Welcome to the English we speak with me Neil and me fey fey we've got an expression which describes that feeling you get

when you're not sure what to say or do it's to be at a loss we can get an idea of the meaning of this expression from that word loss.

The idea that we no longer have something or have lost something.

Exactly. So in the case of at a loss,

we're trying to say that we have no idea what to do or say

in certain situations.

For example, when we're trying to help someone.

So Faye, I heard you're going to Spain next week from the UK.

That's right.

Can you phone the hotel for me to make a reservation please, Neil?

Well, I can try, but I'd be at a loss I don't speak Spanish. Great example and I

know you love video games but I don't usually play them. I'm at a loss when I try to play them. Well maybe I should

teach you some. Let's hear some examples.

Ahmed was at a loss as to what to do for his wife's birthday.

Kevin didn't know how to operate the new computer system.

He was at a loss.

I was at a loss as to what to say to him after his girlfriend left him.

You're listening to the English we speak from BBC Learning English and we're learning about the expression

Be at a loss, which means you're not sure what to do or say in a certain situation?

Yes, so at a loss is nearly always used with the verb B.

I am, he is, or she is at a loss.

And it's commonly followed by the words as to.

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