Filler Words

Filler Words

Have you ever paused and unconsciously added“um”, “like”, “I mean”, “actually”, and other meaningless words in between your speech or conversation? — Well, I have. I guess everyone has too.

An apparently meaningless word, phrase, or sound that marks a pause or hesitation in speech is known as a pause filler or filler word.

Some of the common filler words in English are um, uh, er, ah, like, okay, right, and you know. In general, we use filler words because we’re thinking. Maybe we’re searching for the right word, or we need to stop and formulate our next sentence. Often we use them to indicate that we’re going to talk, whether or not we have something to say at that very moment.

Here are two general tips that sould help you minimize using the filler words:

Relax

The more stressed you get by it, the more anxious and nervous you’re going to sound. It’s okay to let a few filler words slip out. After all, it’s a natural part of speaking.

Slow down

Don’t be afraid to slow down a bit. If you talk too fast, you’re likely to get a little tongue-tied, especially if you haven’t quite figured out what you’re going to say next. If your mouth moves faster than your brain, you’re going to use a lot more filler words.

The most irritating filler words

I’ve come up with some most irritating filler phrases. Here they are:

1. “To be honest” – Why, are you normally not honest with me? What a crazy thing to say!

2. “You know” – Is this a question or a statement?

3. “Like” – This is especially annoying if it is inserted a number of times into every single sentence. Why, oh, why?

4. “Literally” – Should mean ‘figuratively’ or exactly as you say. It makes so sense to ‘literally explode’ or to ‘literally die’.

5. “Seriously” – Are you saying that you are telling me the truth or are you using it as a replacement for ‘yeah’ – I am, like, seriously confused!

6. “I mean” – Some people litter this phrase into every single sentence they say. It must be one of the most meaningless phrases of all.

7. “I die” – Although it’s an iconic phrase by a celebrity, still it irritates me to hear her saying this at almost anything she finds amazing or great.

How would you feel if you hear someone saying this to you at a conversation?

“Awesome! This is, like, I mean, totally seriously, like, the most epic band I have ever heard. You know what I’m saying. I am literally going to, like, die if I can’t go and see them.”

I feel like I WOULD DIE! SERIOUSLY!

Underneath or Beneath

Basically, as prepositions, underneath and beneath mean the same thing: under or below.

Examples:

• She didn’t wear anything underneath her long coat.

• We live underneath the same roof.

• Have you looked beneath the cooker?

As an adverb, underneath also means under.

Example:

• He was wearing a thin jacket with nothing underneath.

Beneath as an adverb means underneath or below.

Example:

• He looked out of the plane at the mountains beneath.

In the context of rank and position, underneath refers to people who are in a lower position in a hierarchy. So you could say “The employees of a company are underneath the chief executive officer”.

Beneath has a similar meaning, but carries the added meanings of being inferior or less important. It means unworthy or below the level of someone else. So, if you said to someone “You are beneath me”, that person would have the right to be quite insulted and slap you in the face!