Let’s say …

One of my long-time students, who is extremely fluent in English, has recently started to pepper her conversation with the phrase let’s say. This just didn’t sound quite right to me, but why? I did some thinking about three common conversational phrases that can sometimes be confusing.

First of all, let’s say, by itself, has a fairly narrow meaning. We use it to introduce a suggestion or a hypothetical situation.

It’s a beautiful day. Let’s say we go to the park and have a picnic.

Let’s say you had a million dollars … would you spend it on a trip around the world or a new house?

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Then there’s let’s just say. Because English speakers tend to run these words together, you might think you’re hearing let’s say. Here’s what let’s just say usually sounds like.

This common phrase let’s just say can be used to convey different meanings.

You can use it to provide a sort of summary of what you’ve just said, where you aren’t providing all the details.

The traffic to the airport was so heavy I missed my flight. Then I found out I’d left my phone charger at home and couldn’t call to cancel my hotel reservation. Let’s just say the trip was a complete disaster.

Speaker 1: How was your first date with Vincent last night?

Speaker 2: Let’s just say it was also my last date with Vincent.

You may also use let’s just say after a discussion, especially one during which you’ve been arguing.

Let’s just say we agree to disagree.

Let’s just say we’re never going to come to a consensus about this.

Or you can use it to question an assumption that you might disagree with.

Let’s just say that we do end up getting to the movies late. Does it matter? They always show lots of previews before the film starts anyway.

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Another helpful conversational phrase is I mean. This is a common discourse marker that we use to clarify, correct,  repeat, or add additional information to something we’ve just said. It can also be used to justify or explain your previous statement.

I’m not sure why I don’t like the new teacher. I mean, it seems like she tries to explain things … but I just don’t think she’s very clear.

I don’t think we should bother going to the movies. I mean, it’s getting so late we’ll miss the first half.

I really don’t like my boss. I mean, she seems to criticize everyone without any good reason.

Don’t confuse I mean with I mean it. I mean it emphasizes the truth of what you just said. (Parents seem to use this phrase a lot.)

To a child: If you don’t clean up your room right now, we aren’t going to the zoo. I mean it!!

Or if someone doesn’t believe what you said, especially if it’s a compliment …

Man: That dress looks beautiful on you.

Woman: Seriously? It doesn’t. It makes me look fat.

Man: No, you look gorgeous. I mean it!