Wherever your destination may be, manners are a must! And in this respect, the United States is no different. So in our very first lesson, we'll be teaching you a simple phrase that is bound to come in handy throughout your trip to the States. I can't stress this enough, a little a bit of language can go such a long way!

In English, we say Thank you.

You can emphasize thank you by adding very much. It shows a little more gratitude. Now let's hear it once again thank you very much.

In English there are other ways to express one's gratitude, and a casual way of saying it is thanks. You will hear this often in place of thank you. Don't forget the s. Thanks. Another casual way of saying this is by adding a lot. Thanks a lot.

There will be occasions where you will really want to show your appreciation and politeness. In this case, you would want to show your gratitude with the tone of your voice. 

Quicktip 1

Many people will use both thank you and thanks in daily conversations. You will hear the casual thanks more often between friends and people you know well, and thank you among people you don't know so well. However, you may also hear the casual thanks among such people as well, since English tends to be more casual.