THANK

INDEX:

1. what you say when you thank someone

2. to say thank you to someone

3. when you feel that you want to thank someone

4. something that you say or do to thank someone

5. what you say to someone when they thank you

6. when someone does not thank you

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1. what you say when you thank someone

▷ thank you /ˈθæŋk juː/

say this when you want to thank someone politely :

▪ ‘Would you like to come to dinner with us on Sunday?’ ‘Thank you, I’d love to.’

thank you for

▪ Thank you for a splendid evening. I really enjoyed myself.

▪ Thank you for letting me stay.

thank you very much

▪ It’s lovely. Thank you very much.

▷ thanks /θæŋks/ spoken

use this to thank someone for something they have just done or given you :

▪ ‘Here’s your coffee.’ ‘Thanks, Mom.’

thanks for

▪ Thanks for coming. Hope we see you again next year.

thanks to somebody

used in speeches

▪ Thanks to everyone for all the cards and flowers. They really cheered me up.

thanks a lot/a million

▪ ‘Here, let me help you.’ ‘Thanks a lot. That’s great.’

▷ ta/cheers /tɑː, tʃɪəʳz/ British informal spoken

say this when you want to thank someone for something they have just done or given you :

▪ ‘Here’s the book you wanted.’ ‘Ta.’

▪ ‘I’ve made you a cup of tea.’ ‘Cheers.’

▷ that’s very kind of you/good of you /ˌðæts veri ˈkaɪnd əv juː, ˈgʊd əv juː/ formal spoken

say this when someone has generously offered to do something for you :

▪ ‘Here, you can have my seat.’ ‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you.’

▪ ‘Would you like me to carry your shopping?’ ‘That’s very good of you!’

▷ I appreciate it /aɪ əˈpriːʃieɪt ɪt/ spoken

say this when you want to thank someone who has done a lot to help you :

▪ Thanks for helping out on a Sunday - I appreciate it.

I really appreciate it

▪ I couldn’t have managed without your support and encouragement. I really appreciate it.

▷ you shouldn’t have /juː ˈʃʊdnt əv/ spoken

say this when you want to thank someone who has given you something, especially something expensive :

▪ What a beautiful ring! Oh Mike, you shouldn’t have!

▷ you’ve saved my life /juːv ˌseɪvd maɪ ˈlaɪf/ spoken

use this to thank someone who has got you out of a difficult situation, or solved a problem for you :

▪ You’ve saved my life, Jim! Thank goodness you were here.

▷ I’d like to thank /aɪd ˌlaɪk tə ˈθæŋk/ spoken

use this to thank someone in a formal speech :

▪ I would like to thank everyone who helped at the school fair.

I’d like to thank somebody for (doing) something

▪ I’d like to thank Betty and Jim for organizing this wonderful party.

▷ many thanks /ˌmeni ˈθæŋks/

use this to thank someone, especially when writing a letter :

▪ We received the pictures on Wednesday. Many thanks.

many thanks for

▪ Many thanks for your letter of the other day.

2. to say thank you to someone

▷ thank /θæŋk/ [transitive verb]

to tell someone that you are pleased and grateful for something they have given you or done for you :

▪ I spent three hours helping her and she didn’t even thank me.

thank somebody for (doing) something

▪ We must write and thank Cathy for the present.

▪ The Governor publicly thanked the people of Arizona for supporting him during his campaign.

thank somebody profusely

thank someone a lot in a very obvious way

▪ A relieved Mr Maxwell thanked his lawyer profusely.

▷ say thank you /seɪ ˈθæŋk juː/ [verb phrase]

to thank someone for what they have done :

▪ I wanted to come round and say thank you in person.

say thank you to

▪ This little gift is our way of saying thank you to everyone who worked so hard.

say thank you for

▪ Make sure you say thank you for your birthday presents.

▷ show your appreciation /ˌʃəʊ jɔːr əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃ ə n/ [verb phrase] formal

to show someone that you are grateful for something they have done, by giving them something or by doing something special for them :

▪ He found a special way of showing his appreciation -- dinner at the Ritz.

show your appreciation for

▪ We have decided to pay a special bonus to everyone on the staff to show our appreciation for their hard work during the year.

▷ express your thanks/gratitude /ɪkˌspres jɔːʳ ˈθæŋks, ˈgrætə̇tjuːdǁ-tuːd/ [verb phrase] formal

to say how grateful you are to someone for something they have done - use this in a speech or in a letter :

express your thanks/gratitude for

▪ I should like to express my thanks for all that you have done.

express your thanks/gratitude to

▪ He made a short speech expressing his gratitude to all those who had sent him letters of support.

▷ acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [transitive verb]

to tell people publicly that someone has done something to help you and that you are grateful for it :

▪ In his speech he acknowledged the help his parents gave him at the start of his career.

▪ I did a lot of work on that book. It annoys me that the editor never acknowledged it.

acknowledgement [uncountable noun]

▪ She has received no official acknowledgement of her contribution to the fund.

▷ recognize also recognise British /ˈrekəgnaɪz, ˈrekən-/ [transitive verb]

if a country or a large organization recognizes something important that someone has done for them, they officially and publicly thank them, by giving them something or doing something special for them :

▪ The government recognized his bravery in the battle by awarding him the Military Cross.

▪ Her contribution to horticulture was recognized when a new rose was named after her.

▷ in recognition of something /ɪn ˌrekəgˈnɪʃ ə n əv something/ [preposition]

if you are given something in recognition of something you have done, it is publicly given to you as a way of thanking you :

▪ He was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his work for charity.

3. when you feel that you want to thank someone

▷ grateful /ˈgreɪtf ə l/ [adjective]

feeling that you want to thank someone, especially because they have done something for you and helped you a lot :

▪ Dr Shah has received hundreds of letters from grateful patients.

grateful for

▪ I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done for me.

grateful to

▪ My daughter was rescued safely, and I am very grateful to the firemen.

gratefully [adverb]

▪ We gratefully accepted her offer.

▷ thankful /ˈθæŋkf ə l/ [adjective not before noun]

grateful that someone has done something, because if they had not done it the situation would have been much worse :

▪ Take what they give you, and be thankful.

thankful for

▪ I am always thankful for their enthusiasm and commitment.

thankful that

▪ She was thankful that Louise had insisted she travel first class.

▷ appreciate /əˈpriːʃieɪt/ [transitive verb not in progressive]

to be grateful to someone for something that they have done for you, because you realize that they did not have to do it or that they made a big effort to do it for you :

▪ We really appreciate everything you’ve done for our daughter.

▪ Alan asked me to tell you how much he appreciated your hospitality when he was in London.

▷ appreciative /əˈpriːʃətɪv/ [adjective]

showing that you are pleased and grateful for someone’s help or kindness :

▪ He wrote a warm, appreciative letter, thanking her for everything she had done.

▪ They weren’t particularly appreciative the last time I helped them. I don’t think I’ll bother again.

appreciative of

▪ Our new boss is a real joy to work for. She’s so appreciative of anything you do for her.

▷ be indebted to /biː ɪnˈdetə̇d tuː/ [verb phrase] formal

to feel very grateful to someone for something they have given you or done for you :

▪ We are indebted to the National Archives for permission to print these photographs.

be greatly/deeply indebted to somebody

▪ She said that she was greatly indebted to everyone who had supported her campaign.

▷ owe /əʊ/ [transitive verb]

if you say you owe someone something, you are grateful because they have helped you to succeed at something or to improve your life, and without their help this might not have been possible :

owe a lot/a great deal to somebody

▪ I owe a great deal to my publishers, who helped me to finish writing the book.

owe it all/everything to somebody

▪ I owe it all to you. You were the only one who believed in me.

owe somebody a lot/a great deal

▪ ‘I owe my parents a lot,’ he admitted. ‘They worked real hard to put me through college.’

owe a debt of gratitude to somebody

▪ We all owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs Stevenson, who kindly donated the money for the project.

▷ gratitude /ˈgrætɪtjuːd, ˈgrætətjuːdǁ-tuːd/ [uncountable noun]

when you feel grateful, especially because someone has been kind to you :

express/show gratitude (for something)

▪ He wrote again, expressing gratitude for the help he had received.

a sense of gratitude

▪ She felt a deep sense of gratitude to the teacher who had encouraged her to go on to university.

in gratitude

because you are grateful

▪ ‘I’ll take the van back, shall I?’ he asked, and Elise nodded in gratitude.

▷ appreciation /əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]

a feeling that you want to thank someone for their help or service and to show them that you think it was important and valuable :

show your appreciation

▪ To show his appreciation of her kindness he sent her some flowers.

in appreciation of something

in order to show appreciation of

▪ In appreciation of Mr Mainwaring’s years of service, the company presented him with a gold watch.

token of somebody’s appreciation

a sign of someone’s appreciation

▪ We’d like you to accept this gift as a small token of our appreciation.

4. something that you say or do to thank someone

▷ thanks /θæŋks/ [plural noun]

what you say or do to thank someone :

▪ He won’t get any thanks from them for being so honest.

thanks for

▪ Please accept this bottle of champagne as our thanks for organizing the seminar.

letter/message etc of thanks

expressing thanks

▪ He wrote me a short letter of thanks.

without a word of thanks

without saying thank you

▪ She got up and left without a word of thanks.

a vote of thanks

a formal, public expression of thanks, especially at a meeting

▪ I’d like to propose a vote of thanks to Sandra for organizing the whole evening.

▷ thank-you letter/note /ˈθæŋk juː ˌletəʳ, ˌnəʊt/ [countable noun]

a letter that you send to someone to thank them, for example when they have given you a present or when you have stayed at their house :

▪ We spent three days after the wedding writing thank-you letters for all the presents we’d had.

▷ acknowledgements /əkˈnɒlɪdʒməntsǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [plural noun]

a note at the end or beginning of a book, article etc, in which the writer thanks all the people who helped him or her to produce it :

▪ In the acknowledgements the authors thanked everyone who’d contributed to the book.

▪ Her book was based on her ex-husband’s letters and yet his name did not even appear in the acknowledgements.

5. what you say to someone when they thank you

▷ don’t mention it /ˌdəʊnt ˈmenʃ ə n ɪt/ spoken :

▪ ‘Thanks for the lift!’ ‘Oh, don’t mention it!’

▷ that’s all right/that’s OK /ˌðæts ɔːl ˈraɪt, ˌðæts əʊˈkeɪ/ informal spoken :

▪ ‘Thank you so much for looking after the children.’ ‘That’s all right. I enjoyed having them.’

▷ you’re welcome /jɔːʳ ˈwelkəm/ especially American, spoken :

▪ ‘Thanks a lot.’ ‘You’re welcome!’

▷ my pleasure/not at all /ˌmaɪ ˈpleʒəʳ, ˌnɒt ət ˈɔːl/ formal spoken :

▪ ‘It was very good of you to sing for us at such short notice.’ ‘My pleasure!’

▪ ‘Thanks for dinner’ ‘Not at all - I enjoyed it’.

▷ think nothing of it/it was nothing /θɪŋk ˌnʌθɪŋ ˈɒv ɪt, ɪt wəz ˈnʌθɪŋ/ spoken

say this when someone has thanked you a lot for something you have done because they think it was very difficult for you to do :

▪ ‘You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, you know!’ ‘Oh, think nothing of it.’

▪ ‘Thank you for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.’ ‘Don’t mention it. It was nothing.’

▷ no problem /ˌnəʊ ˈprɒbləmǁ-ˈprɑːb-/ informal spoken

say this to show that what someone has thanked you for was really a very easy thing for you to do :

▪ ‘Thank you for coming all the way out here.’ ‘No problem, lady.’

▷ sure /ʃʊəʳ/ American spoken

used as a reply to someone who has thanked you for something :

▪ ‘Thanks for the ride.’ ‘Sure, no problem.’

6. when someone does not thank you

▷ ungrateful /ʌnˈgreɪtf ə l/ [adjective]

someone who is ungrateful does not thank you when you do something for them, and this makes you annoyed or upset :

▪ Our children are so ungrateful - they don’t realize how much we do for them.

▪ I am not prepared to go to jail for that ungrateful woman!

▷ ingratitude /ɪnˈgrætɪtjuːd, ɪnˈgrætətjuːdǁ-tuːd/ [uncountable noun]

a lack of any feeling of being grateful when someone has given you something or does something for you :

▪ Such ingratitude! After all I’ve done for him, he treats me like dirt.

▪ They were shocked by her ingratitude -- she didn’t seem to appreciate the trouble they had gone to.

▷ take somebody for granted /ˌteɪk somebody fəʳ ˈgrɑːntə̇dǁ-ˈgræn-/ [verb phrase]

to expect someone to help you or do things for you because they always have done, and never thank them or show them that you are grateful :

▪ Like many married couples, we had started to take each other for granted.

▪ Kids usually take their mother for granted.