Famous quotes in English
Certain quotations are integrated into everyday English, and they are instantly recognizable to any native English speaker. It is beneficial to acquaint yourself with these quotes as they might surface in conversations or be alluded to indirectly.
Many of the individuals who uttered these phrases are renowned English speakers, including scientists, politicians, and authors. Exploring the backgrounds and contributions of these figures is an excellent means of expanding your understanding of English-speaking cultures.
These quotes enjoy such widespread recognition that they are familiar to the majority of native English speakers. Some originate from written English, including plays, books, or poems, while others find their roots in iconic movie scenes or the words of historically renowned figures.
In conversations, these quotes can be employed in their entirety or in part, with many people referring to only the opening segment because of their ubiquity. Once you become acquainted with an English quote, you will encounter references to it in numerous contexts.
These famous quotes are often slightly altered for comedic effect, as both the original and modified versions are readily understood. They can also be employed humorously when quoted in unexpected situations.
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| Quote | Who | Language |
|---|---|---|
| A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. | William Shakespeare | English |
| All that glitters is not gold. | William Shakespeare | English |
| All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. | William Shakespeare | English |
| Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. | John Kennedy | English |
| Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find. | the Bible | Greek |
| Eighty percent of success is showing up. | Woody Allen | English |
| Elementary, my dear Watson. | Sherlock Holmes (character) | English |
| For those to whom much is given, much is required. | the Bible | Greek |
| Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. | Rhett Butler (character) | English |
| Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. | Thomas Edison | English |
| Go ahead, make my day. | Harry Callahan (character) | English |
| He travels the fastest who travels alone. | Rudyard Kipling | English |
| Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. | William Congreve | English |
| Hell is other people. | Jean-Paul Sartre | French |
| Here’s looking at you, kid. | Rick Blaine (character) | English |
| Houston, we have a problem. | Jim Lovell (character) | English |
| I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. | Martin Luther King | English |
| I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. | Blanche Dubois (character) | English |
| I love the smell of napalm in the morning. | Lt. Kilgore (character) | English |
| I think therefore I am. | Rene Descartes | French |
| If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. | W. E. Hickson | English |
| If you are going through hell, keep going. | Winston Churchill | English |
| If you build it, they will come. | Joe Jackson (character) | English |
| If you want something done right, do it yourself. | Charles-Guillaume Étienne | French |
| If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. | Margaret Thatcher | English |
| I’ll be back. | Terminator (character) | English |
| I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse. | Vito Corleone (character) | English |
| I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. | Dorothy (character) | English |
| Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. | Michael Corleone (character) | English |
| Knowledge is power. | Sir Francis Bacon | Latin |
| Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. | Forrest Gump (character) | English |
| Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. | Albert Einstein | English |
| May the Force be with you. | Star Wars (many characters) | English |
| No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. | Eleanor Roosevelt | English |
| Not all those who wander are lost. | J. R. R. Tolkein | English |
| Nothing is certain except for death and taxes. | Benjamin Franklin | English |
| Parting is such sweet sorrow | William Shakespeare | English |
| Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. | John Dalberg-Acton | English |
| Speak softly and carry a big stick | Theodore Roosevelt | English |
| That’s one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind. | Neil Armstrong | English |
| The love of money is the root of all evil. | the Bible | Greek |
| The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. | Franklin D. Roosevelt | English |
| The truth will set you free. | the Bible | Greek |
| There’s no place like home. | Dorothy (character) | English |
| Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead. | Benjamin Franklin | English |
| Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. | Alfred Lord Tennyson | English |
| To be or not to be, that is the question. | William Shakespeare | English |
| To err is human; to forgive, divine. | Alexander Pope | English |
| To thine own self, be true. | William Shakespeare | English |
| Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference. | Robert Frost | English |
| United we stand, divided we fall. | Aesop | Greek |
| What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. | Friedrich Nietzsche | German |
| What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach. | Captain (character) | English |
| Whatever you are, be a good one. | Abraham Lincoln | English |
| You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. | Abraham Lincoln | English |
| You must be the change you wish to see in the world. | Mahatma Gandhi | English |
| You talkin’ to me? | Bickle (character) | English |
Quotes about the English language
Many individuals have acquired proficiency in English prior to your journey, and some of them have shared intriguing perspectives on the learning process.
Exploring what others have to say about the English language and the journey of becoming an English learner can be an enjoyable and enlightening experience. Although these quotes may not be as widely recognized among native English speakers, they offer a pleasant diversion from your language studies.
These quotes concerning the English language and foreign languages can offer you a fresh outlook on your studies. Some are whimsical, while others carry a more solemn tone. Although none of these quotes are renowned and may not be suitable for casual conversation, they serve as a delightful means to expand your English vocabulary while delving into intriguing perspectives.
| Quote | Who |
|---|---|
| Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that despite all the progress that has been made in the past 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages. | Dave Barry |
| Are you one of those people who uses words more for the sound than for the sense of them? | Dean Koontz |
| England and America are two countries separated by the same language. | George Bernard Shaw |
| English is flexible: you can jam it into a Cuisinart for an hour, remove it, and meaning will still emerge. | Douglas Coupland |
| English is the language of a people who have probably earned their reputation for perfidy and hypocrisy because their language itself is so flexible, so often light-headed with statements which appear to mean one thing one year and quite a different thing the next. | Paul Scott |
| I came here and realized how truly limited my English was and it was very scary. I soon realized it wasn’t going to be hard to learn – it was going to be nearly impossible. | Salma Hayek |
| I know grammar by ear only, not by note, not by the rules. | Mark Twain |
| I know your head aches. I know you’re tired. I know your nerves are as raw as meat in a butcher’s window. But think what you’re trying to accomplish – just think what you’re dealing with. The majesty and grandeur of the English language; it’s the greatest possession we have. | George Bernard Shaw |
| I learned English by going to America and marrying an Englishman who didn’t speak French. That helped. | Catherine Deneuve |
| I was trying to learn English and I was very worried about my accent. I’m sure I’ll always have it but I remember Tom Hanks said to me, “Don’t lose the accent. If you do, you’re lost.” | Antonio Banderas |
| Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. | Rita Mae Brown |
| My spelling is wobbly. It is good spelling, but it wobbles and the letters get in the wrong places. | A. A. Milne |
| Oh, God, I don’t know what’s more difficult, life or the English language. | Johnathan Ames |
| Some of the subtance of English words I just don’t understand at all because the culture is so strange to me. | Yun-Fat Chow |
| Speaking English is like a tongue-twister for me. I can speak each word perfectly, but then you have to string them together, like “Blah, blah, blah.” That’s when I get crazy. | Jackie Chan |
| Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. | Henry James |
| The barrier of language is sometimes a blessed barrier, which only lets pass what is good. Or, to put the thing less cynically, we may be better in new clean words, which have never been tainted by our pettiness or vice. | E. M. Forster |
| The English language is like London: proudly barbaric yet deeply civilised, too, common yet royal, vulgar yet processional, sacred yet profane. | Stephen Fry |
| There is no such thing as the Queen’s English. The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares! | Mark Twain |
| They had nothing in common but the English language. | E. M. Forster |
| To me it is very important to understand the nature of English and how it works. | Shakira |
| To understand English is one thing; to understand an Englishman who talks is another. | Aleister Crowley |
| What does it matter if you can speak two or more languages if you have nothing original to say in any language? | Jarod Kintz |
| When I first came to America I made a lot of mistakes, like going to the hair salon and asking for a blow job instead of a blow dry. | Penelope Cruz |
| With hard work, learning English, and getting involved, there is no limit on what you can achieve. | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Writing in English is like throwing mud at a wall. | Joseph Conrad |
Inspiring quotes for English learners
There’s a unique motivation that comes from discovering a meaningful or amusing quote that truly resonates with you, inspiring you to intensify your studying efforts.
During challenging moments in your English language journey, it’s comforting to realize that others have also faced obstacles while striving for self-improvement. Whatever quotes have this uplifting impact on you, consider printing them out and placing them near your study area. They can serve as a source of encouragement and motivation when frustration sets in.
These uplifting quotations will serve as a source of ongoing motivation for your daily English improvement journey. It’s quite common to feel disheartened after receiving a poor test grade or when faced with exceptionally challenging lessons. Learning a new language is undoubtedly a formidable undertaking, demanding dedication, persistence, and consistent practice.
Nevertheless, these inspirational quotes emphasize that, even in the face of daunting challenges, success is always attainable. Therefore, consider adapting your strategies, exploring new approaches, and maintaining your commitment to the pursuit of English language proficiency.
| Quote | Who |
|---|---|
| An investment in education pays the best interest. | Benjamin Franklin |
| Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. | Henry Ford |
| Education costs money, but then so does ignorance. | Sir Claus Moser |
| Education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself. | John Dewey |
| Get over the idea that only children should spend their time studying. Be a student as long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. | Henry Doherty |
| I am always doing that which I cannot do in order that I may learn how to do it. | Pablo Picasso |
| I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. | Winston Churchill |
| I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. | Neil Gaiman |
| I learned the value of hard work by working hard. | Margaret Mead |
| If the goal you’ve set for yourself has a 100 percent chance of success, then frankly you aren’t aiming high enough. | Benny Lewis |
| If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way. | Mark Twain |
| If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you. | Zig Ziglar |
| It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end. | Ernest Hemingway |
| Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. | Anton Chekhov |
| Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. | Mahatma Ghandi |
| Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow. | Plato |
| Self education is the only kind of education there is. | Isaac Asimov |
| The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding. | Leonardo da Vinci |
| Theory is knowledge that doesn’t work. Practice is when everything works and you don’t know why. | Herman Hesse |
| There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign. | Robert Louis Stevenson |
| There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. | Colin Powell |
| You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes, make all you can. Because, remember that’s where you’ll find success – on the far side of failure. | Thomas Watson |
| You can get help from teachers, but you’re going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room. | Dr. Seuss |
| You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. | Richard Branson |
| You’ll never know everything about anything. | Julia Child |
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I am Nilay, an experienced English Language Assessment Director at the International English Test, where I have been working full-time since February 2020. I specialize in helping people worldwide validate their English proficiency through comprehensive assessments and certifications.
Before joining the International English Test, I worked as a self-employed English Language Assessment Consultant from January 2015 to December 2019. During this time, I assisted companies and individuals in improving their language skills, helping them achieve their academic and professional goals.
I hold a degree in Engineering and have also studied at Shafston International College in Australia. My educational background has equipped me with the tools to make a meaningful impact in the field of English language learning. Additionally, I enjoy sharing my expertise through articles that explore effective teaching methods and language assessment strategies, contributing to the International English Test and the broader assessment community.
