The Truth About Fillers: Everything You Need to Know

In order to carry on a conversation whether in personal life or in the workspace, one needs to know how to use the fillers properly and contextually.  

What Are Fillers In English?

Fillers are words or sounds that we use to fill a gap in the conversation. They don’t have any real meaning and we don’t usually plan to say them.

We use fillers for two main reasons:

• To give ourselves time to think: We might not know what we want to say next, so we use a filler to buy ourselves some time.

• To show that we’re listening: When someone is talking, we might use a filler to show that we’re paying attention.

The most common fillers in English are “um”, “er”, and “like”. Here are some examples:

Person A: I went to the store yesterday.

Person B: Um, I think I went there last week.

Person C: Yeah, I like shopping at that store.

As you can see, fillers don’t add anything to the conversation. But they’re important because they help us sound more natural when we speak English.

Types Of Filler Words In the English Language:

There are many different types of filler words in the English language. Some of the most common ones include: “um,” “uh,” “like,” and “so.” While these words may not seem like they have a lot of significance, they can be quite important when it comes to communication.

Advantages Of Using Filler Words:

-Filler words help to make your writing more fluent and natural-sounding.

-They can also add emphasis or emotion to your words.

-Used sparingly, they can be a great way to improve the readability of your writing.

Some people might think that using filler words makes you sound less intelligent or polished, but that’s not necessarily true. Many highly intelligent and successful people use filler words regularly. The important thing is to use them sparingly and only when they add something positive to your message.

If you’re still not sure whether or not to use filler words, ask yourself this question: does it make my writing sound more natural and fluent? If the answer is yes, then go ahead and use them. But if you’re not sure or if they’re not adding anything positive to your message, it’s probably best to avoid them.

Here are a few examples of common filler words:

-like

-sort of

-kind of

-actually

-basically

-pretty

-really

-literally

-I mean

While there are a few filler words that are considered to be negative (like “literally” and “actually”), most of them are perfectly fine to use. So go ahead and experiment with them in your writing. Just remember to use them sparingly!

Conclusion

The bottom line is that filler words are perfectly normal and okay to use. They often help us to communicate more effectively, especially when we’re nervous or feeling unsure of ourselves. However, it is important to be mindful of the way that we use them and to make sure that they don’t become a crutch or a habit. With a little practice, you can start to eliminate most of your filler words and sound more confident and polished when you speak.