'break' can have many meanings but today we're only going to look at three. Number one:
it means to separate into pieces. Oh I sat on my glasses but thankfully they didn't break. Two:
'break' means that something doesn't operate or doesn't function properly. Why is my laptop not
working? Don't tell me it's broken! And meaning number three: it means to surpass or do better
than something else. Have you seen that new horror film? It broke all the box office records. As an
adjective, 'breaking' is very often used together with the word 'news' to mean that the news is very
very recent. I get breaking news notifications on my phone. And finally, as a noun 'break' means to
stop working for a short time time. It's time for a break. Hi, I'm Tom and today I'm going
to show you how to use tag questions. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation, for example:
It's a melon, isn't it? 'Isn't it?' has a similar meaning to 'Do you agree?' When the statement is
positive, we make a negative question, and when the statement is negative we make a positive
question. It isn't a banana, is it? We can use other auxiliary verbs with tag questions and these
show a change in tense and meaning. For example: you won't eat my melon, will you? When there's
no auxiliary verb, we make a question using 'do'. Elly, you really like melons, don't you?
She really does. Hi, the word 'dead' has so many meanings and we're going to look at five of them.
The first one is simple - it means not living. Monkey! Monkey! He's dead. You know when you
sleep on your arm - when you wake up you can't feel anything - it's numb. It's gone dead.
I tried to catch monkey but my arm had gone dead. 'Dead' in reference to batteries means they have
no power. Hi I need to ... oh no the battery's dead. In informal British English, 'dead' can
also mean 'very'. This English in a Minute is dead interesting. Lastly, in speaking about
directions or time, 'dead' can mean 'exactly'. The post office is dead ahead. We should arrive dead
on time. Why should you never talk to a ghost? Because they're dead boring. Hi this is Kee from
BBC Learning English. Today I'm going to tell you three different ways of using the phrasal verb
'pick up'. First we use 'pick up' to describe learning something. So, for example, I can say:
children pick up languages very quickly, and so can you at BBC Learning English. Second, we use
'pick up' informally to describe buying something, for example: I often pick up some milk on my way
home. Third, we use 'pick up' to describe getting an illness. I think I picked up a cold. So we
can pick up languages, pick up some milk, and pick up a cold. Let's take a minute to look at
some of the many meanings 'while' can have. As a conjunction, 'while' can mean at the same time as.
While we were sleeping, it snowed. We can swap the two clauses around, but notice the comma
goes away. It snowed while we were sleeping. 'While' can have the same meaning as 'but'.
One of the twins is shy, while the other is outgoing. And 'while' or 'whilst' in more formal
contexts can also be used in the same way as 'although'. While I know that sugar is bad for me,
I can never say no to dessert. As a noun 'while' can mean a length of time, and in the expression
'worth your while' it can mean 'worth the time and effort used'. So, finally, even though we only had
a short while together, we hope this lesson was worth your while. Hello ladies and gentlemen,
Tom here for BBC Learning English. Today, I'm going to explain the difference between 'everyone' and
'anyone'. When I say: 'Hello everyone!', I'm talking to all the people in a group or all the people
watching this video. 'Anyone', however, relates to any one individual person in a group, and we often
use it to ask questions. For example, 'Is anyone listening?' or 'Can anyone answer today's question?'
Here I'm asking if any individuals in the group are listening. If the whole group is listening,
we can say 'yes, everyone is listening'. Which is something that English teachers love to hear.
Hi, I'm Saskia from BBC Learning English. Today, I'm going to tell you four ways to
use the word 'just' as an adverb. One way we use 'just' is for things happening at this moment.
Do you want to go for a coffee? Hang on, I'm just finishing this video. 'Just' can also mean 'only'.
This book cost me just one pound. Wow that was cheap! 'Just' often means 'exactly'.
What time is it? It's just four o' clock. Saskia, here's a present for you.
Thanks! It's just what I wanted. You can also use 'just' to emphasise other words and expressions. I just
love this shirt. So, that's four ways to use 'just'. Just in time, better go for that coffee.
Hello everyone, I'm Tom from BBC Learning English London and I'm here to explain
'be used to'. We use this expression to talk about things which are normal for us now,
for example, 'It's winter here in the UK'. I've lived in the UK for quite a long time so this
is not a problem for me. So, I can say 'I'm used to the cold weather'. If we want to use a verb
phrase with the expression we need to add -ing, for example, 'I'm used to wearing warm clothes
outside'. If something has not become normal, I can use 'not' to make the negative form.
For example, 'I am not used to wearing warm clothes in my office'. What are you used to or what are you
still not used to? Leave us a comment below the video to tell us. Hi guys, it's Phil from BBC
Learning English. Today we're going to look at how we can make conditional sentences easy. So, let's
start with a real conditional, something like: If it rains tomorrow, I'll bring an umbrella. It's
real because it might happen. Guys, it's London, it might happen, it might rain tomorrow. To make
them, you just need to remember there are two bits. We've got the 'if' bit and we've got the
results bit. For the 'if' bit, just use a present tense. For the results bit, we can use 'will' like
the future. The other thing to remember is that the order doesn't matter. You can put them any
way around. So now it's over to you. Why don't you leave a comment down below and tell us what you'll
do tomorrow if it's raining or if it's sunny or if it's windy or if it's foggy or you know...?
We're going to take a look at four different uses of the adjective 'fair'. I sold my car
for two thousand pounds - it was a fair deal. In this example, 'fair' means 'equitable'. It means
that I received the correct amount of money. My car is worth two thousand pounds and I received
two thousand pounds. It looks like there's a fair chance it will rain tonight. 'A fair chance' is
a set phrase and it describes the likelihood of something - it means that there is a good chance
or a high likelihood of something happening. My sister has fair hair and fair skin. 'Fair'
is used to describe the colour in this example. It's like saying that my sister has light-coloured
hair and light skin. I have a fair understanding of Spanish but I'm not fluent. In this example,
'fair' means 'average' or 'not bad but not great' - it means I know a little Spanish
but not a lot. If you have a fair understanding of the word 'fair', why not leave us a comment?