Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Khenan]

My wife has recently started using this phrase incessantly to introduce new topics. It's driving me a little crazy, and I have no idea where it came from. I suppose it's a good sign for her fluency that she's speaking without consciously considering her words.

However, I'm at a loss for how to explain the proper usage of this phrase. Most of the time, her usage is basically correct, but she's using it far too often. I remind myself of my dad when I was a teenager telling me to stop using certain slang phrases so often.

Two questions: Can anyone give me a specific criterium for proper usage? And can anyone offer any alternative phrases for substitution?

Thanks..

[darkcity]

oh man, if you want to confuse your students, i used to teach a lesson on in the way, on the way, out of the way, by the way. so very very useful, but hard to teach it in a way that they'd remember.

for by the way, i just explained to use it when introducing a related thought or statement that is not part of your main point. i think it could also be used occasionally in substitute of "that reminds me..."

"speaking of....." is another cool thing to teach.

this doesn't cover all aspects of "by the way", but it's a good starting point to limit the contexts they use it in.

[freakyaye852]

Ou use it to either add a little but of information or to bring up another subject. But it has connotations of a hard to breach topic. "Today was nice... By the way, did you do the shopping?

[freakyaye852]

Ou use it to either add a little but of information or to bring up another subject. But it has connotations of a hard to breach topic. "Today was nice... By the way, did you do the shopping?