Formula to Make Mild Complaints

"Complaining" is, unfortunately, an everyday occurrence, and therefore, it may be considered a survival skill for ESL students.

Here's a "formula" for mild complaints that I've recently taught my ESL students:

The thing about _______________________ is (that) _____________________.

Here are a few examples:

The thing about English grammar rules is that there are so many exceptions!

The thing about delicious food is that it is usually fattening.

You can teach this to adult ESL students by writing the formula for them and then giving them some written or spoken examples. It's usually hard for ESL learners to come up with the two parts themselves, so you can start the complaint by saying, for example, "The thing about my husband is that _________________________." This example seems to work very well for my married students!

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Complaining with the Progressive Tenses

Perhaps one of the basic life skills ESL students need to learn is how to complain. After all, some say it's the American way! In fact, there are many valid reasons to complain and everyone should know how to complain, especially when he or she is taken advantage of by a merchant. Teaching ESL students how to effectively complain in such situations is a bit more complex.

However, teaching ESL students how to complain the every day way is a bit more simple. If the English language learner knows how to use the Present Progressive or the Past Progressive, then he or she knows how to complain! All you have to do is teach them to use the word "always" with a progressive tense.

Here are some examples of complaints using progressive tenses:

John is always leaving the toilet seat up!

Mary and Mark are always talking during class.

We were always arguing, so we got a divorce.

Using "always" with a progressive tense expresses anger or annoyance with the situation. I could also say, "John always leaves the toilet seat up." Using the Simple Present tense expresses his habit, and perhaps, it expresses my annoyance. However, using the Present Progressive in this situation clearly expresses my annoyance.

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