Congratulations!
Say “Congratulations” when something good happens to a person:
- Getting engaged or married
- Having a baby
- Having a wedding anniversary
- Being accepted into college, or graduating from college
- Getting a job or promotion
- Receiving an award or recognition (for example, “Employee of the Month”)
- Having some success – opening a new business, buying a house, etc.
Don’t say “congratulations” on birthdays – say “Happy birthday!” instead!
You can also make a sentence using “on”:
- Congratulations on your promotion!
- Congratulations on getting into Harvard University!
Good job!
Say “Good job!” when a person did something good:
- The person did good work on a project
- The person played well in a game or sang/danced well in a performance
- The person got the answer to a question right in school
Some variations are “Great job!” and “Nice job!”
You can also make sentences with “on”:
- Good job on the sales report – it was accurate and well-organized.
Lucky you!
Differently from “good job,” we say “lucky you!” when something good happened to the person by luck, when they received something nice or a good opportunity.
- Winning the lottery
- Receiving free tickets to a show
- Going on three months of vacation
We don’t make sentences with “Lucky you!” – you say it alone. But you can make sentences with “You’re so lucky that…”
- You’re so lucky that you get the day off from work tomorrow!
- You’re so lucky that the teacher didn’t notice you were late to class!
That’s great news!
Say “That’s great news!” (or one of the variations below) to respond to some information or a piece of news, for example:
- “My son passed all his exams.”
“That’s great news!” - “Our company grew 20% this year.”
“That’s wonderful news!” - “A new cultural center is opening in the neighborhood.”
“That’s fantastic news!”
I’m so happy for you!
Say “I’m so happy for you!” when there is (or will be) a very positive change in someone’s life, especially when their life will be very different as a result.
- Getting engaged or married
- Having a baby
- Getting into college
- Getting a job or promotion
You can also use it together with “Congratulations”:
- “We’re going to have a baby!”
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you! You’ll be great parents.”
Good for you!
Say this when a person has done (or is going to do) something to make their life better:
- “I quit smoking last year.”
“Good for you!” - “I’m going to study abroad.”
“Good for you! I’m sure it’ll be a great cultural experience.” - “I signed up for a cooking class.”
“Good for you! I bet you’ll really enjoy it.”
Learn more: 10 responses to “thank you”
You’ll learn hundreds of conversational English expressions in this course:
