Why Do Native English Speakers Say “Like” So Much?

Hi there!

Have you ever noticed how often native English speakers say “like”? You can hear it in conversations, podcasts, interviews, social media videos, reality TV, YouTube videos and even professional conversations. 

“I was like walking into the hotel, and this guy was like standing there, and I was like ‘what is going on?’”

If you’re relying only on theoretical knowledge from English textbooks, you might wonder why “like” is said three times… and whether it is actually grammatically correct… And is it necessary to say it to sound fluent? Well, without giving too much away in the beginning, not every “like” has the same job. Sometimes it means “similar to”, sometimes it introduces an example or is used as a filler. Sometimes it can also make a statement less exact or just give the speaker a moment to think. 

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“Like” doesn't always mean “like”

“Like” as a thinking word

Often, people use this word when they’re speaking spontaneously. Adding a filler word such as “like” gives you a second to find the right word, decide how you want to phrase something, remember a detail or simply just organise your thoughts. For example, imagine someone is trying to say:

“The atmosphere was completely different from what I had anticipated”

But in “real” spoken English it might sound more like:

“It was, like, completely different from what I expected”

Spontaneous speech requires thinking time, and making use of that doesn’t mean the speaker is struggling with English.

I do need to caveat here because adding “like” everywhere does not automatically make you sound fluent. Especially if a learner tries to add it purposely… this might end up sounding very forced.

“Like” can introduce an approximate description

You don’t always want to say “This is exactly what happened” because what you are actually trying to convey is “This is roughly how it was” or “This is the closest I can describe it”. And in this case, “like” can be useful. Just have a look at the following examples:

• There were like twenty people there → not necessarily twenty

• It was like three hours → approximately three hours

• The room was like twice the size → roughly twice the size

The equivalent to this in less informal or casual speech would look closer to: approximately, around, about or roughly. 

“Like” can introduce an example

This is quite different from using “like” as a filler. In the following examples, this word means something closer to “similar to”, “for example” or “of this kind”.

• You could do something like this

• Try going somewhere like Valencia

• You need something like a proper break

• I want to visit somewhere like Japan

• Get something like a linen shirt

With these examples, I want you to be able to recognise the different usage of this word rather than assuming “like” is always being used as a filler.

“Like” can introduce someone's actual words

You will most definitely hear many people say “I was like…” to introduce what they said, thought or felt in a particular moment.

• She called me at midnight, and I was like “are you serious?”

• He walked into the room, and I was like “oh, no”

• They looked at the price and were like “absolutely not”

This doesn’t necessarily mean that those exact words were spoken, but it can represent what you said, thought, how you reacted or the general feeling you had.

“Like” can become a habit

When thinking about this topic, I think it’s very important to mention that using this word can also, very easily, become a habit. Sometimes a person really uses “like” because it simply has become part of their speaking style. This could sound similar to:

“I was like really tired and like I didn’t really want to go, so I was like maybe I’ll just stay home”

In this case, this word doesn’t necessarily carry a specific separate meaning. It functions more as a conversational filler or simply a habitual way of speaking. Other words that people tend to repeatedly use as a habit are:

• You know

• Actually

• Basically

• Sort of

• I mean

• Right

• Well

When not paying attention to it, these words can become part of someone’s individual speech patterns. 

One thing I want you to remember from today’s topic is that you do not need to copy someone’s filler words to sound fluent. And you can sound completely natural without using “like” very much.

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In a nutshell, the reason why many native speakers use “like” so much is that they are, simply speaking, buying themselves some time to think. Whether they’re telling a story, trying to be approximate about something or recreating a conversation. And sometimes it simply is because that’s just become part of the way they speak. 

Although all of the above might be true, you don’t need to start adding “like” to every sentence to sound more fluent. Like with many other things we teach you in this newsletter, understanding it is actually more useful than copying it blindly. Understanding how certain little words function can make your future conversations feel much clearer.

If you’ve gotten this far, I want to use the opportunity to thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, and maybe you have an idea for a future topic? If that’s the case, reply to this email, and maybe you’ll soon be reading about it 😉

Until next time!

Camila