Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.
Today, I've got a really useful video for you full of English that I personally use
every day!
Now, you're going to learn around 19
phrases that I and a lot of other people who speak English use on a daily basis.
Before we get started, I want to remind you that I've made a beautiful free PDF
to go with this video.
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Okay, let's get started with our phrases.
While I like to imagine that I have a huge vocabulary and I use all kinds of
interesting and beautiful phrases every day, the truth is that I repeat myself
quite often from one day to the next.
I cling on to words like a magnet and
I use them again and again and again until people say, can you stop saying that, please?
Like most of you, I spend most days doing similar activities, working, eating,
hanging out with friends.
Hanging out with my pets, actually.
And I have a bank of phrases that I use every day without even thinking about them.
And that's what I want to give you in this lesson, my bank.
And I'm not talking about my money.
I'm talking about my personal vocabulary bank.
Learn these phrases and you'll be able to get through a lot of the day in an
English speaking environment without having to think too hard about what
you're saying.
And that's what we want in life, to not
think too hard!
I'm going to start with some general
phrases that I say any time and any place.
Number 1, what a shame!
What a shame!
This is such a great response to something negative or unfortunate that
happens or someone tells you about.
It's better to use it for small
inconveniences like, our favourite restaurant is booked up on our anniversary.
What a shame!
Or, Jean can't come tonight.
She's busy.
What a shame!
Don't use this when someone tells you that their pet died or something more
serious happened.
I don't feel it's strong enough for that.
Number 2, I haven't got a clue.
I haven't a clue.
I haven't got a clue.
This phrase means, I really don't know.
Now I wouldn't recommend using this phrase with your boss or when something
is very important because it can seem a bit too casual.
Like you don't care that you don't know.
I haven't a clue.
I haven't got a clue.
We normally use got with haven't.
I haven't got a pen.
I haven't got time.
But in this phrase, sometimes we go a bit more old-fashioned and say, I haven't a clue.
I use I haven't got a clue with friends or family.
Do you know where the binoculars are?
I haven't got a clue.
Sorry.
Okay.
Number 3, I use this all the time, to cut a long story short.
To cut a long story short.
I really do need to work on making my
long stories shorter.
I have the habit of starting a story with
a lot of enthusiasm, especially in front of a group of people.
And then I just, I lose the plot.
It doesn't go anywhere.
I don't finish it.
I just trail off.
To cut a long story short, we use this phrase to say, I'm going to tell you the
main point of the story.
I'll cut out all the extras.
I'm going to make this long story shorter by just telling you the essential information.
We often say this when we realise that we've been waffling on for a while and we
need to get to the point.
To waffle, or here I used it in a phrasal
verb, to waffle on, is to talk for a long time without saying anything really of
value or anything really interesting.
Sorry, I've been waffling on for hours.
I've been waffling for hours.
You add the preposition on to turn waffle
into a phrasal verb, and it just adds emphasis.
It implies that this is an ongoing action.
I actually can't believe I've been waffling on about the phrase, to waffle
and to waffle on.
That is just so explanatory.
Let's go back to cut a long story short.
Sometimes we preface this phrase with
anyway, which is another word I use about 150 times a day.
Anyway, to cut a long story short.
I am sorry if I go on a bit.
I just get really excited by words and phrases.
I want you to know them all.
Let's go to number 4, which is, make up your mind!
Make up your mind!
This is the last general one, and it
means, decide!
Or make a decision!
We tend to use this phrase when we're a
bit frustrated because someone can't or won't decide.
I say it to my dog, Diego, when he's standing in the doorway, wondering
whether to go outside or not, letting in lots of cold air and lots of leaves.
Make up your mind, Diego!
Make a decision.
Okay, so those are my general phrases.
Now I'm going to move through my work day
from morning to evening.
So let's get cracking.
Let's get on with it.
I'm starting in the morning, but I only
have three phrases to put here because I don't talk a lot in the morning.
However, if I am saying anything at 7 am, these are the ones I'd use.
Mind if I grab the last?
Mind if I'd grab the last?
Mind if I grab the last piece of toast, bagel, teabag.
This is a way to ask if you can eat or use or take the last of something.
It's a question I ask my husband or he asks me several times a day.
Notice how we omit do you from the beginning of the question.
This is called ellipsis, and it's really common in informal questions.
Mind if I grab the last?
Number 6, I use this a lot.
I've got to dash, or just for short, gotta dash.
Gotta dash.
This means I have to leave quickly,
normally because I'm late.
You can use it at any time of the day,
but I often say it in the mornings because that's usually when I'm in a hurry.
Number 7, another similar one, let's get a move on, or let's get going.
This is a phrase we often say when we really want to leave, or we need to leave
with someone else.
It means, come on, we need to go.
Let's get going.
Let's get a move on.
It's quite colloquial, quite casual, informal, and it's not rude, but it also
isn't polite.
I feel annoyed when Will says it to me.
If he says, let's get a move on, he's implying that I'm being slow, or I'm
going to be late.
And I know, I know I'm slow.
I know I'm going to be late.
You don't have to tell me.
Because of that, use it with your friends and family, but don't use it with your boss.
Let's move on to some things that I say every day during my work day.
Let's get cracking.
I said that one at the beginning.
Do you remember?
It means, let's begin.
I love using this phrase because it's more interesting than just saying, let's start.
Let's get cracking.
Let's get on with it.
Number 9, I really do say this a lot.
I've got back-to-back meetings today.
Back-to-back meetings.
If I'm not filming a video, which is my
favourite part of the job, I'm probably in a meeting.
And because Will and I work from home and work together, and our entire team is
remote, I have a lot of Zoom meetings.
If my meetings are back-to-back, it means
I have one meeting after another with no breaks.
You could use it with any task you to do
one after another.
Back-to-back presentations, back-to-back
classes, back-to-back filming.
Maybe you've got back-to back-social
occasions over the holiday period.
Number 10, I'm up to my ears.
I'm up to my ears.
And this one is related to the previous phrase.
It means, I'm very busy.
I'm up to my ears is short for, I'm up to
my ears in work.
I might use it in texts.
If someone invites me out, I'll say, I'm so sorry, I can't come out tonight.
I'm up to my ears.
Number 11, I'm going to power through.
I'm going to power through.
This is a phrase I say when I'm going to
work until I have finished.
We often say this when we're tired or if
the task is particularly difficult.
You can also say power on through.
Now, I absolutely love filming and making videos, but I have a six-video limit.
You know that I post one YouTube video a week, but I've been working really hard
behind the scenes to film a lot of videos for my courses.
And when I get to that sixth video, because after then my tongue doesn't work
properly, but I don't realise.
So I waste a lot of time filming videos
that cannot be used and have to be refilmed.
When I get to that sixth video, I tell
myself, I just need to power through this one and then I can take a break.
Number 12 is give me a minute!
Give me a minute!
When someone needs me, I often want to finish what I'm working on.
And when I'm speaking quickly, give me becomes gimme.
Give me a minute.
I'm just finishing something.
I don't know about you, but I find it quite hard to focus at the best of times.
So if someone takes my focus away, it takes me another 20 minutes to get
focused again.
So sometimes I'm trying to hold on to my
focus and say, gimme a minute, gimme a minute.
I'm just focusing on something.
I'll get to you afterwards.
Number 13, I need to clear my head.
I need to clear my head.
I use this phrase to say that I need to
take a break or do a different activity for a while, usually because I'm feeling
stressed or confused.
If I've had back-to-back meetings or
filming, I often need a bit of fresh air to clear my head.
And number 14, the final daytime phrase, I could do with a little pick-me-up!
I could do with a little pick-me-up!
I use this once a day, normally at around 4 pm.
Can you relate?
Super healthy all-day, nourishing meals.
And then at 4 pm, I'm like, I need chocolate or crisps.
I don't mind which, I just need something.
I really have to fight those 4 pm cravings.
Often at 4 pm, I have a little energy dip.
I'm sure it's something biological.
It's probably a dip in blood sugar or something.
And I need a little pick-me-up to boost
my energy, a drink or a snack.
I often have some coffee or a cereal bar
in the afternoon.
In American English, people often say I
could use a little pick-me-up.
Let's move on to the evening.
At last, the day is coming to an end.
Here are some things I say every evening.
15, I'm just wrapping up for the day.
This one means I'm finishing my work or
finishing my tasks for the day.
Wrapping everything up, making
sure everything is
finished so I can leave work and not think about work anymore.
16, next round’s on me!
Next round’s on me!
When I lived in London, it was very common to go for after-work drinks at the
pub.
This phrase means I will buy the next set of drinks for our group.
I've talked a bit about rounds before in my videos.
It's very common in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and some other English
speaking countries for people in a group to take turns buying drinks for everyone.
If you're in a group of four, you buy the first round of four drinks, then the next
person buys the second round and so on and so on.
Be careful when you get into a round of drinks with a big group of people because
you might end up buying eight drinks and maybe even drinking eight drinks, which
is not a good idea and I don't encourage that.
I also said on me.
The next round's on me.
That means I'm buying it.
This one's on me.
I'm paying for this one.
Dinner's on us.
We're paying for dinner.
Number 17, peckish.
I'm a bit peckish after the pub or at dinnertime.
We need to eat something.
This means I'm hungry.
Not super hungry.
I don't want a full meal, but I could eat.
I could eat.
My husband always says that.
When I'm distributing the food I have cooked for our evening meal together, I
say, how hungry are you?
Wanting to know how much food
do I put in your plate?
And he always says, I could eat.
I'm like, Will, that doesn't give me any indication as to how much food I should
put in your plate.
I'm sorry.
You don't need to know this.
Let's move on to number 18.
Fancy a nightcap?
I always fancy a nightcap, but I try not
to have nightcaps.
This one is about alcohol.
It means, do you want one last drink before you go to bed?
It's usually alcohol, but it can actually refer to any drink, hot cocoa, tea,
herbal tea.
They could all be nightcaps, but most
English speakers will think that you're offering them an alcoholic drink like a
whiskey or a brandy or something like that.
And number 19, the last one, I'm going to
turn in.
I'm going to turn in.
Going to, informal contraction, gonna.
This phrase means I'm going to bed.
And that's exactly how I end my day.
Actually, I have a bonus phrase for you
because it slipped my mind.
No, that's it.
That's the phrase.
It slipped my mind.
This means I forgot, but it's a nicer, softer way of saying it.
I'm so sorry about forgetting your birthday.
It totally slipped my mind or it slipped
my mind to post that letter yesterday.
It means I really wanted to, I tried to
remember, but it just disappeared from my mind.
It wasn't my fault.
I say this all the time, all day, every day.
Just got a lot going on.
Anyway, it really is time to wrap up this video.
I really hope you've enjoyed it.
Don't forget to download the beautiful PDF that we've made for you with the quiz
so you can test your understanding.
The link to get that is in the
description box.
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Bye.