oh yeah good morning good afternoon or
good evening wherever you are in this
beautiful world my name is Ethan and I'm
your real-life English fluency coach
this week I have a lesson with one of
the TV series that is considered to be
one of the best of all time
that is Breaking Bad a lot of you have
actually requested this particular scene
it is very iconic where the main
character walls transforms from being an
innocent high school teacher to where we
really see him as a criminal if you have
not already seen the series this will be
a great introduction and I really highly
recommend that you watch it at some
point and if you already know it why not
go back and revisit it to practice your
English so you're going to learn a ton
of great expressions today let's jump
into this lesson with Breaking Bad
I've said it before if you are in danger
we go to the police no I don't want to
hear about police you not say that
lightly
I know what it could do to this family
but if it's the only real choice we have
if it's either that or are you getting
shot when you open your flight where
you're not some hardened criminal waltz
you are in over your head that's what we
tell them and that's the truth it's not
the truth of course it is schoolteacher
cancer desperate for money we're done
you roped into working for unable to
even quit you told me that your self
Walt she's thinking Walt please let's
both of us stop trying to justify this
whole thing and admit you're in danger
who are you talking to right now who is
it you think you see do you know how
much I make a year I mean even if I told
you you wouldn't believe it you know
what would happen if I suddenly decided
to stop going into work a business big
enough that it could be listed on the
Nasdaq goes belly-up disappears it
ceases to exist without me no you
clearly don't know who you're talking to
so let me clue you in I am NOT in danger
Skyler I am the danger a guy opens his
door and gets shot and you think that of
me no I am the one who knocks
oh yeah I hope you enjoyed that clip and
now it's time to begin today's lesson
now I have a dynamite pronunciation tip
I'm going to give you a quick lesson on
the extremely common American native
tendency to pronounce the word to as duh
so for example in this two-minute scene
alone we saw four examples of this go
ahead and watch listen and repeat if you
are in danger we go to the police we go
to the police I know what it could do to
this family I know I know what it could
do to this family let's both of us stop
trying to justify this whole thing stop
trying to justify you know what would
happen if I suddenly decided to stop
going into work stop going into work
stopped going into work so what's
happening here
first of all natives and especially
Americans tend to pronounce the T sound
like a soft D which is called a flap or
an American T for example the word
better and water are pronounced as
better and water the general but not
complete rule is that the flap T happens
when the T sound is surrounded by vowel
sounds and the previous syllable is
stressed
for example the T sound embedder and
water has bowel sounds on both sides of
the T and both are stressed on the first
syllable better and water this can also
happen with a T at the start or end of
the word and as we see in today's scene
it is very common for natives to
pronounce to as a quick duck when
preceded by a stressed vowel sound for
example go to the police
natives pronounced as go to the police
go to the police repeat after me
Goethe Goethe due to this family natives
pronounced as I know what it could do to
this family due to this family
repeat after me dooda dooda but the
final two examples completely break the
oversimplified t between two vowel
sounds flap T roll in fact the valve
before the T doesn't need to be about it
is often an R N or L listen repeat the
following examples in which the flap T
is preceded by an N sound stop trying to
justify natives pronounced as stop
trying to justify repeat after me trying
to trying to remember the I and G in
words like trying and going are often
reduced to trying and go in and spoke in
English to stop going to work Navis
pronounced as stop going into work and
stop going into work repeat after me
going to go under alright I hope that
powerful pronunciation tip opened your
mind to American pronunciation and now
let's jump into the vocabulary lesson if
you are in danger we go to the police I
wish you not say that lightly ask say
something lightly if you ask for say
something lightly you say it in a way
that is not serious this is more
commonly used in the negative as in the
case in this scene example she told her
axe to stop calling her and obviously
she didn't say that lightly if it's
either that or you getting shot when you
open your fight want to shoot get shot
in this case to shoot means to shoot a
gun which is conjugated as shoot shot
shot in the past and past participle but
to get shot is to be shot by the gun you
already not some hardened criminal waltz
hardened literally to become more hard
as opposed to become more soft but in
this case it used to describe someone
who know
longer gets upset or shocked by
something because they've gotten used to
experiencing bad things hardened
criminal is a common collocation but
this is also said as to become hardened
to something example as a police officer
he's become hardened to a lot of things
other people would find disturbing you
are in over your head that's what we
tell them to be or get in over your head
to be or get involved in a situation
that is too difficult for you literally
to be in over your head is when things
accumulate above the level of your
height such as the deep part of the pool
or in this picture which communicates
the literal and figurative meaning
example I'm in over my head with this
project I shouldn't have waited until
the last minute to start it all right
now it's your turn to put it into
practice so take a moment to press pause
and comment below an example with the
expression to be in over one's head we
will correct many of your responses take
a moment to do that and then we'll jump
back into the lesson school teacher
cancer desperate for money we're done
you roped into working from unable to
even quit rope someone into doing
something to involuntarily persuade or
trick someone into doing something
literally to rope in as to tie something
or somebody up as this guy is literally
broked into playing with his wife and
daughter she's saying Walter was roped
into or involuntarily persuaded into
getting involved in criminal activities
he otherwise would have stayed away from
example my sister roped me into watching
Breaking Bad see what other similar and
more common ways to express this meaning
are to talk someone into doing something
to trick someone into doing something
the verbs and those expressions talk and
trick say the way someone is persuaded
into doing something rope as in to rope
someone into doing something
communicates persuasion in a bit more of
a forceful way to be unable to do
something be unable to do something is
the negative form of be able to do
something to be able usually equals can
and to be unable usually equals can't as
opposed to can too
be able to often communicate with more
emphasis that someone has the freedom or
opportunity to do something example if
you're able to finish work before 9:00
come have dinner with us we were unable
to leave sooner quit to stop doing
something or to leave a job school
career etc example when did you quit
smoking do you know how much I make a
year how much I make a year make is
often used as a synonym of earn when
talking about the amount of money you
receive for your work example we made a
thousand dollars last week selling
hotdogs a business big enough that it
could be listed on the Nasdaq goes belly
up disappears it ceases to exist without
me a business that could be listed on
the Nasdaq if something is listed
somewhere it is included in a list as
name number etc or in this case as a
business name on the Nasdaq a stock
exchange market where the biggest
companies in the world trade their
stocks a business goes belly up when a
company or business goes belly up it
can't produce enough money to keep
existing the origin of this expression
is that belly is another word for
stomach and when a fish dies it floats
to the top of the fish tank with its
belly up other ways to say this are to
go bankrupt and to go out of business
example my uncle's business almost went
belly-up during the recession to cease
to do something to stop happening to end
example if the business ceases to make
money it'll go belly-up no you clearly
don't know who you're talking to so let
me clue you in clue someone in to give
someone information so that they
understand something example can anyone
clue me in about the change of plans I
am the one who knocks I am the one who
knocks to knock in this case means to
hit a surface and make a noise often
with your knuckles and to knock is how
we notify somebody that we're at their
front door wallet is responding to what
his wife said at the beginning barring
that somebody might knock at their front
door and shoot them he's saying that
he's the one they should fear if he
knocks on their door
I've said it before if you are in danger
we go to the police oh no I don't want
to hear about always you not say that
lightly I know what it could do to this
family but if it's the only real choice
we have if it's either that or are you
getting shot when you open your fire
you're not some hardened criminal Walt
you are in over your head that's what we
tell them and that's the truth it's not
the truth of course it is school teacher
cancer desperate for money we're done
you roped into working for unable to
even quit you told me that your self
Walt she's thinking Walt please let's
both of us stop trying to justify this
whole thing and admit you're in danger
who are you talking to right now who is
it you think you see do you know how
much I make a year I mean even if I told
you you wouldn't believe it
do you know what would happen if I
suddenly decided to stop going into work
a business big enough that it could be
listed on the Nasdaq goes belly-up
disappears it ceases to exist
without me no you clearly don't know who
you're talking to so let me clue you in
I am NOT in danger Skyler I am the
danger a guy opens his door and gets
shot and you think that of me no I am
the one who knocks
I hope you had a lot of fun today with
that lesson with Breaking Bad let me
know are you frustrated and bored
understanding English then I definitely
recommend you go and check out our free
three-part mini course where we will
show you how to understand real native
English it's very simple just click the
link down in the description box below
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kick ass with your English oh yeah