Vanessa: Get ready
to level up your English vocabulary so that you can express yourself completely.
Hi, I'm Vanessa from speakenglishwithvanessa.com,
and today you're going to learn 10 vocabulary phrases that I use almost every day. And I hope
that you too can integrate them into your daily conversations in English.
Like always, I've created a free PDF worksheet with all of these 10 phrases,
definitions, sample sentences. And at the bottom of the worksheet, you can answer
Vanessa's challenge question so that you never forget what you've learned. You can click on
the link in the description to download that free PDF worksheet today. It's my gift to you.
All right, are you ready to get started with the first phrase that I use every day? Let's do it.
Phrase number one is "like clockwork." Take a look at this sentence and I want you to guess what you
think this means. "Every morning at 6:00 AM my baby wakes up like clockwork." Do you think that
sometimes my baby wakes up at 6:00, sometimes 8:00, sometimes 9:00? Nope. Every day without
fail, my baby wakes up at 6:00 AM. I don't even need to look at the clock. She is like
a clock. And here, that's what that expression means "like clockwork." It happens so regularly
that I don't even need to look at the clock because she wakes up every day at 6:00 o'clock.
Vocabulary phrase number two that I use almost every day is "slowly and surely." Notice the
pronunciation of the word surely. There's no S-H, surely, but it sounds like that. Surely.
Surely. Take a look at this sentence. "Slowly and surely, my two older boys will learn to help get
themselves ready in the morning." At the moment, my 6-year-old gets dressed usually by himself,
but my 3-year-old needs a little bit more help, especially putting on his shirt. And
you know what? Slowly and surely, they will become more independent and be able to get
ready by themselves. Can you guess what you think this vocabulary phrase means? Well,
it means that something is not going to happen quickly. It will take time. And you know what?
As a mom of three young kids, it can be really challenging sometimes to do all of the tasks,
but I want to appreciate how small and cute they are right now. Slowly and surely,
they will become more independent. So right now, I just need to enjoy them.
Vocabulary phrase number three that I use almost every day is,
"I've gotten into the habit of..." Take a look at this sentence. "Ever since my baby was born,
I've gotten into the habit of getting ready right when I wake up." What do you think this means? Do
I usually wait until after eating breakfast to brush my hair? Do I usually wait until my
children are dressed to put on my clothes for the day? Nope. Instead, right when I wake up,
I get myself ready first. So we use this phrase to talk about something that happens regularly.
I have gotten into the habit of getting myself ready. It helps me to feel better about the day,
and I'm not neglecting myself and only taking care of my children. Instead, I've gotten to the
habit of getting myself ready first in the morning and then I'm ready to take care of everyone else.
Vocabulary phrase number four is "put it off." Put it off. Take a look at this
sentence. "I have a list of things that I need to do, but I have been putting them
off for too long. Today is the day." Can you guess what this means? Well,
it means I have been procrastinating or delaying doing something. I know we are all like this,
right? "I need to call the bank. I need to make a cake for a friend's birthday. I need to send
a message to my students. These things I have been delaying, I have been putting them off,
but no longer. Today is the day that I will check them off of my to-do list."
Vocabulary phrase number five that I use almost every day is "it's a hassle." There are a lot
of things that are a hassle in life, but take a look at this sentence. "For me, driving my son
to preschool is such a hassle." Here, I've added the word such to emphasize it. This is a parenting
duty that I just don't like. It's one of the things that I don't appreciate, I have a hard time
enjoying. For me, it's a hassle. And that means it's frustrating or difficult or annoying. It's a
hassle to drive my son to preschool each morning, but I know that it's important, so I do it.
Vocabulary phrase number six that I use almost every day is "as it turns out." As it turns
out... And I need something after that. Take a look at the sentence. I" tried to call the bank,
but as it turns out, the bank is closed today." So here we have the difference between what I
thought would happen and the reality. And these are situations that happen every day,
all the time. I wanted to stop putting off calling the bank. So I did it. I called them,
and then guess what? They were closed, so I'll have to do it another day. So as it turns out,
they were closed. I'll just do it tomorrow.
Vocabulary phrase number seven that I use almost every day is "go with the flow." Take a look at
this. "During the week, I try to stay pretty organized, but on the weekends I like to just
go with the flow." So when my husband asks me, "What do you want to do this weekend?" I
can use this great expression because it means, I don't know, I have no plans. I'm going to just be
like a river and follow the water. I'm going to go with the flow. So I could respond to him and say,
"I don't know. Let's just go with the flow. If we feel like staying home, that's fine.
If we feel like we want to go out, I'm okay with that too. Let's just go with the flow."
Vocabulary phrase number eight is "that being said." This is a good one to follow
number seven. "So I just said I like to go with the flow on the weekends. But that being said,
I do sometimes like to have plans for the weekends." Okay. "I sometimes like
to organize what's going on on the weekends, not every hour on the hour, what we're doing,
but maybe we'll visit a friend or a family member or go on a hike. That being said..."
So here I'm saying the opposite. "I like to go with the flow. Well, that being said..."
So this is true. It is true. I like to go with the flow, but I want to give an exception,
something that's the opposite. "That being said, I do like to plan some things on the weekend."
Vocabulary phrase number nine that I use almost every day is "now that I think about
it." Because in my life there is a lot going on. I have quite a busy life. You probably do
too. So whenever my husband says, "Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow?" I might say,
"I don't know. I'm just going to go with the flow." And then I say, "Oh,
now that I think about it, I forgot that we have a birthday party to go to tomorrow. Now
that I think about it." So we can kind of assume that previously when I said,
"Let's just go with the flow," I wasn't really thinking about it. But now that I think about it,
"Oh yeah, we do have something planned for tomorrow. We're going to go to a birthday
party." So this is a great expression to use when you change your mind or when you realize
something that you forgot about. "Now that I think about it, we actually do have plans."
Vocabulary phrase number 10, and our final one for today's lesson is a fun one, "that's beside
the point." That's beside the point. So here we have the point, which is the purpose or the
meaning of something. And if something is beside the point, what do you think that means? Take a
look at this sentence. When my husband asks me, "What do you want to do this weekend?" And I say,
"Oh, how about going for a hike? Let's go for a hike." And he says to me, "Oh,
but you've been coughing and sick all week. Do you think you need to relax a bit?" I might say,
"That is beside the point. I just really want to go for a hike." So he is presenting some kind of
evidence that says, "You shouldn't go for a hike. You should just rest and relax." And I'm saying,
"I don't care that I was sick last week. I want to go for a hike. That's beside the
point. That's not an important reason. That's beside the point. I just want to go for a hike."
So if you want to push away what someone has said, dismiss what they've said,
this is a great expression for you. "Oh, that's beside the point. I want to do what I want to do."
Well, congratulations on learning these 10 vocabulary phrases that I use almost every day,
and I hope that you can too. Now, I have a question for you. I want to know what
is something that you have gotten into the habit of doing? Let me know in the comments.
I can't wait to read to see what you have to say. Yes, I do read the comments. And yes,
I love to see how you use the vocabulary that you've learned in my lessons.
And don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet with all 10 of these wonderful
vocabulary phrases, definitions, sample sentences. And at the bottom of the worksheet,
you can answer Vanessa's challenge question so that you never forget what you've learned.
You can click on the link in the description to download that free PDF worksheet today.
Well, thanks so much for learning English with me,
and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye.
But wait, do you want more? I recommend watching this video next,
which includes other expressions that I use every day, including why sometimes the word
thanks can be extremely rude. Check out that video to find out and I'll see you there.