Gentle letdowns and encouragement

Nice try
Try again
Better luck next time
Don't give up
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Keep going
You can do it

Encouragement
Keep going/
Don't give up/
You can do it!
(You’re) nearly there/
almost there/
getting there/
getting warmer/
getting closer
(You’re) getting better
(This/ that is/ was) much better than last time/ last week/ yesterday
Next time we’ll do it perfectly!
(That was a) nice try/ attempt
Don't be shy/
No need to be shy/
Don’t hold back
No one in the other class managed that/ to finish either
Try again (after looking in your books for 30 seconds/ at the beginning of the next lesson/ after I
give you this hint)
Don't worry about your pronunciation/ how long it takes/ your spelling/ neatness
There's no need to rush/
There's no hurry/
We have plenty of time
Good try, but not quite right/
 Not quite right. Try again/
Do you want to try again? /
Have another go
You were almost right/
That's almost it/
You've almost got it. Try again
You're halfway there/
You're on the right lines. Try changing the…
Go on. Have a try/
Have a go/ Have a guess
If you don’t know, just guess
Numbers 1 to 7 and 9 are correct. See if you can correct the others.
(That is) nearly/ almost (right/ perfect/ finished)
90% right/ finished. I’ll give you two minutes to finish/ correct the rest
The drawing is great, now try working on the text (a bit more)
Only one mistake
Third time lucky!/ Last try!


Consoling/ commiserating/ being positive about negative feedback
That’s a shame/
That’s a pity.
Better luck next time
I’m sure you’ll do it/
I’m sure you’ll manage next time
Never mind. (You won the game last week, remember?)
You did very well (but there were more people in their team/ Juan just knew all the answers)
 Not quite what I was looking for
That’s good English but it has another meaning
Not exactly
I understand what you mean, but we don’t say that in English
You can't say that, I'm afraid/ (That’s a good word/ Well remembered, but) you can't use that word
here