A lot more natural!)

Here’s an example of a conversation with lots of referring pronouns:

A- So I met up with David at the weekend, and he told me he was thinking about seeing a doctor.
B-Did he say what the problem was?
A-No, he didn’t, but he did say he was going that clinic in London again.
B-You mean the one he went to last year?
A-Yeah, that one. It‘s pretty good, apparently.

13. Shorten past modals

We often use past conditional phrases like “should have” or “could have” when we are talking about disappointing events in the past that we regret.

Native speakers often shorten past conditional modal phrases in conversations – especially when speaking quickly.

This means they say “woulda” or “would’ve” instead of “would have”, “coulda” or “could’ve” instead of “could have” and “musta” or “must’ve” instead of “must have”.

We say woulda, coulda, musta and shoulda before verbs beginning with consonants:

I shoulda told you!

..and we say would’ve, could’ve, must’ve and should’ve before verbs beginning with vowels:

I should’ve asked him!

Here are some typical conversational examples:

We would’ve seen more of the match if we’d left earlier. = We would have seen more…. (but we didn’t!)
You should’ve answered the phone. = You should have … (but you didn’t)
We shoulda left earlier. = We should have… (but we didn’t leave early)
I coulda done more to help her = I could have done more… ( but I didn’t do enough)
Dad must’ve eaten my dinner by accident. = Dad must have eaten… (there is no other explanation)
She musta left early = She must have left… (there is no other explanation)

14. Use more filler words and phrases

We use lots of words and phrases like “so“, “um“, “ah“, “like“, “I mean” and “you know” in everyday conversations – and especially when telling stories in English. These are called “fillers” because they fill pauses when we speak. It’s really important to use fillers – but not too often!

In this sentence, there are SEVEN fillers! This is probably too many!

So, um, you know, I mean I just wanted to say, like, sorry about last night, OK?

These typical native speaker examples contain just the right number of fillers:

So, um, I was just wondering if you’d like to, erm, meet up later for a drink. = Do you want to meet up for a drink?
That guy was like so rude! = That person was very rude.
Is it like some kind of car, then, or what? = Is X a type of car?
I’m not, you know, trying to be difficult or anything. I just have a lot of questions, you know? = I don’t want to cause problems. I just need to ask you some questions.

15. Use sentence finishers

Native speakers often end their sentences with phrases like “and stuff” or “or something“. Sentence finishers help us to to say “etc” or “and other things” in a more relaxed way:

Here are a few examples of common sentence finishers:

I think a salamander is a kind of lizard or something. = It’s a lizard or some other kind of creature.
So at the weekend, I went out and bought some clothes and food and stuff. = I bought clothes, food and other things.
I spent all day today doing the housework and everything. = I did housework and other similar chores

16. Use linking words

When telling personal anecdotes or making excuses, native speakers often use linking words and phrases like “and”, “but”, “so then” or “and that’s why” to connect their ideas. These linking words help information flow more smoothly in casual conversations.

Linking phrases can come in the middle of sentences, between independent clauses:

I only came in for a coffee, but then I got chatting to Jim, and ended up staying for two hours.

Linkers can also come at the beginning of clauses and sentences:

And then, Ali came in and said “Hi”.
So, anyway, that’s why I’m so late.
And, once again, really sorry about that, OK?

17. Use more noun phrases!

Non-native speakers often use lots of personal pronouns and actions when they speak: e.g. “I want to go out because I feel I need a break and .. “. But native English speakers prefer to use more “noun phrases” when speaking.

Noun phrases make sentences more compact and more natural-sounding. You can do the same thing by changing simple “subject + verb” clauses into noun phrases with tag questions:

For example, instead of saying:

“I like walking in the countryside. Do you like walking in the countryside, too?” (2 personal pronouns / 2 actions )

You could say:

Walking in the countryside’s lovely, isn’t it? (noun phrase + is + adjective + tag question)

To make your sentence even more natural, you could also use “It” phrases to change the clause order:

It’s lovely, isn’t it, walking in the countryside? = I love walking in the countryside – do you?
It’s horrible, isn’t it, not having enough time to relax? = I hate not having enough time to relax

18. Exaggerate!

Native English speakers like to exaggerate – or say things are bigger or better than they actually are.
For example, if you enjoyed a meal or a party, you could say it was “awesome“. Or if you really loved a movie you watched, you could say it was “stunning“.

You can exaggerate with adjectives:

The food was appalling / disgusting / revolting! = the food was really bad.
She looks stunning / amazing / unbelievable! = She looks very beautiful.

And adverbs can make your exaggeration stronger:

The food was absolutely appalling! = the food was really, really bad.
She looks totally stunning! = She looks very beautiful indeed.

19. Say it again, and again, and again..

Native speakers often repeat adverbs like “very” and “really” and “again” for dramatic effect. This is yet another quick and dirty trick to make the words you say sound more like real English.

You can repeat very, really and so to make these words sound more important:

I’ll be very, very happy when these exams are over. = I will be very happy when my exams have finished.
I’m really, really worried about my driving test. = I am very worried…
I’m so, so sorry about your coat – I’ll get it cleaned for you! = I am very sorry that I ruined your coat..

You can use some adverbs with “and” to do the same thing:

I’ve told him again and again not to smoke in the house. = I’ve told him many times…
I drove round and round the roundabout, but I couldn’t get off! = I drove round the roundabout many times, but..

20. Learn some binomials

Binomials are fixed idiomatic phrases that contain two similar words. Binomial phrases like “safe and sound“, “odds and ends” and “more or less” are so common in native conversations that you can’t avoid them.

Many English leaners do not use binomials in conversations. But if you learn a few of these, you will make a big impression!

Here are a few everyday English binomial phrases that you can start using right now:

I’m just doing few odds and ends = I’m just doing a few small jobs. (noun + noun)
I’m glad you’ve got there safe and sound! = I’m happy that you have arrived safely. (adverb and adverb)
I’m more or less ready to leave, now. = I’m 99% ready to leave.
It’s lovely and warm here, isn’t it? = I feel warm here, and I am happy about this.

21. Try using “cleft” sentences

Native speakers use “cleft” sentences when speaking to signal the most important information in a sentence. For example, when talking about future plans, you could say: “I really want to visit Japan, one day“. This is fine, but a native speaker would probably say: “One place I really want to visit one day is Japan“. This tells listeners that a “place” is the thing you want to talk about.

To make cleft sentences, you need a “starter phrase“, for example:

One place
The reason
What

Then, add more details to form a noun phrase:

One place I really want to visit
The reason I left my job
What I really hate about England

Finally, complete your cleft sentence with a “be” clause (in the right tense!)

One place I really want to visit is Japan = I really want to visit Japan (present simple)
The reason I left my job was that I hated my boss = I left my job because I hated my boss (past simple)
What I really hate about England is the weather = I really hate the weather in England (present simple)