Hi students and welcome to our final phrase of the day video for this month! Today’s expression is speak volumes. Despite the verb “speak,” this expression actually has nothing to do with talking. I heard it when someone was talking about a rich person who donates a lot of money to charity. She said that the rich person’s donations speak volumes about their character.
“Speak volumes” means to reveal a lot of information. We usually use it when action (or lack of action) shows a fact very clearly -often without needing words. So the rich person’s donations reveal the fact that they are truly very generous.
People often say that an action, a lack of action, a picture, or a facial expression speaks volumes. If the government says that education is important, but doesn’t invest any funds or resources in education, that speaks volumes about their true priorities -it clearly shows that they actually DON’T consider education important. If you cook a dish for your friend and it doesn’t taste good, your friend might not say anything directly… but the disgusted expression on their face would speak volumes -it would reveal the fact that they didn’t like the food.
That’s all for today, and this is the end of our February phrases. It’s a good idea to go back and review all the expressions we’ve learned this month, so that you don’t forget them. If you want to continue learning, check out my Everyday English Speaking Courses. They’re based on conversations, and they’re great for learning real phrases and expressions used by native English speakers. Click on the link in the video or in the description for more information. Thanks for watching, and I hope you have a great day!
