hey everyone i have a great lesson for
you today because we are going to talk
about some common expressions and i
think these are a little more advanced
expressions that you can use in a
variety of situations now i'm going to
tell you how these expressions are used
as well as when they are used and try to
explain the situation because when uh
when you think of these expressions i
don't want you to look at the individual
words i want you to think about it as a
whole i think that if you're able to try
and learn these expressions as one chunk
as as a single piece of information then
it'll be a little easier to comprehend
to understand and you'll be able to use
it correctly when you find yourself in a
situation where these expressions are
relevant so i am going to tell you the
expression i'll give you the meaning i
will tell you and explain some of the
situations in which i think you may use
these expressions or you may hear
somebody else use them and then i may
throw in a few video clips here and
there to help reinforce that information
so that you have a better understanding
the first expression is having said that
so this is a transitional phrase which
means that you are using it to
transition from one idea to the next and
in this case you are transitioning
basically to an opposing view you are
going to say something contradictory to
what was just said and this this phrase
i think is often found at the beginning
of a sentence and i think it's becoming
more and more common in spoken english
now let me give you an example so you
know what i mean when i say that you are
trying to disagree or you're basically
contrasting
information that was just said maybe i
am talking to you
and i i'm saying these you know this
this great stuff about you
and then i want to say the opposite so
i'd say oh you you know you are amazing
you're very smart you're very
hard-working
and then i'd say having said that
and then i would say the opposite of
everything i just said
often i i think it's used in a context
in which you are maybe you have to give
somebody bad news
but before you give them the bad news
you want to say some good things about
them so
let me give you an example hopefully
make this a little easier to understand
let's say that
you are applying for a job and you know
unfortunately you don't get the job and
i am going to tell you this but before i
tell you i might try to say some things
that are that are nice about you that
are great uh because i don't want to
just be mean and say you know you didn't
get the job get out of here so i might
say something like okay you you know you
are obviously very passionate about what
you do you're you're hard-working you
seem like you're a responsible person
having said that i contacted your
previous employers and they said you
were stealing from the company so you're
not going to get the job i hope that
example makes it a little easier to
follow having said all of that stuff
before
let me tell you what the opposite is and
it can go both ways it's not just about
delivering
bad news it could be used in a positive
sense so for example maybe you say a lot
of uh of bad and negative things to
begin with and then you say having said
that and then you say the positive
things i can't be your hero anymore
okay
sure having said all that i still would
like to get together on tuesdays for
bowling and alternating sundays for
general horseplay recognize that google
is not a conventional workplace having
said that we have rules i'm over it
completely
having said that it's so hard to move on
the next expression and this is one of
my favorites is wishful thinking and if
somebody says wishful thinking then it
means that
some other person is imagining a future
event that is
rather unlikely but they they just wish
that that is the way things were and you
could say look you know that's wishful
thinking and often i think it's used as
that statement right there and you hear
somebody talking about some situation
that is unlikely but that's what they
want to happen and then you could say
look you know that's wishful thinking i
you know that's just wishful thinking
it's not going to happen for example if
somebody were to say okay
i want to learn um
portuguese and i am going to start
studying portuguese and i am going to be
fluent in portuguese by the end of the
week give me seven days and i will
achieve fluency and then you would look
at me and say okay that's wishful
thinking
it is an unlikely event it is an
unlikely future it's it's probably not
going to happen but that's wishful
thinking you were you were just hopeful
you were optimistic that something will
happen anyway
can't raise a kid here where would you
even put her how do you know it's a she
wishful thinking i guess i just hope he
found some place where he could find a
little piece a place set in the cedars
and oak trees
but that's probably wishful thinking
then we have to take something for
granted and this me i think this is a
very common expression and what it means
is that you
don't fully appreciate something because
you just you come to assume that it will
always be there and it will always be
available you could also use it when
talking about a person to take someone
for granted and it means the same thing
that you don't fully appreciate this
person because you just assume that they
will always be there for you let me give
you an example uh imagine you have a car
and you drive it every day you go to
work you go shopping you go to the
grocery store and you use it quite often
and then the car breaks down and now you
have to change your routine and you have
to take a bus or you have to walk it
takes a lot more time it then becomes a
reminder
how much easier things were with the car
that you could do things much faster and
you might think to yourself wow i was
starting to take it for granted i i
completely forgot that it's a it's a lot
more challenging to have to take a bus
to all of these places and you didn't
realize it and until it was gone until
it was no longer available to take
something for granted or to take someone
for granted sure but philosophy is about
questioning things that you take for
granted stop complaining new york is the
greatest city in the world no it's rude
obnoxious and dirty
you take this place for granted most of
us here were born in america
we take this country for granted not
immigrants like apu then we have another
expression which i i guess you could say
it is also one of my favorite
expressions because i use it all the
time and that is keep that in mind
you're telling somebody you know hey
keep that in mind and what it means is
that that this person should be aware of
something or or maybe
yeah they should acknowledge that that
something exists so you may find this
expression at the end of a person's
comment they they tell you what they
want you to be aware of and then just as
a reminder say look keep that in mind or
maybe they use it at the beginning of a
statement and say something like look i
want you to keep this in mind and then
proceed to tell you what they want you
to be aware of
listen for it with me i i think i think
i say that quite often because i'm
teaching you these words and phrases and
sometimes they can be used in different
ways and i would
i want you to be aware of that and i
would just tell you look i i want you to
keep that in mind so
just now that i've told you that try to
listen for it i think it's a great
expression especially when you are
giving instructions because as a teacher
i'm constantly talking to learners and
trying to explain the difference between
things and really help them understand a
little bit better so i would often try
to remind them to be aware of something
and say keep that in mind so when you
are giving instructions i think that is
a a common way in which this expression
is used the volturi don't give second
chances
keep that in mind
the world ain't what it seems is it
gunny no sir you keep that in mind the
next expression is
be that as it may this is another
expression that is often used at the
beginning of a sentence and it's a
little more formal as well and and what
it means is that you use this expression
when you want to say that you believe
some information that you have been
given that you think it is true
but it does not change your opinion
about some topic or some situation so
let me give you an example and i'm i'm
trying to think of something that would
be a more formal setting maybe a
courtroom with a judge and the judge is
deciding
that that somebody is guilty and they're
just they're trying to determine should
they give a a very
strict punishment or should they give a
very light punishment
and
the person is trying to say well hey
here are some facts here's some here's
some information to show you that i'm
i'm a good person even though i did
something wrong
and when the judge is talking to this
individual
the judge may
say that information and they may say
look yeah you have been uh very helpful
in your community you have shown that
you can be
an honest and trustworthy individual
you've been a good friend to to others
be that as it may
you have still broken the law and you
must be punished for that so once again
you are
basically reaffirming that it doesn't
matter what information or facts that
you get it's not going to change your
opinion about this topic or this
situation and remember it is a bit more
formal and somebody is trying to say
look i am not going to change my opinion
even though i believe all of this other
information be that as it may i'm not
going to change my opinion all i can
tell you is that i'm a different person
now
oh
great i don't care be that as it may
i know i don't deserve your mercy or
your forgiveness well i see it
i'm old
be that as it may
rickon's not yours to sell anymore here
i am not out of control that is it me
i must request that for the time being
you allow the city to handle its own
emergency then we have the expression
around the clock so
in this case it's talking about
something that is continuous that it is
lasting especially lasting 24 hours that
it is around the clock all day every day
and this expression
i think it's often used before words
like open like you know we're open
around the clock or uh words like
available
you know i'm available around the clock
you can call me anytime
my phone is always on any time of the
day around the clock efforts continue
around the clock i'm working around the
clock you've been working around the
clock you can call me nikki it will be a
pleasure to serve you i am available to
you around the clock just let me know
next is the expression to toss around
the idea or you could say to toss around
some ideas and this it's almost it's a
form of brainstorming that you were just
thinking about new ideas or new
possibilities
usually with with another person or
often with a group of people as well if
there is a group of individuals and you
have to
think of something you have to come up
with some new ideas
you might tell the group you know let's
let's toss around some ideas let's get
some ideas out there and then we'll make
a decision
this expression i think is used a little
more informally when you are talking
maybe with your colleagues or friends in
order to make a great decision we need
to come up with many different ideas so
let's toss around some ideas do you
wanna you wanna go over it and toss some
ideas around no that's okay
that means i'm gonna go to my book
editor melinda and toss around some book
ideas and go home soak in the tub drink
a glass of wine the next expression and
i i think this one is a bit more
challenging and sometimes it may even be
used incorrectly is
in and of itself
and
what this means is that you are
considering something alone that is
apart from everything else so you're
referring to something that is being
considered alone now i will say that
some people
they may think this expression is a
little outdated it's a little
old-fashioned
i think that this is definitely a
more of an advanced expression you may
not hear it as often
but when you do just realize that it's
referring to something that is being
considered alone let me give you an
example to help you better understand
how it's used so
i might say that a sentence like this
the rainy weather in and of itself was
not the cause of the traffic jam
so there could be
many causes for this traffic jam the
rainy weather
it could be one of them it's not the
only one it could be part of this so
what i said in that sentence i said the
rainy weather
in and of itself when it's considered
alone which means that is the only thing
that you are thinking of is the rainy
weather was not the cause of the traffic
jam something else you should know about
this expression is that
it would often be found in the middle of
the sentence that it's going to be
separated by two different commas so
you're going to say something
in and of itself and then finish the
sentence that is reverse sexism which is
in and of itself a sexist thing to do
summoning the brother in court then
jesus
i really hope that that's a sad
commentary in and of itself
my cousin violated his parole which
in and of itself isn't good news but
we're gonna get his van until he gets
out
i did not say stuart i said stalwart
which in and of itself would be weird
enough next is the expression lo and
behold and when somebody uses lo and
behold they are are telling someone
something surprising that happened this
expression often follows the word and
i i think also that it's
quite common that you would use this
when you're telling a story you're
telling somebody a story and talking
about some events that happen
and then you want to reveal something
surprising all of a sudden lo and behold
for example if somebody said wow and i i
looked in the drawer
and lo and behold i found my wallet
so if we
if you just hear that sentence i looked
in the drawer and lo and behold i found
my wallet
what other information is that telling
you
if you just hear that sentence what it
tells me you're saying and lo and behold
i found my wallet it was a surprise
which tells us that this person
they were looking for their wallet maybe
they were looking all over the place
they could not find their wallet and
they were surprised when they found it
in the drawer when you you use these
expressions sometimes they help give a
little more information as to the
situation and what's happening i looked
in the drawer and lo and behold i found
my wallet is there any way that i could
have any less respect for you two
geniuses i would have said no no that's
not possible but lo and behold you went
and pulled it off congratulations no one
would have predicted the results of the
election that year no one
not long after the election lo and
behold a miracle
some believed it was the work of god
himself
next is the expression in hindsight so
this expression means that
a person has gained understanding about
a
situation or event
after it has already happened or perhaps
after it has developed and you would
often find this expression at the
beginning of a sentence somebody might
say well you know in hindsight and then
talk about
what should have happened maybe how they
would have changed the past because
now they have a better understanding of
what was going on for example you say
well in hindsight i should have told the
truth i never should have lied about it
in hindsight i should have told the
truth or
in hindsight
i should have left hours before there
was no reason for me to stay at the
party and and stay out really late and
not get any sleep in hindsight i i
should have left charles and i blame
ourselves
in hindsight we weren't ready
in hindsight i probably could not have
picked a worse way to be honest with
mary elizabeth they'll never know in
hindsight one of us should have brought
a camera you seem pretty hell-bent on
several ties yeah in hindsight that
might have been a bit dramatic well it's
a little late to take it back so again i
i think it really helps to just learn
these expressions as one chunk and learn
their meaning so that it gives you a
better understanding as to how and when
it's used now having said that
if you are somebody who likes ah i need
to really know each and every individual
word then i think that's okay but really
try to view these expressions as a
single chunk with a single meaning
because what i really don't want i don't
want you to take these expressions for
granted because you will hear them from
time to time and now that you understand
their meaning i hope that you can go out
and use them and i i know it can be
difficult i know it can be challenging
but i think you guys you can do it
you're just gonna study around the clock
and the more you study them the more you
practice them
you're just gonna start speaking and lo
and behold you're just gonna start using
these expressions
naturally and easily
and that's going to help you improve
your overall fluency and i i thought i'd
just try and give you a little bit of
review while at the same time giving you
an inspirational message all right just
you know i always want to encourage you
to learn practice
and continue building your vocabulary
keep that in mind
all right
that is it i hope you enjoyed learning
some of these advanced expressions and i
will see you next time