In English, congratulations is usually used as a form of praise when someoneachieves something special or unusual, for example when someone:
Congratulations on winning the election!
Congratulations on your new baby!
Congratulations on 53 years of marriage!
(*for wedding anniversaries you can also say 'Happy Anniversary!')
Since I started teaching English, I have been congratulated for everything! I know that the sentiment is heartfelt, but often English learners say congratulations when they mean simply good job or well done! You may use the word forcongratulations in your language differently than it is used in English.
When you want to say someone has done well on a project, taught a class well, given a good speech, or generally done something well, you can say:
Your house looks beautiful! You've done a great job decorating it.
Good job on the report! I think the executives will like it.
That was a great class, teacher. Well done!
Excellent speech! The audience really enjoyed it.
- gets engaged / gets married
- gets a job promotion / gets a new job
- has a new baby
- passes an exam
- graduates from school
- wins an election
- wins a race or contest
Congratulations on winning the election!
Congratulations on your new baby!
Congratulations on 53 years of marriage!
(*for wedding anniversaries you can also say 'Happy Anniversary!')
Since I started teaching English, I have been congratulated for everything! I know that the sentiment is heartfelt, but often English learners say congratulations when they mean simply good job or well done! You may use the word forcongratulations in your language differently than it is used in English.
When you want to say someone has done well on a project, taught a class well, given a good speech, or generally done something well, you can say:
Your house looks beautiful! You've done a great job decorating it.
Good job on the report! I think the executives will like it.
That was a great class, teacher. Well done!
Excellent speech! The audience really enjoyed it.
