Vocabulary

1. praise to say that you admire and approve of someone or something, especially publicly

2. compliment to say something nice to someone in order to praise them

3. extol (formal) to praise someone very much

4. flatter to praise someone in an insincere way in order to please them or get something from them

5. be flattered to be pleased because someone has shown you that they like or admire you

6. rhapsodise to talk about something in an eager, excited, and approving way

7. criticise to express your disapproval of someone or something, or to talk about their faults

8. condemn to say very strongly that you disapprove of someone or something, especially because you think it is morally wrong

9. denounce to say strongly that you disapprove of someone or something, especially in public

10. censure (formal) to officially criticise someone for something they have done wrong

11. slash to criticise sharply

12. find fault with to criticise someone or something, often unfairly and frequently

13. blame to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad

14. accuse to say that someone is guilty of a crime or of doing something bad

15. charge to state officially that someone is guilty of a crime

16. recriminate to accuse someone in return

17. reproach (formal) to speak to someone in a way that shows you are disappointed, but not angry

18. reprove (formal) to speak to someone severely about something they have done wrong

19. reprimand | rebuke (formal) to tell someone officially that something they have done is very wrong

20. admonish (formal) to reprove someone, especially in a mild and good-willed manner

21. expostulate (formal) to speak to someone earnestly, especially in order to dissuade them from doing something

22. dress down to speak angrily or severely to someone about something they have done wrong

23. tell off (especially of a teacher, parent, manager, etc.) to speak angrily to someone because they have done something wrong

24. scold to speak angrily to someone, especially a child, about something they have done

25. lash out to suddenly speak angrily to someone

26. lecture to speak angrily or seriously to someone in order to criticise or warn them, in a way that they think is unfair or unnecessary

Gratitude

	= Mr Brown: I must say you’ve been very helpful, Mr Cashman. Thank you very much.
	Mr Cashman: Oh, that’s all right. You’re always welcome at our bank.
	= Mr Brown expressed his gratitude to the bank manager for his assistance.
	= Mr Brown: I don’t know how to thank you. You actually saved my life.
	Mr Smith: Don’t mention it. It was no trouble at all.
	= Mr Brown said (that) he was very grateful to Mr Smith for saving his life. Mr Smith brushed it all aside and assured Mr Brown that it had not inconvenienced him in any way.

Patterns

John (effusively/heartily/profusely/sincerely) thanked Peter for his help.
John expressed/gave/said (his) thanks to his colleagues.
John said (that) he was (very) grateful/thankful to Peter for helping him.
John was grateful/thankful (that) Peter had helped him.
John expressed his (effusive/profuse) gratitude to Peter for his assistance.
John was effusive/profuse in his gratitude/thanks.

Replies to formulas of thanks needn’t be put into indirect speech – they are often omitted. They are reported, however, if they convey some essential information. To express this kind of information, you can use one of the following phrases.

Peter accepted John’s thanks.
Peter brushed/swept it all aside/away and assured John/and said that it had been no trouble at all.