English Idiomatic Expression: “As A Matter Of Fact”

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Hi guys. Hello boys and girls and hello my dear fellow foreign English speaker and also any native English speaker that might happen to be watching this video on my blog at EnglishHarmony.com or on my YouTube channel!

Now, in today’s video we’re going to look at the following English idiomatic expression “as a matter of fact,” right? And the fact of the matter is that I thought that I had made a video about this particular idiomatic expression. And if you were listening attentively, you definitely realized that I used a very similar expression there a few seconds ago. I said the fact of the matter is, right?

And it’s funny because these two phrases “as a matter of fact” and “the fact of the matter is” they almost sound the same, but not quite.

They’re not the same because “as a matter of fact” is used in different situations. But let’s not get confused guys because if you’re trying to learn these two expressions at the same time, you will end up having created a very wrong vocabulary association in your brain. Because those two phrases will kind of go together so whenever you want to use one or the other, the other phrase will just come barging in and then your speech will get very hesitant and interrupted and you will say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

So that’s how typically you would be experiencing these fluency issues when you’re trying to say something and then some other thing just pops up in your brain and comes out of your mouth without actually you wanting to say that particular thing.

So this would be a typical example. If I were to give you both of those phrases “as a matter of fact” and “the fact of the matter is”, then we would end up with even bigger fluency issues. So we will look at the other phrase, “the fact of the matter is” some other time but today we will be a 100% focused on the first one, “as a matter of fact”.

Yeah. And just like I said I thought that I had made a video about it and it turns out that it’s not the case, right? And I was a bit surprised, I was taken aback because I thought that definitely I would have made a video about this one because it’s a very simple idiomatic expression.

It’s one of the basic ones, as a matter of fact, right? It’s something that you would probably learn on the second page of an English phrase book or something. But anyway, if you are interested in how exactly this phrase is to be used, when to use it, how to use it, please bear with me for a few more minutes and I will explain everything to you in every detail my friends!

First Sample Sentence

So welcome back! And as a matter of fact, today I didn’t even want to make any videos, you know.

But then I knew better than that because I knew for a fact that if I didn’t make any videos today, then I would be probably not doing it tomorrow and then it would go on and on and on.

And then if I don’t do it for a few days in a row, my fluency just goes down. So this what I’m doing for you guys, for the YouTube channel and for my blog is actually very beneficial for my own fluency. That’s how I maintain a very high level of English fluency, right?

So if you noticed the way I used the expression “as a matter of fact”, it’s actually used pretty much the same way you’d use the word “actually.”

So I said as a matter of fact, I didn’t even want to make any videos and then I could have just as well said, actually I didn’t even want to make a video today, right? Actually, as a matter of fact – it’s pretty much the same thing. The only difference is that when you use the phrase “as a matter of fact,” I would imagine that you’ll probably sound a bit more native-like, if you know what I mean.

Whereas if you say actually the whole time, it would probably send the message to the other person that that’s the only expression that you know.

But anyway, it’s not to say that you can’t use the word “actually”, it’s just that it’s probably a bit overused sometimes, especially among foreign English speakers. So you may definitely want to start using the phrase “as a matter of fact” whenever you want to say actually or use them interchangeably, depending on the situation.

Second Sample Sentence

So let’s come up with some other example. Let’s imagine that the two partners who live together in a household, whether it’s the wife or the husband assumes that their partner hasn’t done something. Say, the wife thinks that her husband hasn’t put the bins out.

And she tells him “Charlie, you haven’t put the bins out because you always forget it.” And then the husband can talk to his wife and tell her “As a matter of fact I have done it.” It’s like as if to say in your face “I have done it as a matter of fact.”

So it’s used in a little bit sarcastic way if you know what I mean. So that’s how you can use this phrase when someone accuses you of something, someone assumes that you have or haven’t done something, you can tell them “No. As a matter of fact I have done it this time ’round.”

But just like I said you could have used the word “actually” just as well. So “Actually I have done it.” But “as a matter of fact” is the phrase we’re focusing on today. So that’s the one you want to use.

Third Sample Sentence

And speaking of the third example, all I can say is that as a matter of fact when I did the last video I couldn’t come up with a third example sentence. And normally I come up with 3 sample sentences for each and every single one of these idiomatic expressions, right?

So as a matter of fact, I was struggling with it the last time when I did it and this time around I’m getting away with using the fact that I forgot to do it as a sample sentence.

And I just started it with the phrase “as a matter of fact”. I could have said “Actually I forgot”– not forgot but I couldn’t come up with the third sample sentence in my last video and I substituted that word with “as a matter of fact” and I created a third and successful sample sentence for this video. So I got away with it guys!

Okay, so I hope that this clarifies everything about the phrase “as a matter of fact”. And what you want to do now is do some spoken English self-practice whereby you put yourself in a situation and then you come up with some sample sentences.

You imagine that you’re speaking with someone or you just say something starting with the phrase “as a matter of fact” and make sure that you wire this particular speech pattern into your brain, as a matter of fact, as a matter of fact, as a matter of fact – so that it becomes your second nature and you can use it freely whenever the right situation presents itself, okay?

So thanks for watching guys and I’ll chat to you soon again!

Bye-bye!

Robby

P.S. Would you like to find out why I’m highlighting some of the text in red? Read this article and you’ll learn why it’s so important to learn idiomatic expressions and how it will help you to improve your spoken English!

P.S.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!