Jim smiled at his German friend, and said: “There’s so much to do and see in this town. Why don’t we go to the opera tonight and then have a sherry near the river?”
Stephanie looked at him, and replied:
“Well, that’s the thing. The doctor said I need to rest – and no alcohol either, I’m afraid.”
That’s the thing is a phrase that we use to introduce an opinion which shows disagreement or some kind of counter-argument from what the other speak just said. You’re identifying some kind of issue or problem or reason why something can’t happen or be true.
Here’s another example:
Bill talks to his friend Honza about learning English:
Bill: “Hey why don’t you go to that party tonight. It’ll be fun and you’ll meet lots of people. It’s an international crowd, so you’ll definitely speak some English there.”
Honza: “Well, that’s the thing. I don’t really like big events. I prefer to meet people in small groups..Sorry. Perhaps I should try that new cafe instead..”
You might see these variations of this phrase:
Well, that’s the thing…
See, that’s the thing…
But that’s the thing…
Hmm, that’s the thing…
One more example
Bill: “I’m surprised you didn’t ask Martina out. She’s really hot. Smart too.”
Honza: “Well, that’s the thing. I got her number, but then she said she sees me as a friend. I think it’s a write-off.”
Word bank
Here are a few other phrases from the dialogue above:
There’s so much to do and see in this town – ‘do and see’ go together to mean ‘things to do’ and ‘places to see’
a write-off – this originally comes from accounting. It means that you can forget about it, as the moment is lost.
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We really hit it off – conversational phrases
“It’s just that..” – plus a video to watch
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