Well, hello, and welcome to this month’s Phrase Builder lesson.
It is a pleasure to welcome you back if you’ve been with us for a while, and hello if you’re
new.
We have, uh, an actually really interesting lesson set this month.
We’re going to talk about a wide range of things that have to do with a little bit of
travelling, exploration, doing some other things that are, you know, kind of normal
in everyday life, but also checking out cultures and exploring, as I said.
Uh, so it should be a really interesting mix of words, but you’ll see how they all work
together in the conversation.
So, as usual, in this lesson, we’ll be covering the shorter words first, and then we’ll
talk about the longer phrases and expressions after that.
Let’s begin.
Okay, our first word is aspiring.
Aspiring.
Now, remember this is different from inspiring.
To inspire someone means to help motivate them, like I’m trying to inspire you to
improve your English, so get out and start practicing.
I’m trying to inspire you to do that.
But to be aspiring, to do something or to aspire to do something means that you have
a particular goal or you have a particular aim.
So, in your case with English, you are an aspiring English learner.
You’re an aspiring English learner, or you are aspiring to learn English.
So, you’re aspiring to get fluent, aspiring to learn English, uh, aspiring to become,
you know, whatever else your goals are in your life.
And you’ll see this in the conversation when Henry is talking about being an aspiring
musician.
So, usually when people talk about this, uh, the two big ones that you’ll hear in conversations
are aspiring musician and aspiring actor.
So, people that are saying, well, I’m working as a waiter in a restaurant, but really I’m
an aspiring musician.
So, really I want to do this and that’s my real goal, but I have to do this other
job over here.
So, whenever you’re aspiring to do something, that’s your goal.
Aspire.
Next, a great conversational word, max.
Max.
To have a max of something or a maximum limit, this is the short form of maximum, uh, it
just means that you’re having a, uh, higher limit or the greatest amount of something
you can possibly do.
So, as an example, maybe I have a max of about three hours to practice playing the guitar
every day.
So, I can practice for three hours max, and then I have to go do my work, or whatever
else it is I have to do.
So, to have something max, this is a great way conversationally to say that you only
have a certain amount of time, or a certain amount of effort, or something like that.
A certain amount of energy.
So, this power, maybe I have, uh, a light bulb here.
Uh, it can shine for 20 hours max, so 20 hours maximum.
Or, I can run for maybe five kilos max.
And this is just how you would use it in a conversational expression.
So, I can do something, uh, maybe I can, I can walk for ten hours max, but then I, I
fall down after that, so ten hours max.
And you can end a sentence like that as well.
So, I’ve been practicing for English, uh, speaking English for a long time, but I can
only speak in a conversation for five minutes max, something like that.
Anyway, I highly recommend you use this, uh, and again, listen for it in the conversation
as well.
Max.
Next, to be over with something.
To be over with something.
Now, when you’re finished with something, these are very related, so listen carefully.
When I’m finished with something it just means I’ve stopped doing that thing.
I don’t have any emotional content or any emotional feeling in any way about that thing.
So, if I’m eating my dinner and I stop, I’m finished with dinner.
If I’m doing my homework and I stop, I’m finished with my homework, but I’m not thinking
about it in a good or a bad way.
So, I’m just finished with my homework.
I’m finished with this video if I’ve stopped making this video, that kind of thing.
But, to be over with something, this is a related thing but slightly different.
This is where we have emotion in that, and it’s usually where we’re really tired
about something, or we’re not very happy with that thing.
So, I’m, I’m over with that situation.
I’m over with that.
So, I can be over a situation or over with a situation, it just means that I don’t
like it anymore.
Like, oh, like my ex-girlfriend, yeah, I’m, I’m over that.
I’m, I’m over her.
I’m over her.
So, it just means I’ve, I’ve stopped that, and I also have, you know, kind of an emotional
or even maybe a very strong emotional feeling about that where I’m not excited about my
girlfriend, or I’m even upset with her.
So, I’m, I’m, I’m done with that relationship, I’m over with her, or I’m over her.
I’ve forgotten about her, I’m past that.
You can also talk about being over something, like maybe a new fashion trend.
So, maybe like these t-shirts are very fashionable right now, but maybe next year people are
over with these t-shirts.
They’re, they’re over them.
They’re over these t-shirts.
They don’t use them anymore, they don’t like wearing them, that kind of thing.
So, when you’re over with something it’s something that you pass and you’re leaving
it behind, you’re not going to use that thing anymore, and usually there’s some
kind of emotional connection, some kind of, uh, deeper feeling with that thing.
I’m over with that.
I’m over that.
I’m over my ex-girlfriend.
Next, the expression, full on.
Full on.
Now, Henry is from Australia and this is an Australian expression.
You won’t really hear this in America.
I don’t know about the UK, maybe some people use it, I think, but it’s not a very American
expression.
If you hear someone say that something is full on, it just means there’s a lot of
that thing.
So, you know, work is really full on right now.
So, it just means like full on, like, I have a lot of that thing.
So, you can kind of guess the meaning of that.
But, again, it’s an Australian expression, and if you use it in America people might
not understand what you’re saying.
But, you know, if you go to Australia, there you go.
So, the, these lessons are really full on.
So, my English learning is really full on right now.
I’m practicing a lot.
I’m studying a lot.
It just means there’s a lot of that thing.
Full on.
Next, another great word, monotonous.
Monotonous.
Now, in this set of lessons we’ll cover a few things, the prefixes and the suffixes
of words.
These are the little pieces that begin a word.
So, bicycle you’ve got like bi and you’ve got cycle, so two circles.
And when you’re learning a lot of vocabulary, it’s a really great idea to learn these
pieces of words, so that you can really maximize your vocabulary learning because if you learn
all these different pieces, then you can put them together to make lots of different words.
So, the word mono means one.
And monotonous, like monotone, just means ooh, one sound.
So, something that is monotonous, and again, notice how it kind of changes from monotone
to monotonous.
Monotonous.
Yeah, this is a really monotonous situation.
It just means it’s boring and it doesn’t change, it’s the same thing over and over
again.
Monotonous.
I was at a lecture very, uh, very, I don’t know, yesterday, and it was very monotonous.
I didn’t enjoy it at all.
It was very boring to listen to.
So, some people are really animated, they move around a lot, it’s a very exciting
lecture, but other people, it’s very monotonous and boring.
Monotonous.
Next, pro and con.
These are great native, uh, conversational words you can use when you’re talking about
the positive or the negative of something.
So, you can say, well, with my new job a pro, or a positive thing, a pro is that it’s
close to my house.
But, a con, or a negative thing, is that maybe I don’t get paid as much as I’d like.
So, there are pros and cons with everything.
Pro.
Con.
Pro.
Con.
Next, jaded.
Jaded.
To be jaded means you’re kind of tired of something, or maybe you don’t really like
it so much anymore.
You’ve done it so many times that, yeah, it’s just, it’s just not your thing.
You don’t really like to do it.
Uh, you can also feel jaded about something where, uh, maybe, you know, you like bring
your lunch to school every day, but somebody keeps stealing your lunch, or they keep stealing
something like that.
And after a while, you don’t want to bring your lunch anymore.
The situation has kind of jaded you.
So, you think, well, all people are bad, uh, you know, I don’t like that people try to
steal my lunch, that kind of thing, so you feel bad about that situation.
So, it can be feeling bad, or it can also just be feeling kind of tired of something.
Yeah, I’m kind of jaded.
I’m jaded.
I’m jaded, you know, I’ve been like, maybe some people are jaded about learning English.
Maybe you’ve been learning, uh, English for a long time with many different programs,
and you feel kind of jaded about the whole learning situation.
So, you’re tired of it, like, ah, why can’t I just get fluent, why can’t I just find
a program that works.
And if you just find something and stick with it then you will get fluent, but maybe you
feel a little bit jaded if you’ve been studying for a long time.
Jaded.
Next, we’ve got two words that are usually for younger people, this is a bit more of
a younger generation, uh, and actually, the person I’m speaking with in the conversation
this month, Henry, he is, I believe, uh, maybe 20 years old or 19 years old.
So, he’s going to use the vocabulary of a slightly younger person.
And these two words are killer, and sweet.
Sweet.
So, the first one, killer, killer just means it’s a slang word of, like, wow, this is
just really cool, like, wow, that was a, that was a killer rollercoaster we went on.
That was just a really amazing, a really exciting, um, you something like that.
So, something that’s killer, you know, it could be like a killer vacation, you know,
again, it’s one of those things that young people would use it.
I don’t really recommend this word if you’re, um, you know, watching, uh, or if you’re
in a conversation with people at work, something like that.
But, again, these are the kinds of things that I’ll teach you because you will see
them in movies and I want you to see how the language is evolving, so the new things that
are coming up that younger people are using.
So, it’s killer.
Hopefully, these are some killer English lessons.
Maybe you wouldn’t say that, but hopefully you can.
Hopefully you can.
It just means something that’s really exciting and good.
So, the second word, sweet, it just means it’s a, like an exclamation thing.
You can say, wow, a friend of mine got tickets to the new concert.
Sweet!
It just means yes, yes, very cool, very exciting.
Sweet.
So, it’s the regular word, this is, you know, just like I have, I’m eating something
sweet like some cookies, but the, again, slang usage of that, it just means cool or exciting
or great.
I hope these lessons are killer, and I hope when you’re, every time you, you get a mail
from me you’re like, sweet, yes.
Next, a more advanced word, proficient.
Proficient.
To be proficient at something just means to be skilled, and that’s what we’re trying
to do here.
We’re trying to help you become proficient in English.
So, if you can become a proficient English speaker, then you can speak confidently, and
you can enjoy lots of more things, maybe in business or personal life, whatever those
things are.
But hopefully, you are becoming more proficient as you learn more each month, and you get
out and practice.
Proficient.
Next, a creative outlet.
Creative outlet.
To have an outlet just means a way of releasing some kind of energy or some kind of thing.
Like, the outlet on your sink is where the water comes from.
You could call that an outlet, or also just like a plug on the wall where you get your
power from.
So, if you plug in something this, uh, little box, or the little rectangle on the wall,
this is called an outlet.
It just means where the power comes out.
So, a creative outlet just means you have all this creativity inside you, you need to
find some way to release that energy, and a creative outlet might be something like
playing music or making art.
Or, what I do, actually, this is my creative outlet, I like to teach.
So, I like to think of different ways I can help people learn and that’s my creative
outlet.
So, a way of letting my creativity come out in some way in the real world.
Creative outlet.
And, our last two short words, we’ve got angst and melancholy.
Angst and melancholy.
You’ll often hear these words used together or in similar situations.
To have angst, just think of the word anxious.
Angst, anxious.
So, angst just means you’re kind of worried, you’re upset, you’re not feeling calm
and comfortable, and maybe you don’t have a specific reason why.
So, often we talk about teenagers this way, that there, there’s kind of teenage angst.
It’s a general kind of worry or a feeling bad that maybe people are experiencing because
they don’t really know a specific thing that’s causing it.
But, it’s just kind of a general, yeah, you know, I’m kind of like angry at the
world and I don’t really know why, so the kind of typical teenager situation.
So, this is teenage angst.
It’s a kind of general worry.
So, the same thing with melancholy.
Now, melancholy is less of a kind of worry and anger, like angst.
Anger is kind of slightly in, uh, teenage angst a little bit.
So, you’ve got anxious and anger and angst, all these like ang words, so think about that.
But then you’ve got melancholy, which is kind of a general sadness.
And this is also maybe something teenagers experience or other people.
Maybe, you’re just kind of feeling sad one day, you don’t really have a reason why,
this is a melancholy feeling.
Melancholy.
It’s a really great, uh, advanced word you can use, but it’ll help you sound more native
as well and conversational.
Yeah, I’m feeling a bit melancholy today.
I’m feeling a bit melancholy today.
I’ve got a lot of angst.
Angst.
Melancholy.
All right, now let’s move into our longer phrases and expressions that you’ll see
in the conversation this month.
The first one is “what are the odds”.
What are the odds.
Now, what are the odds, this is a fantastic phrase, I highly recommend you use this.
It’s got lots of uses in many situations.
But to talk about something, the odds of that thing are the chances of that thing happening.
So, maybe a meteor comes down and, uh, and, like, hits my car, and it’s a very rare
thing.
So, I can say “Wow, what are the odds of that?”
So, what are the chances of something like that happening?
But there are other situations where maybe something will happen quite frequently.
Like, if I live in Seattle, and it rains that’s a pretty common thing.
So, you wouldn’t use the expression, “Well, what are the odds of it raining in Seattle?”
because the odds are pretty high.
So, when you’re using this situation you want to think of something where something
really rare happens, and then you can say, “Wow, what are the odds?”
As an example, you are travelling in maybe Egypt or Antarctica someplace where you think
you’re going to be alone, and then you, you, you meet, like, a friend of yours that
you did not expect to be there.
And you’re really surprised to see them, and you thought, “Wow, that’s a really
rare thing that we both happen to be in this place at the same time.
What are the odds?”
What are the odds?
So, it’s a way of asking what are the chances of this happening because it’s maybe one
chance in ten million things or ten million chances or something like that.
But again, it’s for rare situations.
But anytime you see something like, you know, the company does really well when it’s not
supposed to, or you meet somebody in a rare situation, or there’s like, you know, some
kind of monster comes, and you never expected that, what are the odds?
What are the odds?
Listen carefully to how this blends.
What are the odds?
Next, very quickly, no worries.
No worries.
No worries is a great re, uh, response that you can use when you’re speaking with native
speakers, and maybe there’s, uh, instead of saying it’s okay, or there’s no problem,
you can just say, “Oh, no worries.”
So, if someone says “Oh, I’m sorry that I, I couldn’t pick you up after school,”
or something like that and maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal, you can say, “Oh, no
worries.”
So instead of something like it’s okay or it’s not a problem, a just native and casual
way, and again, when you’re talking with friends in a casual situation, this would
be, no worries.
No worries.
Now, you could use this in some very casual business situations, but you want to make
more of an apology if, you know, you’re making an apology to someone, or if someone
is apologizing to you, you can say, oh, it’s okay, or it’s all right, that kind of thing.
But, no worries, again, it’s just a casual way of saying, it’s okay.
There’s no problem.
So, usually, for casual situations and when there’s maybe like a slight thing that happens,
but it’s not that big of a deal.
No worries.
Next, you’ll see me use this quite a bit in conversation with people, thanks for taking
the time to do something.
So, we’ve got to take the time to do something just means, you know, I’m busy and I have
to make a schedule for some time.
I am taking time out of my day.
So, this is a more conversational way of talking about using time.
You can also talk about making time for doing something.
So, I can thank my friend for making the time to meet me, or taking the time to meet me.
Either of these is just fine.
But you can always thank people for taking the time or making the time, and when you
say this it just shows that you really appreciate what they’re doing.
So, instead of saying thank you for meeting me, a little bit, slightly more native and
longer way of saying this is, thank you for taking the time to meet me, or thank you for
making the time to meet me.
Next, to make the most of something.
To make the most of something.
It just means that whenever you have an opportunity to do something you really want to give all
of your energy and all of your effort to that thing.
As an example, I am learning to play basketball and I’m still not very good, but, you know,
I’m trying.
And, when I have practice opportunities, I want to make the most of those.
So, if I only have one hour of practice with the coach, then I don’t want to just sit
and, you know, play video games on my phone or something like that, I actually want to
make the most of that time and practice.
So, to make the most of something or to make the most of a bad situation it just means,
again, you know, even though you have a, an opportunity to not do a good job or to not
use all of your energy, it’s a good thing to make the most of your time, or to make
the most of that situation.
To make the most of that situation.
Next, three expressions that are related, to get a grip on something.
To get a hang, or get the hang of something, and to get a handle on something.
All of these mean generally the same thing where you’re kind of physically having the
idea of holding something.
When you’re getting new or trying something new, you’re doing something new, and you’re
not used to that thing.
Like me trying to learn to play basketball, I can dribble a ball maybe with one hand pretty
well, but if I have two balls bouncing that’s a little bit more difficult.
So, I haven’t yet gotten the hang of doing that yet.
So, again, all I’m saying is that I’m not, I’m, I’m getting there, but I’m
not, ah, I haven’t gotten a grip on how to do that yet.
So, I’m still, I’m reaching, but I haven’t yet gotten a grip or gotten the hang of that
thing.
So, to get a handle on something or to get a grip, or to get, you know, just that, that,
that feeling of connecting that you, ah, you finally understand it now, and you’re starting
to get more comfortable with that thing.
When you’re also talking about getting a grip you can talk about getting a grip on
yourself.
And I’ve talked about this in the lessons before.
So, to get a grip on yourself, remember, to grip it just means to hold something, so get
a grip on yourself.
Usually you’d use this when you’re in a panicked situation.
You’re feeling nervous or you don’t know what to do, and your friend says, “Hey,
get a grip on yourself.”
It just means to control yourself.
So, when you’re, again, learning to do something, I can’t really control two basketballs very
well, I’m not getting the handle of that thing.
I’m not getting a grip on that yet, but as I practice more, I get the hang of that.
I get the, uh, I get a, you know, I get a handle on that thing.
I get a handle on that.
So, practice all of these things and listen for them in the conversation.
Next, a great phrase, it looks good on a résumé.
You can also say that something looks good on paper.
Now, a résumé, this is the thing you give when you’re going to apply for a job, and
often people will write, you know, really nice things about themselves.
I’m a hard worker, and I do this and that.
Um, so, when you’re talking about a résumé, it’s usually like the best picture of yourself
that you’re giving to an employer or, you know, potential employer.
Uh, so, when something looks good on a résumé it just means some activity or experience
you’ve had that when it’s on a résumé people will find that impressive.
So, as an example, um, you know, being able to speak ten languages looks good on a résumé.
It looks good on a résumé.
So, if I can show that to an employer, especially where being able to speak lots of languages
is an important thing, like, maybe I work in world government or, you know, something
like that, international government.
So, I’m, I need to, uh, work in a situation where I’ve got to use lots of languages.
So, I’m more likely to be hired if I have, uh, ability with that.
So, something that looks good on paper, or looks good on a résumé.
We usually talk about something looking good on paper when maybe a person has, you know,
like, if you just look at their résumé, they sound like a really good person, but
if you meet them in person maybe they’re not so good.
So, you can talk about especially, like, a potential boyfriend or girlfriend saying like,
oh, like, that person looks, you know, they look good on paper, but in person maybe they’re
not so nice.
So, to look good on a résumé or to look good on paper.
Next, very quickly, instead of talking about, “for a long time” it’s much more native
and conversational to say, “for hours on end”.
I will read for hours on end.
I will play basketball for hours on end.
I like to study Japanese for hours on end.
So, anything like that where instead of just saying I like to do something a lot, or I
like to do something for a long time, for hours on end.
It just means many hours.
For hours on end.
Listen carefully to how it blends.
For hours on end.
Next, I’m no authority on something.
I’m no authority on baseball.
I’m no authority on synchronized swimming.
I’m no authority on mountain climbing.
To be an authority on something just means you’re very knowledgeable about that.
So, I am an authority on English fluency and speaking confidence.
That’s what I do.
I do that every day.
I teach for hours on end, or I work on lessons for hours on end, all the time.
So, I am an authority on that.
So, if you’re trying to say in a more conversational way that you don’t really know anything
about that, or if you’re going to explain something, but you also want to say, well,
just so you know, I’m not an authority on that thing, but I know maybe a little bit
about that.
So, as an example, I’ve never been to New York City, but I know a little bit about it,
you know, from movies and what I hear from my friends and things like that.
So, I know New York a little bit, but I’m not an authority, or I’m no authority on
New York City.
So, I’m not an authority, or I’m no authority on New York City.
And the last one, another fantastic idiom, we’ve got more bang for your buck.
More bang for your buck.
This is a really great, fantastic thing I’d like to leave you with, and hopefully you
use this a lot in your conversations.
When you’ve got, uh, going to spend money on something and maybe you want to buy a new
car.
You want to get the most bang for your buck, or more bang for your buck.
And your buck just means a dollar, or the money you’re spending.
There are lots of different words, maybe in your own language you have the same thing.
There’s maybe one or two words for money, and then you’ve got all these other ones
as well.
So, in, uh, America we have, like, the dollar, the greenback, you can talk about, uh, a buck.
A buck just means one dollar, so one buck, two bucks, three bucks.
I’ve got three bucks in my pocket.
Uh, this shirt cost me five bucks, that kind of thing.
So, more bang for your buck just means more value for the money you spent.
More bang for your buck.
So, hopefully when you’re getting, you know, more bang for your buck, like, if I’m buying
a new video camera I don’t what to get some cheap thing.
I want to have, you know, I have a budget of maybe, like, uh, a thousand dollars I’m
going to spend on a camera, and I want to get the most bang for my buck.
So, the most value, the most like explosion, the most power, for the money I spend.
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this lesson.
I look forward to seeing you in the Fluency Corner, uh, Fluency Corner lesson coming up
next.
Do, as always, go back and review all of these, and the more you use them, the more you practice
them, you can begin with yourself, but then start using them in conversations with other
people.
And the more you practice, the more bang for your buck you’ll get out of these lessons.
Uh, have a fantastic day, and I look forward to seeing you in that lesson.
Bye bye.