ENGLISH
REFERENCE

thank you

fixed phr..
A1 Beginner Oxford

fixed phr.. A polite phrase you say to show you are grateful for something someone has done or given you.

fixed phr.. A conventional social formula used to express gratitude for a gift, service, compliment, or offer.


SIMPLE

Thank you for the lovely gift.

CONTEXTUAL

When the waiter brought the water, she smiled and said, "Thank you."

COMPLEX

The departing CEO offered a heartfelt 'thank you' to the employees who had supported his vision over the decades.

Origin

From Middle English thanke yow; as with thank God, praise be to God, and praise the Lord, it was originally a present subjunctive form but is usually not parsed that way in current usage. It has also sometimes been parsed as a prodrop form of (present indicative) I thank you, a mechanism that may plausibly coexist with the other one (instances being variable).

Usage

It can be a complete sentence on its own or be followed by 'for' plus the reason.

Teaching tip

Introduce this as part of a pair with its common response, 'You're welcome', to teach basic conversational turns (adjacency pairs).

Pitfall

Thank you your help.Thank you for your help.Use the preposition 'for' to state the reason you are thanking someone.

© 2026 English Reference