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today you're going to learn phrases all related to going to a pub or a bar. Now these phrases are going to help you because they are all conversational and even if you're not in that situation of going to a pub or a bar in an English speaking country, you're still going to learn a lot of grammar and different types of idioms and phrases. And at the end we're going to look at some really surprising differences between going to a pub in the UK and also going to one in the USA. And even if you don't drink alcohol, you're gonna find this useful because if you ever go to an English speaking country, going to a pub or a bar is a very common occurrence. And to help you learn these phrases, I'm going to leave them all in the
description so that you can read them and make notes on them for the long term. I'll also leave some resources about how to learn English in the most efficient way. Let's say you are in an English speaking country. And you want to go to the pub or go to the bar, you can make that suggestion. And the first phrase is actually a good difference between the UK and the USA, because listen to these phrases. Fancy going for a drink? Do you wanna grab a drink? So this is a friendly way to invite someone for a drink often after work, and that's when a lot of people go to a pub or a bar also at the weekend. So, fancy going for a drink?
Is a British term. Do you want to grab a drink? Is something you'll hear more often in the USA. Another example of just using fancy is: fancy going to the bar? Fancy going to the pub? Now the next one is this, let's go for a pint. And if anyone asks you this and you're not sure what it is, a pint is the large glass of beer. Now, what's interesting is that a pint in the UK is bigger than a pint in the USA. I'm not sure how that came about, but it is true if you don't know where to go.
You could ask, do you know anywhere good? And this is used to ask if someone knows a nice place to go where they can recommend a place to you. A variation of this is, do you know anywhere good around here? And if you are the one making the recommendation, you can say, there's a great place just around the corner. There's a great place just round the corner and just round the corner means close by. In the USA, you might hear something like there's a great little bar just round the corner, there's a great little bar just round the corner.
And place, going back to that word, you can use that for bars. You can use it for restaurants. Or anywhere else where you might gather socially. Now, here's a great phrase to talk about the atmosphere, the feeling of the place, and it's this. It's got a good vibe. So the vibe is the feeling and the atmosphere of the place. I think a bar with a good vibe has good music, very soft lighting and really interesting art on the walls. So you might say, let's go there.
It's got a good vibe. The next one is Happy Hour. Now happy hour is a time when drinks are cheaper and it's usually earlier in the evening. Some states they ban happy hour. The state I live in doesn't have happy hour, but when I go to a place with happy hour in a different state, I get really excited. I love happy hour. the next one is a casual way to say that you would like a drink, and it usually means to relax after a long day. So that's when you usually use this, and it's this.
I could use a drink. It's been such a busy day. I could really use a drink. You might hear people use this as well for things like, I could use a sit down, I could use a nap, I could use a rest. And did you notice the intonation that I used? If someone is very open to going into a bar or a pub with you, you can say, come on. We haven't been out in ages. So in ages means a long time. For a long time, I haven't been on Instagram in ages, for example, which is not true. The next one is this. Let's invite a few friends. So a few friends means not many, just some close people. And after your friend agrees to go with you now, you might want more people. So you say, let's invite a few friends.
And the next one before we get to the pub is all about a natural way to agree on a time and place. And it's this. I'll meet you there round eight. I'll meet you there around eight. But if you're a little bit late. You can text someone or call someone and say, I'm running a little bit late. So to run late means to be late. I'm running a little bit late. Okay, so we're now at the bar and you are with your friends, and these are some phrases you'll use before you even order. So the first one is this.
You are walking into the bar and you say, it's packed tonight. And packed means very crowded. Wow, it's packed tonight, must be because of the football. It's packed tonight. And if it's not too busy and there are tables available, you might hear someone ask you or you can ask, shall we grab a table? Or in American English, you might hear, let's grab a table. And to grab is a casual verb, meaning to get a table or to find one quickly. So it usually means to do it quickly. Let's grab a table before it gets busier. And the next one is something you might have heard before, especially when it
comes to things like restaurants, is do you wanna sit inside or outside? Personally, I love sitting outside. If the weather is good enough, that's my preference. But if it's chilly, if it's cold, I prefer to obviously sit inside. And you don't always have to get a table. Instead, you can sit at the bar, so you might make that suggestion. Let's sit at the bar. Let's sit at the bar, and this means the counter where the drinks are served. Let's sit at the bar, it's easier to order there.
Now you might be also confused about where you order your drinks. So you might ask a question, do we order at the bar or at the table? In UK it's much more common to order at the bar. And in the US it's more common to order at the table, but it does depend on the bar or the pub that you're going to. Now, the next one is a really good one, a very friendly way to ask someone what they want to drink. And it's this what you having? What are you having? So this is a very friendly way to offer someone to buy them a drink. What are you having? And another way that you might have heard before is it's my round.
Something I don't say very often. It's my round. Which means I'll pay for this round of drinks. And in the UK it's very common for people to take turns buying drinks. It's my round. What do you want? And then the moment of truth, it's time to order drinks and snacks. So let's say you are at the bar, it's busy, and you work your way to the front and the person looks at you and says, can I help you? Or What can I get you? And you can simply say, can I have a pint of lager please? Or can I get a pint of Lager please? Can I get a diet Coke? Can I get a lemonade?
The most common way to ask for something is this. You can also say, I'll have, I'll have a gin and tonic, please. You'll often hear people make that pause. After I'll have, I'll have a gin and tonic please. And another one just to throw in the mix is, could I get, could I get a soft drink? Could I get another beer? This is a very common way to ask for something when you're sitting at a table and the person comes over or you're trying to get their attention and you want to order something else. A very specific question to ask. If you want to know what type of draft beer they have is.
What's on tap? What's on tap tonight? So this is referring to beers served from the barrel, the draft beers, not the beer out of a can or a bottle. And if you don't drink alcohol or you don't wanna drink alcohol that night, you can ask, do you have any non-alcoholic options? So this is asking if there are any alcohol free choices. Okay, we're nearly halfway through these phrases. I hope you're enjoying the lesson. If you are, be sure to like it and share it with a friend.
Okay, let's continue. The next one is to be used when you want to look at all of the drink options, because these days bars have lots of drink options. There are beer options, wine options, soft drinks, seltzers cocktails. And sometimes, you need a menu so you can simply ask, can I see the drinks menu please? Can I see the drinks menu or do you have a menu? So this is a great question to ask when you want to look at all the drink options, because there are many. In UK pubs, it's very common for them to also serve food, and I think pub
food, if you go to a good pub in the UK, is some of the best food in the world. I don't care what anyone else says. It is true. And let's say you want to get some of that food, you can ask, do you serve food? Or are you serving food at the moment? Because there are times when the kitchen is closed. Are you serving food at the moment? And then let's say you really enjoyed your fancy cocktail and you go back to the bar and you say, can I get another one of these? This is a common phrase when ordering another of this same drink. Could I get another one of these? But sometimes the bartender, or the server, will get there before you and say, same again? And they often ask this when you finish your drink and all they're
doing is asking you if you want to get another of the same drink. And then you are definitely gonna know this next phrase and it's a way to toast before drinking. And it's a very common way and it's used in the UK and the USA and it is Cheers. Okay, so imagine now you have your drink. You are sitting at a table. It is time for some common questions or common things to say when you are at a pub or a bar. The first one might just be: So, how's work been? Or let's say you are traveling, someone might ask you, so, how's your trip been? And this is a natural conversation starter.
An easy way to start a conversation with someone once you are settled at a table. And then if you just wanna ask it in general, you might ask. So how have you been? Some common ways to answer this are I've been good. I've been busy, but I've been good. Or answering about the trip, we can use the present perfect here and say, it's been amazing. I've had such a good time. I've met so many people. Manchester is incredible. And then you might hear someone say, or you might say yourself.
I can't believe how expensive drinks are now, and this is complaining about prices in a friendly way. Or if you wanna make it a bit stronger, you might say, $10 for a pint. that's ridiculous. $10 for a pint. That is ridiculous. And then if you wanna talk about the bar or the pub that you're in, you might say things like, it's a bit loud in here, or it's a bit bright in here. Personally, I hate it when it's too bright and too loud. So this is something I'd say It's too loud and bright in here. And then with that, you can make a suggestion.
You might say, do you wanna go somewhere quieter? Or do you wanna sit somewhere quieter? Someone else might say, sure, I'll finish my drink and then we'll head out. So to head out means to leave. You might also hear head back. If you're talking about going home, for example, let's head back soon. It's getting a bit late. Let's head back soon. So let's talk about paying and leaving now. So in the USA, you might hear, or you might use, can I close my tab please? In the USA, you're going to use something like this when it's time
to pay, because in the USA, you open your tab and you close your tab. So you'll say, can I close my tab please? And this is used in US bars when you're ready to pay your bill. If you're sitting at a table and the server comes over. They're going to ask you something like, is this on one check or separate? So they're asking you if you want to pay individually or there's just going to be one bill. And it's always a little bit awkward if you are with friends and you don't know what's gonna happen, but most of the time you can say, Can we pay separately please? And then let's say you're on the way home you can say, that was such a good night. And that's a friendly way to end the night on a positive note.
And speaking of ending, the lesson hasn't ended yet because we do have some idioms and fun phrases before talking about some key differences between the UK and the USA. So the first idiom or phrase is, it's on me. And this goes back to paying the check. It's on me means I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it. Don't worry, it's on me. I'll get this one. Another one is, let's say you want to leave, you've had enough. You can say, let's call it a night. And this is used when you decide to stop and to go home. It's getting late, let's call it a night. And the next two are used about drinking, and the first one is this hair of the dog.
Now you might hear someone say this when they're having a drink the next day to feel better after drinking too much before. So if you have a hangover, you might say, hair the dog and go get a drink. 'cause you think it's gonna make you feel better. And help your hangover. And then the next one is a bit tipsy. A bit tipsy, and this means to be slightly drunk, but still in control. So you might hear someone say, I'm feeling a bit tipsy after that wine. I'm feeling a little bit tipsy. I'm feeling a little bit tipsy after that beer. Now let's talk about those cultural and language notes for the UK and USA for pubs and bars. So you might have heard a few during this lesson, but the first
one is where you order, and in the UK it's usually at the bar. So if you go to a pub in the UK, you usually order at the bar from the bartender. In the USA, it's usually from a server unless you sit at the bar. So if you sit at the bar, you order drinks from the bartender. If you sit at a table, a server will come over and say, hello, my name is, and I'm looking after you tonight. In the UK, people normally pay in rounds. So let's say there are three of you. you say like you learned before, it's my round, what are you having? It's my round, what you having? And you pay for everyone's drinks, and then friend number two will buy the next round.
Whereas in the USA, it's often individually done so people will order their own drinks and pay for their own drinks. The atmosphere is also a little bit different. There's lots of chatting in UK pubs. There's not usually loud music unless there's some type of party late at night, and it's a lot more relaxed. Now, bars in the us there are differences between them. There's something called a dive bar, which is usually a lot darker inside.
It's not fancy. It's often a little bit dirty, but it's more relaxed. There are also many sports bars in the USA and also fancy cocktail bars in the USA. The same in the UK too. In the USA bars often have snacks or even full menus, whereas UK pubs have pub meals and like I said before, these are just so good if you get a good one. So what to do now is to go back and listen to this lesson again, especially the phrase section. Go to the description and look at all the phrases from the lesson, and then go watch the video or listen to the episode where I talk about how to learn these phrases.
My name is Jack from To Fluency, and thank you so much for being here.
