Conversational

Sympathy and encouragement

Hiya! Bad things happen to us now and again and we like to share these things with friends. Why? Because we want to get some sympathy from them.

What is sympathy? Sympathy is showing that you understand the other person’s problems and hardship. If you say: ‘I didn’t get the job’ and your friend says: ‘hahaha!’, then he shows no sympathy for you. Actually, he’s not a friend – I’d call him your enemy!

So, how could you show sympathy towards a friend who says: ‘I’ve totally crashed my car.’ There are several ways to express your sympathy. You can simply say: No!

A: I’ve crashed my car.
B: No!

You can say: ‘I’m so sorry’ or ‘I’m so sorry to hear that’. Classic. Or, you can say: ‘What a shame!’ or ‘That is a shame!’ or ‘That is bad luck.’

To your friend you can simply say: ‘Unlucky!’ or ‘Too bad!’ or ‘That sucks!’.

A: My girlfriend’s left me.
B: That sucks, I’m sorry, mate!

A: I didn’t make it to the supermarket on time.
B: Too bad!

A: I’ve broken my leg.
B: Unlucky, Oliver.

Of course, you don’t have to stop here. You can encourage the other person; you know: tell them something positive, like:

‘But cheer up!’ or ‘But never mind!’ or ‘But don’t worry too much about it.’ or ‘But it’s not the end of the world’ or ‘But it could be worse’.

A: I lost my job today.
B: Too bad, Oliver. But cheer up! You’ll find something. I’m quite positive about that.

A: My cat just died.
B: That is bad luck, mate. But hey, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll get another kitty.

Great. We’ll end our mini-lesson there. Now go, practise. See you soon!