These quotes are famous enough to be recognized by most native English speakers. Some come from written English (plays, books, or poems), others come from movies, and still others come from famous figures in history. Any of these can be quoted in a conversation, in whole or in part, They are so famous that the longer quotes are more often referred to with only the first part of the quote because people know the rest. Once you know an English quote, you will see it referred to in many places. Famous quotes are often changed slightly to make jokes, since everyone will understand both the original quote and the changed version. They can also be used as jokes when you quote them in an unexpected context.
| Quote | Who | Language |
|---|---|---|
| A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. | William Shakespeare | English |
| All that glitters is not gold. | William Shakespeare | English |
| All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. | William Shakespeare | English |
| Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. | John Kennedy | English |
| Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find. | the Bible | Greek |
| Eighty percent of success is showing up. | Woody Allen | English |
| Elementary, my dear Watson. | Sherlock Holmes (character) | English |
| For those to whom much is given, much is required. | the Bible | Greek |
| Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. | Rhett Butler (character) | English |
| Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. | Thomas Edison | English |
| Go ahead, make my day. | Harry Callahan (character) | English |
| He travels the fastest who travels alone. | Rudyard Kipling | English |
| Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. | William Congreve | English |
| Hell is other people. | Jean-Paul Sartre | French |
| Here's looking at you, kid. | Rick Blaine (character) | English |
| Houston, we have a problem. | Jim Lovell (character) | English |
| I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. | Martin Luther King | English |
| I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. | Blanche Dubois (character) | English |
| I love the smell of napalm in the morning. | Lt. Kilgore (character) | English |
| I think therefore I am. | Rene Descartes | French |
| If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. | W. E. Hickson | English |
| If you are going through hell, keep going. | Winston Churchill | English |
| If you build it, they will come. | Joe Jackson (character) | English |
| If you want something done right, do it yourself. | Charles-Guillaume Étienne | French |
| If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman. | Margaret Thatcher | English |
| I'll be back. | Terminator (character) | English |
| I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. | Vito Corleone (character) | English |
| I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. | Dorothy (character) | English |
| Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. | Michael Corleone (character) | English |
| Knowledge is power. | Sir Francis Bacon | Latin |
| Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. | Forrest Gump (character) | English |
| Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. | Albert Einstein | English |
| May the Force be with you. | Star Wars (many characters) | English |
| No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. | Eleanor Roosevelt | English |