Spoken English

How do we use the words “trouble” and “bother” in conversational English? Look at the examples below, and read the explanations to learn some useful phrases. By ADRIAN DOFF

Colourful idioms and useful phrases

The sentences above use the words trouble or bother. We’re going to look at different ways these words are used in conversational English.

Trouble

The word trouble is often used to talk about problems or difficulties. For example, if you’re worried about things, you might have trouble sleeping at night; if you have an old car, you might have trouble starting it; and many people have trouble remembering names or numbers. If someone comes to visit you, you might say to them:

I hope you didn’t have any trouble getting here. (= I hope you didn’t find the journey difficult.)

Expressions with “trouble”

The word trouble is used in a number of common expressions. If you do something without considering the risks or consequences, you’re asking for trouble:

She’s got a bad cold, but she’s training to run a marathon. I think she’s asking for trouble.

If you have problems because you’ve done something wrong, you can say you’re in trouble, or you’ve got into trouble:

I’m not allowed to stay out so late. I hope I don’t get into trouble.

Don’t spill wine on the sofa, or you’ll be in serious trouble. 5/2020

If you do something easily, you can say you do it without (any) trouble:

The trains were delayed this morning, but I got to work without any trouble.

You can use the expression The trouble with... to talk about a disadvantage or a problem:

The trouble with this car is that it doesn’t have enough room for the dog.

The trouble with young people these days is that they don’t work hard enough.

“Trouble” and “bother”

You can also use the word trouble (as a noun or a verb) in a different sense, to mean “making an effort” or “doing something inconvenient”.

So, if someone visits you from abroad, you might go to the trouble of collecting them from the airport and you’ll probably take

the trouble to prepare the guest room for them (= you do these things even though they may be inconvenient).

If a colleague asks for your help at work, he or she might say:

Sorry to trouble you, but can you help me for a moment? You could reply:

Don’t worry. It’s no trouble at all.

You can use the word bother in the same way. This is especially common in conversation:

I’m sorry to bother you, but would you mind moving your car? — Sure. It’s no bother at all.

Other expressions with “bother”

The verb bother can also mean “make an effort”:

She knew she’d be late, but she didn’t bother to call me. No one bothered to tell me the meeting had been cancelled. If you don’t want to make an effort, you can say I (really) can’t be bothered:

I can’t be bothered to go out tonight. Let’s just stay at home. You can also say to someone Don’t bother (= you don’t need to do it):

Shall I buy some bread? — No, don’t bother. I can get some on my way home.

Don’t bother to do the washing up now. We can do it tomorrow.

And if you think there’s no point in doing something, you might say Why bother?:

Why bother to get there on time? No one else will be there yet.

I’m not going to vote in the election. Why bother? (= It’s not worth the effort.)